SHAMEFUL - Pan-Africanist blasts Jamaica’s move to petition to King today on reparations guidance Jamaica’s decision to lodge a petition today with King Charles to seek legal guidance on its slavery reparations claim from Britain has been branded as a disgrace by Pan-African advocate Dr Imani Tafari-Ama. “It is embarrassing. It is so embarrassing,” Tafari-Ama told The Gleaner yesterday. She noted that the Caribbean Community has already established a 10-point reparations plan to facilitate and guide the global African reparations movement.
JTA demands seat at table on school closures President of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA), La Sonja Harrison, is raising concern over what she describes as the lack of consultation regarding school closures and mergers. According to the JTA head, at least 10 schools are set to be merged or closed by the Government for this academic term. “We await where it is in the process of these consolidations and closures, that a conversation will be had with the union to represent our members,” she told The Gleaner.
Blake: Stand with colleagues, but not at expense of JCF Citing “recent allegations” involving members of the police force, Commissioner of Police Dr Kevin Blake has issued a caution to cops that supporting a colleague “does not mean shielding wrongdoing”. At the same time, Blake urged the men and women under his command to “reject the temptation to allow allegations to become convictions in the court of public opinion”. “The recent allegations involving members of the JCF have placed the organisation under significant scrutiny,” he wrote in last weekend’s Force Orders, making reference to the Jamaica Constabulary Force.
Staff crunch forcing specialist school to turn blind students away A guidance counsellor at the Salvation Army School for the Blind is calling for urgent support for the institution, as the current staffing levels are inadequate to address the needs of the students. Sean Harvey says the institution is at risk of breaching the Disabilities Act as it has had to turn away students who are in need of its services.
JAMVAC looks beyond the ports WESTERN BUREAU: Jamaica Vacations Limited (JAMVAC) is turning to some of its top international cruise sellers to help drive more passengers to the island – and, critically, get them to explore and spend more beyond the ports. The push comes as Jamaica moves to strengthen its position in an increasingly competitive cruise market, with passenger arrivals yet to regain their recent momentum.
NCU nursing students get a shot in the arm For more than two years, Northern Caribbean University (NCU) nursing student Anastacia Williams used an Android phone to complete university assignments, prepare PowerPoint presentations, work on Excel documents, and type lengthy academic papers. When the phone began falling apart, she held the screen together with an elastic band and kept working. Last Thursday, that struggle took a different turn when Williams received a HP laptop through a partnership involving AdventHealth, Andrews Memorial Hospital Limited, and NCU.
Ambulance errors - Door opens to expose lack of inspections, questions over state of private emergency services A botched emergency response at a multi-vehicle crash scene on Norman Manley Boulevard in Negril, Westmoreland, has led to the disclosure by the Ministry of Health and Wellness that the ambulance and company involved have not been inspected for operation. Several people were injured, two seriously, after a Toyota Coaster bus, Corolla Fielder and Toyota Voxy collided on the busy thoroughfare in July. However, the transport of the injured was hampered because the Jamaica Fire Brigade’s (JFB’s) ambulance was down for repairs.
Walking for a chance - Scarlett refuses to sit and wait for work By the time the morning sun begins beating down on Kingston’s asphalt, Doreen Lillian Scarlett is already sweating. Still, the 35-year-old keeps walking. With a bundle of résumés tucked under her arm, she has been moving from office to office across the Corporate Area, pausing only when someone is willing to take one. The journey, which started in July, has taken her through Half-Way Tree, New Kingston, Hope Road, Trafalgar Road and downtown, covering streets in the hope that, somewhere along the way, an employer will give her the chance she desperately needs.
BREAKING BARRIERS - Women’s Centre helping 139 teen moms to head back to school on Monday Nearly 140 adolescent mothers will return to school on Monday, a move executive director of the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation (WCJF), Novlette Howell, said reflects a shifting attitude towards the reintegration of teenage mothers into the classroom. “The notion where our girls are not getting into institutions, it’s a thing of the past,” she told The Gleaner.
Bartlett appeals for authentic Jamaican souvenirs WESTERN BUREAU: Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett is challenging Jamaica’s craft vendors and artisans to move away from imported souvenirs and seek to create authentic Jamaican products that showcase the island’s culture and creativity in their interactions with visitors. According to Bartlett, the planned physical transformation of the Old Fort Craft Market in Montego Bay, through a $53.5-million rehabilitation project, would mean little if vendors did not also seek to modernise what they produce and how they market it.