In Focus

An ODPEM convoy at toll booth at Mammee Bay, St Ann, delivering relief supplies to storm‑hit parishes.
December 9, 2025

Mark Wignall | Bad move with ODPEM

Had I not stored up a somewhat acute understanding of our local political community, I would have found it most peculiar that the PM sent us a body shift and moved the office of ODPEM under the…
In this September 2025 photo, members of parliament are seen at a sitting in Gordon House.
December 9, 2025

Gordon Robinson | Do the math

For the next two years the most important cabinet member is likely to be the Finance Minister. Some night say that’s always so. Not really. When things are going well, Finance Minister only counts…
Gleaner editorial writes: ... we repeat our proposal of a governance structure for the NRRA that gives Parliament broad oversight of the authority, thereby not only widening its transparency but ensuring a role for the political opposition.
December 9, 2025

Carol Archer | Defending urban-planning profession in Jamaica

The planning profession in Jamaica has long been at the forefront of shaping the nation’s physical, social, and economic landscape. It expanded significantly after Hurricane Charlie devastated the…
Ambassador of Japan to Jamaica, Yasuhiro Atsumi, hands over the keys for a bus to principal of the Clarendon-based Rest Primary and Infant School, Sandra Smith, during a ceremony held at the institution.
December 9, 2025

Yasuhiro Atsumi | Thank you, Jamaica! You will rise stronger after Melissa!

On behalf of the people and Government of Japan, I would like to express my sincere condolences and sympathy to all the people and the Government of Jamaica for the lives lost and horrible damages…
Sixty year old Juliet Clarke of Ipswich, St. Elizabeth, sits atop the rubble of her three bedrood board house after it collapsed during the passage of Hurricane Melissa.
December 9, 2025

Jalil Dabdoub | Trapped in tribalism: A nation held hostage — even in the face of disaster

Recently, I debated someone who took issue with my view that Jamaicans still see politics almost exclusively through orange and green lenses. While the overt violence of old has faded, political…
This photo shows household items piled in a mud-strewn section of Catherine Hall, Montego Bay, St James.
December 9, 2025

Gordon Robinson | We see you

The last thing Jamaica needs now is division among Jamaicans. Jamaica should have one goal; one purpose; one mindset. First and foremost, to deliver basic humanitarian relief like food, water,…
A house in Edmund Ridge housing scheme in Montego Bay, St. James which lost its roof during the passage of Hurricane Melissa.
December 9, 2025

Patricia Green | Strapping roofs can’t be the solution

“… Close the window weh de wind cum from. Open de other side. Do de same when de eye turn …”. How many Jamaicans and Caribbean people have passed on this knowledge to successive generations during the…
This 2024 photo shows houses in Portland Cottage damaged by Hurricane Beryl.
December 9, 2025

Neil Richards | Consequences of building on very dangerous sites

There is a fatal attraction to the practice of building on dangerous sites that seem to be ‘easy pickings’ for unauthorised occupation. Persons who squat on public or private land, seem to be embolden…
Structures are seen submerged under water in Cave Valley, St Ann, after the passage of Hurricane Melissa.
December 9, 2025

Mark Wignall | Long-term pain

With little pretence, he said, over furrowed brows and 60 years on his clock, “As time passes it becomes crystal clear that Melissa caused more death, destruction, turmoil, and mayhem than one could…