THE EDITOR: Madam: As we step into a new year, a personal dream that the post-Hurricane Melissa rebuilding will move beyond roads, bridges, and houses to the reconstruction of the very values that shape who we are. Recovery must be both physical...
THE EDITOR, Madam: Two months after Hurricane Melissa, the post-cabinet press briefing reported that there are approximately 100 shelters still active, housing approximately 1,107 displaced persons. Efforts are being made to bring aid to those...
THE EDITOR, Madam: The BBC’s report on calls to halt the Church of England’s £100m fund addressing its historical links to slavery risks overlooking a crucial dimension of Anglican history beyond England. The funds in question are not abstract...
THE EDITOR, Madam: In the wake of Hurricane Melissa and the ongoing challenges with our electricity supply, more people are turning to solar power. Unfortunately, the rapid growth of the solar industry has also created an environment where too...
THE EDITOR, Madam: The Caribbean is awash during the December festivities with messages from our leadership that do not reflect the reality of the homeless, the unemployed and poor finances. This year, those bon mots will vaporise into the New...
THE EDITOR, Madam: Hardship is often seen as evidence of failure and unworthiness – especially when others with equal chances seem more positive and self-fulfilled than you. It may result in sharpened feelings of personal abjection. Hurricane...
THE EDITOR, Madam: ‘Tis the season to give and receive, right? The holiday season is often seen by some of us as a blessing, a burden and a curse. The gathering of family and friends, the giving of gifts to all, demands much from us. Perhaps you...
THE EDITOR, Madam: I am writing with reference to the letter ‘Many rivers to cross Jamaica’, published in The Gleaner on December 24. The phrase, many rivers to coss, was popularised by Jimmy Cliff as a song in 1969. The song portrays life’s...
Winsome Callum | Why electricity bills increased — and how volatility can be fixed The frustration is valid — timing matters, especially after a hurricane and heading into Christmas, when households and businesses are already stretched. Even if...
THE EDITOR, Madam: We join Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) in calling on legislators to introduce a narrowly defined statutory close-in-age defence to Jamaica’s sexual offences framework. Such a reform would ensure that no criminal offence arises...
THE EDITOR, Madam: Jamaica’s long-term stability and progress depend on whether policymakers remain connected to the people they serve. At this moment, the most urgent reform facing the country is the practice of listening. The new generation are...
Published:Wednesday | December 24, 2025 | 12:13 AM
THE EDITOR, Madam: Attorney-at-law Bert Samuels raises an important and timely concern about language, power, and identity in post-emancipation societies. His reference to Roots, adapted from the work of Alex Haley, is apt: the renaming of Kunta...
Published:Wednesday | December 24, 2025 | 12:12 AM
THE EDITOR, Madam: Given the current disruptions to the schools that are still facilitating Hurricane Melissa victims, permanent and practical solutions must be found. In this era of climate challenges and climate change, and given that Jamaica...
Published:Wednesday | December 24, 2025 | 12:11 AM
THE EDITOR, Madam: ‘Trump’s ‘oily’ reasoning is not entirely unreasonable, as it is ExxonMobil that added their technology to the raw material to create Venezuela’s wealth from oil in the finding and processing of the resource. Now America is...
Published:Wednesday | December 24, 2025 | 12:10 AM
THE EDITOR, Madam: The Jamaican governments do not wield the power people think it does. More than half of the expectations placed on it are beyond its control. The power lies with the two per cent who control 95 per cent of the economy. They...
THE EDITOR, Madam: Just a few years ago, I would have completely rejected the idea of using desalination plants for water supply but after reading Kristen Gyles thoughtful piece on the topic in The Gleaner on Friday, December 19, my thinking has...
THE EDITOR, Madam: Alex Haley’s TV series Roots casts his slavery re-enactment story around the renaming of an enslaved young man through cruel flogging. Kunta Kinte – called ‘Kunta’ by his parents before his kidnapping and capture by white slave...
THE EDITOR, Madam: Government institutions such as the National Water Commission (NWC) have perfected the art of turning necessary infrastructure upgrades into exercises in human suffering. Too often, their operations make daily life unbearable,...
THE EDITOR, Madam: Few public officials in modern Jamaica have served as long in a single portfolio as Justice Minister Delroy Chuck. Such longevity invites neither praise nor condemnation by default; it demands careful evaluation. The proper...
THE EDITOR, Madam: The US has been involved with Venezuela since oil was discovered there about a century ago, and, for a time, major American companies controlled 98 per cent of the production. Things changed when President Andrés Pérez...
THE EDITOR, Madam: It was recently announced by the United States administration that they have imposed travel bans against citizens of countries like Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria. They have also imposed restrictions on...
THE EDITOR, Madam: The recent call by Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) for decriminalisation of consensual sex between minors requires urgent scrutiny. While framed as a human rights issue, the proposal fundamentally seeks to recognise a legal...
THE EDITOR, Madam: I recently watched a video in which the minister of health engaged members of the public, particularly men, in discussion about declining sperm counts and reduced rates of fatherhood. The minister is to be commended for...
THE EDITOR, Madam: I wish to commend Mr Ronald Thwaites for his thought-provoking article in The Gleaner, dated December 15, titled ‘Why Civility Matters’. The article aptly highlights the absence of civility in Jamaican leadership and urges us...
