Golding’s move Despite not being able to implement policy decisions from his position in Parliament, much is expected when Opposition Leader Mark Golding makes his presentation this afternoon in the 2026–2027 Budget Debate at Gordon House. Golding, the third speaker in the annual debate, will take the floor after Opposition finance spokesman Julian Robinson spoke last Thursday in response to Finance Minister Fayval Williams, who opened the debate last Tuesday.
Witness rejects suggestions murdered businessman linked to undesirables A relative of slain businessman William Christian took the witness stand on Monday in the ongoing Clansman Gang trial, identifying items belonging to the deceased and rejecting suggestions that the former Ministry of Transport employee was involved in questionable activities. The evidence-in-chief surrounds count 19 of the 32-count indictment where Michael Wildman and Lamar Rowe are charged with the April 2020 murder of Christian. Both men pleaded not guilty.
Reid fraud trial pushed back again The absence of several defence attorneys in the fraud trial involving former Education Minister Ruel Reid and his co-accused forced an adjournment of the matter in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court yesterday. The case was scheduled to resume with the cross-examination of a senior Ministry of Finance official by attorney Hugh Wildman. However, when the matter was called up, none of the defence lawyers were present, prompting the court to briefly stand down to allow attempts to contact the attorneys.
St Bess cops concerned as more than 400 students still out of school after Melissa WESTERN BUREAU: Superintendent of Police Coleridge Minto, the commander for St Elizabeth, is raising concern about the fact that some 400 students from across the parish have not returned to school since the passage of Hurricane Melissa last October. According to Minto, who was addressing last Thursday’s monthly meeting of the St Elizabeth Municipal Corporation, the figure was derived from checks conducted by members of the police’s Community Safety and Security Branch at schools across the parish.
MoBay mayor wants update from auditor general on street light restoration WESTERN BUREAU: Montego Bay Mayor Richard Vernon wants the Auditor General’s Department to provide an update on the post-Hurricane Melissa arrangement between the Government and the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) to restore electricity, citing concerns about the lack of working street lights in several sections of St James.
Mom of six only wanted Bible after home burned down WESTERN BUREAU: When fire destroyed the modest two-bedroom board house she struggled for years to build, single mother Natalie Watson lost everything – her beds, clothes, furniture, and the roof she had already rebuilt after a hurricane. However, in the hours after the blaze, which left her homeless in Bamboo Old Pen, Hanover, the first thing Watson asked for was a Bible. “I didn’t think about the furniture or anything that burn up,” Watson told The Gleaner. “All that come to my mind was that my Bible burn. I say, ‘God, I don’t want to miss my lesson’.”
WEIGHT OF WAR Fiscal Commissioner Courtney Williams has sounded a warning that the geopolitical tensions in the Middle East are posing a material risk to the Jamaican economy, and that a prolonged conflict could lead to worsened terms of trade and amplified price pass-through effects, along with higher production costs, as well as dampened economic activity and confidence.
Monroe Ellis: Law needed to close climate change response gap Auditor General (AuG) Pamela Monroe Ellis says the Jamaican Government has laid a solid foundation for the country’s climate response, but is warning of the absence of climate legislation to create legally enforceable standards and oversight mechanisms. Her assessment was made in a 27-page report on Jamaica’s climate response, tabled in the House of Representatives last week.
Mayor: Dredging harbour could fix Lucea’s flooding problem Western Bureau: Lucea Mayor Sheridan Samuels, who is spearheading the call for a national response to the spate of recent floodings in Hanover, believes the dredging of the town’s harbour to address the build-up of silt is key to solving the problem. According to Samuels, who grew up in Lucea as a child, the regular flooding that is now taking place did not occur in former years; and while acknowledging the role of climate change in the weather pattern, and the fact that the town is below sea level, he believes dredging is at least a part of the answer to the problem.
Costly crimes It is costing Caribbean nations a combined US$190 billion to deal with the effects of crime and violence, an official at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has revealed. Jason Wilks, senior sector specialist at the IDB, says this accounts for 3.7 per cent of gross domestic product for countries in the Caribbean. Despite this, Wilks said Caribbean countries are spending “maybe US$15 billion to US$20 billion” on compliance.