COVID stop keep?
Dear Editor,From all protocols observed to all protocols removed. The Government's navigation of the novel coronavirus pandemic for the last two years has been interesting, to say the least.The March...
View ArticleLet's rethink mandatory minimums
Dear Editor,It has often been said that Jamaica has a gun culture. Based on what I see taking place currently it would be difficult for me to disagree.A significant proportion of the songs being put...
View ArticleYes to republic, no to hate
Dear Editor,We have been hearing voices calling for the removal of the monarchy from those who have walked in the halls of political power and reaped its benefits while leaving the people in economic...
View ArticleInflation concerns
Dear Editor,At a regular Mayberry Investor Forum on January 12, Minister of Finance Dr Nigel Clarke told investors not to worry about inflation. "I do not believe that inflation ought to be a...
View ArticleTo The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
Dear Editor,I write this open letter to The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Catherine, against the background of much cherished sentiments attached to memories of the beautiful wedding of...
View ArticleBig up, Miss Judith, Courts Portmore
Dear Editor,As consumers, many of us have become accustomed to mediocre or even bad customer service. But, for the rest of us, we must continue to require the best in our experiences and acknowledge...
View ArticleWe cannot change history
Dear Editor,I note with consternation the suggestions that street names and names of historical monuments which record our colonial past should be changed. We cannot change history; therefore, a...
View ArticleInstitutions of propoganda
Dear Editor,After the so-called abolition of slavery in 1834, the white men came up with this teachers' college thing which is paying off even today.And so, via our teachers' colleges, the white...
View ArticleApologise, Rosalea Hamilton!
Dear Editor,Given the credentials of Professor Rosalea Hamilton, one expected better of her.So as not to allow her to further embarass herself after publicly insulting the royals during their visit by...
View ArticleColonial hypocrisy
Dear Editor,I write with great disappointment at the attitude of many citizens regarding the royal visit of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Catherine.It seems that we have become...
View ArticleGuns are not the problem
Dear Editor,The efforts of the Government of the day in tackling gun crimes via the more severe penalties provided in the prospective Firearms Act and the 'Get the guns' campaign have critical flaws,...
View ArticleHow many apologies are required?
Dear Editor,How often should descendants apologise for an act that their great-grandparents already made an apology for? In the context of presendence and the royal prerogative, it is not correct to...
View ArticleTime to celebrate a President's Day
Dear Editor, Prime Minister Andrew Holness should, on Saturday, August 6, 2022, announce the date of a referendum to remove The Queen as Jamaica's head of State.My understanding is that, once there's...
View ArticleApology and reparation will come
Dear Editor,With the world becoming one community where knowledge and information is readily available, it is increasingly challenging to hide, disguise, or even misrepresent facts.The global...
View ArticleWe will not forget
D ear Editor,Against the background of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's visit commemorating the 70th anniversary of the coronation of The Queen, we need to remind ourselves what the monarchy means...
View ArticleThe royal farewell
Dear Editor,The protests in Jamaica over the visit of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge made international news.I read reports in the UK, USA, and Canadian media and was pleased to see how Jamaicans...
View ArticleGet ready for the republic
Dear Editor,Now that the visit of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge is history, the real work of republican-minded Jamaicans should now begin.Few would admit that the royal visit was a godsend to...
View ArticleBring on the excitement!
Dear Editor,If you study human beings, sooner or later you will notice that the last thing they want is to be bored.Thus, if the economy is a boring topic, the best way to get around it is to destroy...
View ArticleTribute to the great facilitators who moulded my character
Dear Editor,It was the year 2008, I was 27, stepping through the gates of the Vocational Training Development Institute (VTDI), very timid but assertive, unaware but open, and eager to learn with no...
View ArticleWill white hubris lead to a nuclear holocaust?
Dear Editor,On February 27 Russian President Vladimir Putin raised the global stress and fear factor a few notches when he placed Russia's nuclear forces on high alert. Since that time the...
View ArticleLet's be guided by the research
Dear Editor, Recent acts of murder have led to the usual public discourse in which many prattle about the death penalty being the sole solution to the nation's crime problem.This opinion ignores or is...
View ArticleAn unbalanced budget
Dear Editor,The budget is an instrument which provides an indication of a Government's priorities and policy direction.Coming out of the COVID-19 experience there should be no clearer priority for the...
View ArticleDo we have our ducks in a row?
Dear Editor, The recent visit by Prince William has reignited conversations about Jamaica becoming a republic and being paid reparation.While I have no problem with Jamaica being a republic, as I...
View ArticleParents, you have work to do
Dear Editor,If ever there was a time that parents were called to play their part in the upbringing of their child, it's now.The job of parenting is a full-time one with vacation after 18 years. This...
View ArticleSwift and fearless action required
Dear Editor,The lush and beautiful parish of Westmoreland, known in its heyday for its burgeoning sugar cane production and other bustling economic activities, is now conspicuously stifled and...
View ArticleSometimes you have to fight...or slap
Dear Editor,I woke up the morning after Will Smith dished out an open-palm slap to the face of Chris Rock, and at first I wondered if it was staged, but the expletive-filled interchange after the slap...
View ArticleThe scourge of night noise
Dear Editor,I can't recall ever being in a supermarket, wholesale outlet, store, bank, or any other business place in Jamaica and hearing religious music playing or songs of praise to God. I have only...
View ArticleRemittances should not buy Senate seats
Dear Editor,I know a lot of Jamaicans in the Diaspora will be upset with this letter, but it is what it is, and it is not 'badmind'.I believe former Prime Minister Bruce Golding was the first...
View ArticleAre you serious, senator?
Dear Editor,On March 28, 2022, during the 6 am newscast, I heard an item of news on the radio that left me speechless.Believing that I hadn't heard properly, I listened to the subsequent newscast at 7...
View ArticlePeople kill people
Dear Editor,A letter by Andre O Sheppy appearing in the Jamaica Observer titled 'Guns are not the problem' cited a relative and interesting truth that guns don't kill people, people do.Although an...
View ArticleEquality for all
Dear Editor,The recent visit of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge has breathed new life into conversations surrounding reparation and Jamaica becoming a republic.Meeting with the royals on March 24,...
View ArticleTo slap or not to slap
Dear Editor,The Oscars for 2022 will be remembered by people generally and black people specifically for two main things.The first, was Will Smith becoming the fifth black person to win an Oscar in...
View ArticlePortmore, a parish? Ridiculous!
Dear Editor,I think that the move to make Portmore our 15th parish is a ridiculous idea. It doesn't even have the services of other municipalities.The Government seems to have decided to make it a...
View ArticleWhy that slap mattered
Dear Editor,I read Mark Trough's letter in the Jamaica Observer titled, 'Sometimes you have to fight...or slap', I thought I'd add some comments.I watched the Oscars live, and was literally horrified...
View ArticleHolistic strategies needed to manage violence in schools, minister
Dear Editor,The country has been recording single-digit positivity rates two years after the novel coronavirus flew down from the mother land Britain. The two years were detrimental, especially for...
View ArticleCreating the illusion of good governance
Dear Editor,In his political satire 1984, George Orwell famously developed a notion of an official language for the authoritarian State called Newspeak. The purpose of Newspeak was "to diminish the...
View ArticleCredit unions don't cull membership
Dear Editor,On Wednesday March 30, 2022 an article was published in the Jamaica Observer under the headline 'Credit unions culling membership'. Much of the information carried in the article...
View ArticleToo much clamouring on Portmore parish
Dear Editor,I have watched, listened and read the varied views about Portmore becoming a parish.Majority of the views speak to the various amenities a parish should have to be so named.The law, at...
View ArticleReggae has transcended Jamaica
Dear Editor,Among the reactions to the band SOJA winning the 2022 Grammy Awards were these words: "This is like colonisation again."What we have forgotten is that Jamaican music has dominated the...
View ArticleWhy the outrage?
Dear Editor,Why are Jamaicans reacting to the concept of a guard ring as if it is an anomaly? And please note that I am not advocating for the use of the ring, but the prevailing brouhaha requires an...
View ArticleJamaica doesn't take orders
Dear Editor, Like many Jamaicans, I am absolutely proud that our country has presented the candidature of Kamina Johnson Smith for the post of secretary general of the Commonwealth. Johnson Smith has...
View ArticleEnd one year of deplorable silence!
Dear Editor,It is now one year since Member of Parliament (MP) George Wright and Tannisha Singh made independent reports of a "physical altercation" to the police on April 6, 2021. Members of the...
View ArticleJ'can children in need of mental health intervention
Dear Editor,The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) joins the nation in expressing deep concern and distress about the recent spate of violent incidents that have claimed the lives of children...
View ArticleBaseless opposition to the CCJ, Observer
Dear Editor,The Jamaica Observer has been consistently expressing opposition to the accession of Jamaica to the appellate jurisdiction of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).This opposition is not...
View ArticleTime to establish another glass factory
Dear Editor,I am not sure how many people are aware, but every glass container that is used in Jamaica is imported. It is one of the main packaging materials used in the manufacturing of liquor, beer,...
View ArticleSwim, float, or drown
Dear Editor,The United States, the European Union, Brazil, and India, in recent times, have all witnessed a resurgence of the same brand of conservative right-wing politics that laid the foundation...
View ArticleNutrition in schools
Dear Editor,Children in Jamaica exist in a school environment that is historically academically inefficient, and now we are realising is also nutritionally poor.There are startling trends in...
View ArticleWanted: A Ministry of Housing
Dear Editor, I was hoping that we would have kept Pearnel Charles Jr and his portfolio the Ministry of Housing, Urban Renewal, Environment and Climate Change.It would have been good to have the Real...
View ArticleProtection orders and domestic violence
Dear Editor,The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) recently reported that there is an increase in incidents of domestic violence, and as such, the judiciary of Jamaica wants to use this medium to remind...
View ArticleActions, interactions and reactions
Dear Editor,Recently we heard the verdict of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Board of Governors on the slap that was seen and heard around the world on live televeision by about 80...
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