Only in Jamaica: One politician builds his wife a kitchen valued at $7 million; another and his family take a vacation valued at $10 million; another builds a house for $120 million; and yet another is building one with a projected cost of $250 million.
The above was reported in the Gleaner today and should not be passed off as simple chit chat and warrants some serious investigative work by an investigative journalist.
Who are these politicians ?
Which side of the political fence do they sit on ?
Where is the source of funding ?
Test can you launch an investigation and tell us who these politicians are.
Filed under: Corruption |
Warren's Blog 
Test can you launch an investigation and tell us who these politicians are.
Unfortunately Jay, I do not have the resources at my beck and call to perform this request competently. Maybe you should send the request over to (“your”) research department at G2K? After all, they seem to provide a steady stream of material for your blog. 😀
You wouldn’t believe this, but when I read the article in the Gleaner gossip section, you immediately came to mind. Should it matter which side of the political fence they sit on? If you could only confirm they are Comrades….oh bwoy, you would have a field day.
How come you haven’t said anything about the de-throned JLP Counselor from Clarendon who was arrested for selling stolen Gasoline from his House. I think he had a large number of stolen Truck Tires too. Jay, what’s going with the JLP Counselors from Calrendon? Three of them are being investigated for receiving salaries from various Government bodies, while also receiving full salary for the Parish Council duties. As you know, this is illegal, yet they were doing this for many years to the tune of over $24 millions. Jay, how much did the Government of Jamaica forfeit from the Azan matter again? Will you join me in calling for their immediate resignation? I need your supporting voice on this, since you have made it a career in calling for various resignations from the Comrade Ministers and even the ex-JACO lady, Ms. Renee Anne Shirley (I wonder if she is a comrade why you have started attacking the woman for doing her job?).
Here is my contribution:
: Jamaica Ganja Growers Association- A Hegemonic base for the new plantocracy
It is a typical saying through the grapevine that some prominent Jamaicans especially from the ethnic minorities were financiers or even dealers in marijuana. This story keeps circulating in the corridors of research, everytime I spoke to people who were either planters, traffickers or exporters of the drug.In a research for my upcoming book:Dry Harbour Mountain, the cradle of Jamaica’s export trade, almost all major small planters across the length and breadth of South West St. Ann have convinced me since 2001 ( 13 years of documentation) that the grown weed was purchased and exported by element s untouchable from Upper St. Andrew years before hippies and US mafia and ex-Vietnam fighters found their way to St. Ann hotels and beaches searching for those who grew the weed in Murray Mountains, Aboukir Woods, Nine Miles, Caarnie, Big Ruuinit, McKenzie, Bensonton, Pedro and a host of other villages in the lush and verdant limestone hills and rolling plateau of middle Jamaica.
Then after years of exploiting the small gania growers, being influenced by the Colorada sale of recreational and medicinal marijuana all sort of conspirators acting as men with honest intention , albeit having their hidden and personal agendas are calling for corporate alliances to plant and distribute marijuana. Why were they silent when the small men and peasantry were growing the weed, taking the heat of the security forces, suffering financially and bodily at the destructive chemicals unleashed by helicopters from the west, sacrificing their lives , getting arrested and convicted , and shunned by society including my villagers as they saw ”ganja men” (men violating the law for quick riches) as bogeymen and menace to the fabric of local villages life.
It is my opinion many of this -so called Ganga Growers Association has an agenda for control and exploitation of the peasantry for their own greedy ,s elfish selves. I can also bet that many of them must have some knowledge or connection with the illegal export of the 70’s and 80’s . Many I presume were clandestinely involved or had made their wealth in yesteryear and now want to come into the light. Are these growers hopping on the passage of recent legislation in the US North West to legitimize their former involvement? Can they speak and tell the nation how they will catalyse production , eradicate poverty, help national development , and narrow the social inequity prevailing in this society of class, colour, race and political tribalism? Will their entrepreneurial skills and “old boys club’ network engage in activities that can alleviate the social ills suppressing the marginalized? Are they waiting on the ganja prohibition to do like what occurred in the USA when prohibition was abolished? It was that time all previous bootleggers, rum and whisky smugglers, tax dodgers took their ill gotten wealth to provide capital for operations in Havana, Cuba , Nevada, Arizona and in Sin City, Las Vegas. We certainly read or by way of the movies learn of those who were involved in illicit liquor becoming enterprising , men such as Charlie”Lucky” Luciano , Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel and Al Capone from the New York and Chicago crime families rinsing their dirty money from previous shadowy activities.
I believe that the worst thing can happen to this marijuana in Jamaica is to legalise it. It will never benefit the marginalized ! it will become a crop for another rich man and his political associates . Who will comprise these committee? Certainly not the poor farmers, neither the ganja small trader. The spokesman benefitting from the financial windfall will be those who are in the middle class – lawyers, doctors, politicians, big businessmen and academics. If these people have good intentions , then the poverty and social problems riding this nation would not be present. If the forces of academic brilliance, business entrepreneurship and political chicanery cannot reduce the true unemployment figure from over 30%, then how an association of egoistic power elites will alleviate today’s persistent poverty. It is all a dream , all a farce. Let the ganja remain illegal!! Furthermore, more research needs to go into this drug pertaining to mental health. There are persons whose brain have been damaged from smoking marijuana. There are many from my time at high school whose life had been shattered by not able to control their smoking appetite for the weed. Not every Jamaican is a ganja smoker and not every Jamaican relish marijuana. On a personal note , I took my daughter to shop downtown one Christmas and the ganja smoke by the elements from the ghetto was so heavy , the thick smoke permeated the air of the vendors’ shops and nearly knock out my daughter . I dared not ask those smoking to stop because their demeanour , background and behaviour were reflective of thugs.
I close with pleading with the government not to bow to a selfish group , because it will be another or additional plantocracy which will remind us daily of current slavery.
They are all sharpening their teeth. I have the same belief if Jamaica was lucky to find oil, the poor would be as poor as they are today, the boys club would become more powerful and the country would continue to experience high crime and poverty.