Commentary

This photo shows houses damaged in Black River, St Elizabeth by Hurricane Melissa.
December 9, 2025

Ronald Thwaites | Paths to recovery?

Explain to us, simple folks, how economic recovery is engineered when probably half of our people have lost most everything and have no earnings to pay for food and provide shelter. Faced with this…
People are seen waiting outside a polling station at Morant Bay Primary School, St Thomas to cast their votes in September’s general election.
December 9, 2025

Lloyd Barnett | Fixed dates for general and by-elections

The question of whether or not there should be fixed election dates has been one of long and intense debate. Section 64(2) of Jamaica’s Constitution provides that Parliament continues for five years…
A collapsed section of roadway to Beeston Spring, Westmoreland.
December 9, 2025

Howard Beckford | Urgent need to decentralise post Hurricane Melissa

Hurricane Melissa did more than devastate homes, infrastructure, and livelihoods across Jamaica. It exposed a weakness we have ignored for far too long. Our highly centralised system of government…
Bamboo plants
December 9, 2025

Bryndís Davis | A bamboo-tastic answer to plastic

Bamboo boasts a long and rich cultural history. Used for thousands of years in the construction of homes, bridges, and furniture, bamboo is woven into the fabric of human design and innovation, dating…
Humanitarian aid sits on the tarmac at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, Jamaica in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa.
December 9, 2025

Editorial | From Melissa to national renewal

After the massive destruction it caused in the west of the island in late October, the most powerful story of Hurricane Melissa is not bureaucratic. It is of something deeply human upon which Jamaica…
The Caribbean Regional Logistics Hub, at Grantley Adams International Airport, Barbados.
December 9, 2025

Editorial | Expand CDEMA’s footprint

Hurricane Melissa is a reminder of the vulnerabilities in disaster preparedness across the Caribbean. The devastation caused by this Category 5 storm in Jamaica makes a strong case for strengthening…
Responders listen to PAHO/WHO representative, Ian Stein, as he delivers his “catch of the day” update on post-Hurricane Melissa relief efforts.
December 9, 2025

Dennis Zulu | Hurricane Melissa: Why coordination is the difference between chaos and recovery

As I reflect on the last three weeks since Hurricane Melissa tore through southwestern Jamaica with winds exceeding 260 km/h, one thing is clear, I can tell you with certainty: the difference between…
December 9, 2025

Tony Deyal | Three dogs and a cat

My first dogs were Devil and Blacks, and, because of his coat, my favourite dog was Rugs. My wife Indranie loves dogs coming and going. This is our story. Lovely Lucy, the most petite of our three…
Children suffering from malnutrition are treated at an MSF clinic in Metche Camp, Chad, near the Sudanese border.
December 9, 2025

Ronald Sanders | Hunger and war: The oldest crime the world still permits

The governments of the world’s powerful nations have learned to live with disregard for human suffering. That is the bleak truth behind a new UN report whose numbers should shame every leader or…