Cabinet ministers? No way.

I wonder if the Peoples National Party (PNP) wins the next election if we will see Anthony Hylton being appointed as a minister?

I ask, since over the past few weeks, Mr. Hylton has displayed a level of dishonesty which even brings Mr. Picklersill's doctrine of doing "anything" to gain power, to a new low. Firstly, in early November, he tried to whip up a firestorm by claiming  that companies had been banned from exporting under the new US Food Safety and Modernisation Act (FSMA). It took no less than the US Embassy to put out a statement refuting this. 


Then two days ago, he called a press conference to claim ganja found in Miami had been shipped from Jamaica as scrap metal. Another story of his that has been refuted.


Mr. Hylton  may have earned himself the much desired publicity he sought by these forays, but all he has proven to the public is that he is very careless with the truth and totally irresponsible.


And since I see were Mike Henry has stepped down as a minister because of his handling/mishandling of JDIC, but remains a candidate in the next election, it will be interesting to see if he too will be put back in the cabinet if the JLP wins the next election.


Whichever way it goes, the makeup of the next cabinet will tell us all we need to know as a young nation. But what the heck, we live in Jamaica so we could very well see Patrick Roberts being appointed a senior minister some day!

That's Justice?

Sometimes I have to wonder whether Jamaican judges live in Wonderland. Not all  by any means, but most.
For so often we see sentences coming out of the courts which make no sense at all.

The recent  instance when Justice Fraser sentenced a man who raped  a I2 yr old girl and  buried her alive to  just I2 years in jail, worse after the probation report on the criminal showed he had nor remorse, since he claimed "She Wanted It" was incomprehensible to say the least.

Now we see  a sentence of 3 months being  handed down to  hungry man who stole 45 pods of  ackees  from the governor general's home at king's house.

By no means is one  condoning praedial  larceny which is far too prevalent in Jamaica. In fact I think the laws surrounding praedial larceny are far too mild. But this case is a bit differnt, for the Governor Generals huge unused property belongs to the Jamaican people. So whereas wandering on to the property when one is hungry to ease the terrible pain in the belly, may be wrong, it certainly does not deserve 90 days in jail, an average of 2 days per pod of ackee?

If  I 've ever heard of  a wicked sentence, its got to be that handed down by justice Pusey.

I hope the Governor general who is supposed to be a  highly religious person, will pay the fine so the poor, hungry man does not have to spend Christmas in jail.

Riding to YS Falls

Yesterday, a lifelong dream finally came through. It wasn't really one of those serious, earth shattering dreams, but just one involving trying to re-live the childish exhilaration of speeding on a bike down a really steep hill and Spur Tree Hill in Manchester was the ultimate challenge.

Boy, did I ever enjoy those wonderful days as a child, speeding off the hills in Malvern, St. Elizabeth, despite the numerous falls and scars that still remain to remind me that nothing  nice comes without pain! But falling was the furthest thing from my mind as I let go off the hill yesterday, only braking occasionally as the breeze threatened to get the better of me. It was absolutely exhilarating, just as I had always imagined it would be.

The opportunity for this ride came as a result of some  mad person from Fun and Thrills MTR, suggesting some months ago that we do a moonlight ride to YS falls in St. Elizabeth, one of the most beautiful natural attractions in Jamaica. These falls are about 100 miles from Kingston, sitting on the periphery of our most important rain forest, the Cockpit County which abuts the parishes of St. Elizabeth, St. James and Trelawny. I certainly had no intention to ride in the night but the proposal was overruled and instead a normal daylight ride was agreed on for Sunday 20th November 2011.

There was however some last minute concern about that date since it was also the date of the Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) annual conference and the bus drivers who transport the thousands of ardent supporters to such events are not known to be careful on the roads. However, although we saw hundreds of buses full of supporters racing to Kingston as we headed west, God is good and the quest by us cyclists was uneventful.

The buses  with JLP supporters were full and frequent

We decided to make the trip from four different points. Firstly there was the A team of MTR's made up of people like Howie, Michael , Alrick, Johan and Michel Smith who decided to take it from Kingston and ride all the way. Only Michael Smith accomplished that feat, due to time constraints as the falls closes early.

Then there was the Charles (ayatollah) group which decided to ride to Clarendon park and drive the rest of the way. They  did just that.

We who opted for the ultimate excitement were the two groups that left from Clarendon park. First there were the adventurous ones such as Sheriff, Sparkles, Pat, Moshe, Donovan, Shakira and Orrell (who provided mentoring) who bravely took on Melrose hill and Winston Jones hill, two daunting inclines. Then there were the really smart ones, Michael Chuck and myself who opted to skip the gruelling uphills and go straight for downhill riding only, declaring that we were going to ride from the top of Spur Tree Hill. I guess Chuck felt a bit badly, seeing the young ladies courageousness taking the hills, for he did manage to persuade me to give up my air-conditioned comfort in the support vehicle being driven by Christine and start the ride just past the Hatfield turn off in Manchester, thus collecting some minor hills under my belt.

Fixing Sheriff's puncture at Spur Tree 

As we started to descend Spur Tree Hill however, Sheriff got a puncture, but the chivalrous ones, Chuck and Donovan, soon had that sorted out. Halfway down the hill, we were overtaken by Orrel, the great one, who had arranged with this brother, who lives just above Gutters in St. Elizabeth to pick some jelly coconuts for us. That was really wonderful of him and we had a ball with Moshe having a jelly for the first time and enjoying it.(He is an Israeli working in Jamaica)

The rest of the ride was almost all downhill or gently undulating and we were not caught up by those who drove from Clarendon Park until we got to Lacovia, where we had stopped at the gas station for refreshments.

After that it was easy riding though the picturesque Bamboo Avenue to Howie's at the turn off to YS falls. There we stopped for some delicious food, at least my curry goat was wonderful, topped off with delicious sweet potato pudding compliments of Pat.(Sparkles jealously claimed that I find all food wonderful but that is becuase she opted for the boring chicken which was apparently not up to scratch!)

As we lingered there, up rode Michael Smith who had made it all the way from Kingston on his own, and we were told that the rest of the group that had ridden from Kingston had been picked up by support vehicles outside of Santa Cruz ( the hottest town in Jamaica).

The rest of the day was absolutely wonderful as we frolicked at Ys falls, first in the rushing waters under the falls itself, then later by the heated pool which was apparently recently added as an attraction there.

It was really an absolutely wonderful day all round....... the riding, the food of course, the camaraderie.

Ride on F&T!





For more photos see;  https://picasaweb.google.com/114828585796685227607/DropBox?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuTuZGztcbjtgE

Policing in Jamaica

I am in total agreement with today's editorial in the Jamaican Observer but was inspired to write because of this one statement, ".....who from this distance seems hardly to have put a foot wrong since he took over leadership of the constabulary...", in reference to commissioner Ellington.

I am still puzzled how we made so many poor choices of commissioners over at least a decade, while there was someone of commissioner Ellington's apparent competence was right there in the force. In the meantime, hundreds of lives were lost because corruption reigned supreme and no sensible crime fighting strategy was developed or implemented for such a long time.

Now for the first time in years, we see the polls indicating that crime is no longer the main concern of Jamaican citizens.

It is indeed a breath a of fresh air and while crime and especially murders continue to keep us in the top five in the world, at least we are seeing good progress.

Congratulations to Commissioner Ellington who is demonstrating that with proper leadership, any organisation is capable of transformation.

Hopefully the kudos and awards that he is receiving will only inspire he and his team to do even better rather than allowing it to go to their heads.

The Politics of Roads

Revelations about the arbitrary and careless manner in which the JDIP funds are being used, are not at all amusing to people like myself who have been for years agitating to get the roads in our community fixed. For it has been many years that I have been calling  the representative (Missing Person!) Delroy Chuck about the conditions in this section of his constituency and the only result to date has been getting from him a disconnected phone number for his councillor who has responsibility for this division!

After failing with MP Chuck and his Councillor with his non- working phone, in desperation, I called Mr. Patrick Wong, the head of the National Works Agency (NWA). I must say after speaking to him, there was a ray of hope since he revealed that he visits the area regularly, was quite aware of the deplorable state of the road and he assured me that it was on the JDIP programme for rehabilitation, including correcting a drainage problem.

That was about a year ago and to date no action here. (And by the way, how do they decide the basis for road rehabilitation since just this week, I noted that the asphalt was scraped off the perfectly good and recently paved Barbican Road from the round about to Millsborough Avenue while other roads which are a worse state of disrepair, are ignored).

Incidental, the reason for the disgraceful state of roads such as ours lies in the ineffectiveness and possible corruption at the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation, (KSAC ) because for some inexplicable reason, they refuse to enforce the laws enacted to protect  residential areas. It is ironic that even from the ''olden days when there was far less traffic around, the colonial masters recognised that residential roads were never constructed to withstand the the battering from commercial traffic and made provisions under the parochial roads act to prevent this, yet the KSAC  refuses to enforce the law while not maintaining the roads destroyed because of their negligence.

Now after a cess was imposed on fuel to maintain the roads on top of the increase to property taxes which goes mainly to the KSAC, we still  have noting but almost intraversible roads.

I suppose I am being mean in complaining for at least out of the JDIP,  we see where the staff of the NWA will be able to work in sheer luxury, their offices having been refurbrished to the tune of in excess of $100 million! Bearing in mind a World Bank report some years ago which stated that the Jamaican taxpayer gets less than 50 cents value in each dollar spent on construction projects, I wonder who will be auditing that expensive refurbishing project?

I think that if this new, young, prime minster would like to demonstrate that he is indeed prepared to do things differently, he should heed the advise of those calling for the JDIP programme to be removed from the NWA and placed into another agency capable of delivering value for money.

But do we really have any such agency in Jamaica?

Mavado

Mavado has been for some years been quite a favourite of mine, although he often makes one cringe at the senseless acts of "youthful exuberance" which have him being often reported in a negative light.

Anyway in recent times, (since he got back his visa?) he seems to be taking life more seriously and acting more responsibly and the report in this weekend's Star, gives one reason for optimism. I am referring to the story under the headline "Mavado joins Stop the bleeding campaign". This is in reference to a movement by that name in St. Croix. Among the aims of this movement is "......to promote anti-gun drive while providing a vehicle for change through the preforming arts."

Congratulations Mavado, but wouldn't it be great if you took it a step further. For crime in St. Croix is not close to the level in Jamaica and with your talent and influence, you are well placed to lead a similar programme right here at home.

How about it "my yute?"

Jamaican Citizens Only

The new prime minister of Jamaica, Hon. Andrew Holness, has expressed the view that US citizens should be allowed to serve in parliament in Jamaica.

I totally disagree with view.

Readers will recall that as the Constitution stands, anyone who pledges allegiance to another country outside of the Commonwealth, is intelligible to run for parliamentary office or be employed in some public positions, for example the Director of Elections.

I have no qualms about agreeing that no Commonwealth citizen should have any greater right to represent the people of Jamaica in parliament than any other dual citizen, but where I part company with the prime minister is that I believe that no one who does not have total commitment to the Jamaican nation and Jamaica alone, should not be enacting important legislation  for the rest of us. For when they make a mess of this country, all they have to do is move to the other country which they also have allegiance to, leaving us to suffer because of their actions.

In my book therefore, the restrictions should not only apply to people with dual citizenship but also those with Green Cards as well.

Anyway, this matter is of far too much importance for us to be dealing with it on an off the cuff basis. 

Nothing but  a referendum, and an early one to boot, should suffice to deal with this most important issue.

A Disgraceful Sentence

From time to time, one sees sentences being handed down in the courts which lead to you ask yourself what the judges/magistrates were thinking. Sometimes these sentences range from extremely harsh for what appears to be a simple demeanour committed by persons who are obviously propelled by nothing but desperation to a ridiculous slap on the wrist for someone who was driven by nothing but greed. And each time you have to ask yourself what kind of training programmes are there for judges/magistrates, especially since "the powers that be" seem to be so opposed to mandatory sentences.

The sentence which really "lick mi fi six:" so to speak, was reported in the Gleaner of November 4th 2011, under the headline Taxi driver sentenced to 12 years for attempted murder. This case referred to the terrible incident where a 12 year old girl was raped and buried alive by a taxi man Garsha Wilson who was known to her family. 
It was a spine chilling case when it was first reported last year and it remains so even with the passage of time. The question that now rises however, is how on earth could the judge sentence such a monster to only 12 years, which will probably see him coming out of jail much earlier, based on whatever grounds they use to release convicted criminals early.


On the other hand, this poor child, even with therapy, has received a life sentence at the hands of this monster. This sentence received makes absolutely no sense. 


One can feel nothing but sympathy for the mother who was reported in the Gleaner of Sunday 6th November as saying on hearing the sentence, "My head start hurting me right away and I begin to cry when I heard the man was sentenced to only 12 years".


According to the DPP, ".....unlike in certain jurisdictions, in Jamaica the crown cannot appeal against senctences". But isn't it time that we should be enacting legislation to give that right of appeal to the prosecution, for  far too many times when judges display to the public and all who are involved that they are totally out of sync with the realities of life, the matter should not just die there. 


Who really cares about the victims of crime in this country?

What's New?

In one fell swoop, the young, new prime minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness, has caused me to believe that he has nothing new or different to bring to the table of Jamaican politics.

The fell swoop is the acceptance of the embattled  former People's National Party (PNP) MP Sharon Hay Webster into the fold, to run for the Jamaica Labour Party.(JLP)

Readers may recall that Ms. Hay Webster had been for a years a solid member of the (PNP) and my leeriness about her arose from the fact that in 1995, Heather Robinson, the then PNP MP for South Central St. Catherine, resigned from that constitutive and politics on the grounds that she was not interested in "hugging up gunmen" who were trying to take over her constituency." She could get no assistance from her party to deal with the problem, (in fact, I got the distinct impression that the PNP solidly threw its support behind the gunmen at the expense of Ms. Robinson!)  and when she walked it was Ms. Hay Webster who took over the seat and she has prospered mightily in it.

Is it because she was prepared to and did hug up gunmen, why she survived so well in that seat?

The threat that Heather Robinson foresaw, came from a man called Bulby who successfully set up the "Klansman Gang". Since Robinson walked away, that gang grew by leaps and bounds mainly through the extortion racket in Spanish town and when Bulby was finally killed, he was said to be worth some $100 million.

Not only did the gang become super rich, but also their influence in the political sphere grew far and wide to the point where today, not only is the Klansman gang the enforcing arm of the PNP in South Central St. Catherine, but also in St. Catherine East Central. And their latest campaign has been to behead women and children.

So is Mrs. Hay Webster a politician off the order of a Ms. Heather Robinson? I don't think so.

Also, why is Ms. Hay Webster now ready to resign the seat (which she is not entitled to hold since she is a US citizen) and give up her US citizenship  whereas during her many years as a PNP parliamentarian, she insisted that she was qualified to remain in Parliament despite her dual citizenship status?

Ms. Hay Webster's entry into the JLP raises more questions than answers, especially since there is no way in hell that she is going to win that strong PNP seat, now that she is representing the JLP there.

This whole affair has nothing but a strong stench to it.

Fling Rockstone Inna Pig Pen

Who told me to fling rockstone inna pig pen? For the email responses (abuses) have certainly been amusing.

Let me make it clear that when I point to the age old sexist practice in certain quarters in Jamaica of only asking for accountability when women ascend to high office in public institutions, I am not at all saying that  for accountability and transparency is bad or malicious. By no means could this be so since I have been on record over the many decades,  demanding accountability from public servants.

However, what I detest is hypocrisy. For example, how come no one wanted accountability from the UDC when God ruled and we couldn't find out what public assets were being sold and for how much?

In the interest of transparency and accountability, will some parliamentary committee and powerful journalists start looking into the operations of important institutions such as the Public Defender's office, so we can find out how many hapless victims whom have suffered at the hands of government agents/agencies they have gotten justice for versus the number of complaints made to them? And how about the Fair Trading Commission among other important institutions to citizens? Or do we have to continue waiting for women to head these and other institutions before the searchlight can be put on them?

Help me to become less cynical about this society!