UWI MONA an Intellectual ghetto ?

The behaviour by students, many in their final year and who intends to enter the work place come August of this year, was one of the most disgraceful behaviour I have seen, from persons who should represents some of the most educated among the population.

Many students who studied hard and paid their fees were prevented from doing their exams by persons, many of whom are selfish and are seeking a free ride on the way to a degree.

I agree time is hard and money is  diffcult to come by, but how can one explain a student armed with a blackberry torch valued at over $60,000 , not paying tution or hall fees, that is unacceptable. Yes, there are many who are  having a difficult time and these truly needy student should have done more,  to work with the UWI administration on some form of a payment plan, there are NO FREE lunches.

The decision by the UWI to meet and come to some sort of an “agreement” with the students, though seemimgly ending amicably, has no doubt sent a very wrong signal to others and could come back to haunt the UWI in the future.

Now if I was a student who made extreme sacrifice to forgo some of those expense gadgets so as to pay my fees, studied hard and was sitting my exam today before being rudely dislodged by these hooligans, I would truly feel cheated.

Once again in Jamaica, “the man/woman who played by the rules and did all the right things, got shafted”. 

On the other hand those who refused, where rewarded.

Why were the 14 JLP Councillors paid ?

They were paid a total sum of just over $1m even though they were never sworn in and have done no work to date.  The fact is these folks should never be paid and as such the sum paid to the Councillors should be withdrawn from their next pay cheque or they should be asked to return these funds.

We cannot afford to pay people who does not work. The JLP councillors should do the honourable thing and return the money forthwith !

It’s as if the old Peoples National Party had never left !!

It’s as if the old People’s National Party (PNP) had never left. Any impression of freshness created by the sprinkling of new faces in the old Cabinet has been obliterated by the return of the old brigade of advisers and technical experts, many of whom contributed in no small way to running the economy aground in the 1990s. The economic incoherence, dysfunction and the crippling debt they helped to produce remain with us to this day

During its previous 18-and-a-half-year tenure, the PNP was either oblivious of, or deliberately ignored, critical signposts warning of the looming economic disaster that now engulfs us. The closure of dozens of manufacturing facilities, including many of Jamaica’s largest and most prestigious such as Colgate-Palmolive, Gillette and Reckitt & Colman, and the rise in the informal sector (better described as commercial chaos), were among these cautioning markers. The result: Jamaica fell from its position as a top economic performer among CARICOM states to be the region’s most dysfunctional economy.

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120429/cleisure/cleisure2.html

Jamaica’s economy ” highly energy inefficient” .

Experts have described Jamaica’s economy as “highly energy inefficient” because 95 percent of the island’s energy needs comes from imported petroleum. Electricity generation uses 23 percent of oil imports, in part because of ageing equipment, theft and inefficiencies in the distribution system

 

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=107620

Contractor General standing in the way of development ?

Green left out of another “flag” at a public function

This time it at a function held in Portmore and hosted by Mayor Lee. One could see someone rushing to add green  because only the black and the gold wrap around were on the display.

This really shows that there appears to be an orchestrated attempt by agents of the state to remove the green as a colour from Jamaica flag, where possible.

SHAMEFUL !!

Barbados Prime Minister says no need for IMF

There is no need for support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for Barbados.

He added that despite the challenging economic times, there were no public service job losses, no public servants’ salary cuts, and health care remained affordable and accessible.

Mr. Stuart further stated that unemployment benefits were also increased from 26 weeks to 40 weeks, and free bus transportation for school children was introduced in an effort to ensure minimal dislocation to families.

http://rjrnewsonline.com/business/barbados-prime-minister-says-no-need-imf

 

Will I live to see Jamaica being able boast about being able to quit borrowing and start to to provide real support for Jamaicans. Maybe instead of going to Washington, our politicians should take a trip to this East Caribbean country to see what is there secret to success.

Contractor General deeply troubled by Dr Omar Davis statement!

The  OCG has released the following statement in response to Dr Omar Davis most inappropriate comments recently regarding the US$600M works project.  Greg was off the island when the statement was made. See link below

OCG responds to Omar Davis

Trash Disposal Complicates Climate Change Fight in Jamaica

The Minister of Climate change was given a council recently, but it appears they have yet to begin any real work. Here is a article looking at the climate situation here in Jamaica.

 For more than a week this past February, the city choked on the acrid smoke that forced schools and business to close. It racked up millions of dollars in lost production and an estimated 60 million dollars in firefighting costs as the city tried to combat yet another fire at Kingston’s Riverton city dump.

 

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=107578

Former Jamaica Resident Charged In Lottery Fraud Scheme

The six-count indictment named Jeffery Augustus Bernard, 23, formerly from Jamaica, as a defendant.

The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 105 years in prison, a fine of $1,750,000, or both.  Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/paw/news/2012/2012_february/2012_02_29_04.html

 

What can Jamaica learn from the USA, firstly we may want to learn how to catch these crooks and secondly learn what real punishment looks like.