Tuesday, February 19, 2019

TUESDAY

$75

FEBRUARY 19, 2019 | VOL 185 NO 50 43

PAGES: 60 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com

GCT INC.

Barita believes in Jamaican excellence

1 DAY TO GO

As one of the long-standing pillars of the financial industry in independent Jamaica, we at Barita feel tremendously privileged to be able to invest in building Brand Jamaica – not only in a literal sense via our unit trust and other investment products, but also by supporting endeavours that incentivise and encourage excellence. We believe that Jamaica has significant potential as we continuously punch above our weight in the financial industry, athletics, music and in helping to shape world culture. WeshareGovernorGeneralSirPatrickAllen’s sentiments that“there is nothing wrong with Jamaica that cannot be fixed by what is right

withJamaica”.Weareexceedinglybullishabout the futureofJamaica.Webelieve inexcellence. We believe in Jamaican excellence. We, therefore, publicly commend the RJRGLEANER Communications Group for building this storied institution called the Honour Awards.We would also like to con- gratulate the winners in this year’s staging. To those who were nominated and to future nominees, we say thank you for being what is right with Jamaica. Dianne Wallace Head of Marketing Barita Investments Limited

The RJRGLEANER Honour Awards pro- gramme,started in1979,recogisesthe initiative,accomplishmentandcourage of individualsororganisationsthathave contributed significantly to improving Jamaica’s quality of life, at any time in the preceding 12 months, or is likely to bring about such a change in the immediate future.

INSURANCE HAZARD Study finds most motorists driving without coverage

Carlene Davis/Gleaner Writer M ORE THAN half the vehicles in Jamaica are uninsured, a statistic that is of huge con- cern to road-safety officials and one which the police consider “frightening”.

tractors, trailers and trucks, 52 per cent had no insurance policies. Peter Levy, president of the IAJ, disputes those numbers, arguing that his organisa-

tion estimates that a little more than two-thirds of vehicles are insured. “We believe that the range of uninsured vehicles suggested in the [research] is higher than the actual figure. Our estimate is in the region of 30 per cent,” the insurance honcho told The Gleaner , adding that IAJ data indicate about 350,000 insur- ance policies. “This is still too high in our opinion. That is why we are working with eGov Jamaica to

A study conducted by the Jamaica National Group, based on data culled from Tax Administration Jamaica and the Insurance Association of Jamaica (IAJ), shows that up to 57 per cent of vehicles were not covered by an insurer in 2016. Of a gross figure of 609,086 vehicles registered, only 259,269 were insured.

Musical notes blare from a bugle played by Michael Johnson (right), a member of the Eagles Drum and Bugle Corps, as his bandmembers, alongwith two other bands, joined in giving a lively send-off to the Eagles Drumand Bugle Corps bandmaster. The service for Caroletta Goulbourne was held at the Kingston Seventh-day Baptist Church on Charles Street in downtown Kingston on Sunday. GLADSTONE TAYLOR/MULTIMEDIA PHOTO EDITOR

LEVY

bring online a database of insurance informa- tion for vehicles, to aid in enforcing the law and PLEASE SEE HAZARD, A3

But other data which the researchers gleaned from TAJ and IAJ are in conflict with those statistics, indicating a slightly lower variation. That analysis shows that of 537,449 motor cars, motorcycles,

Cops lose appeal in INDECOM ruling

Nickoy Wilson/Gleaner Writer

the sentence imposed on each of the appellants could not be said to be man- ifestly excessive. The appellants argued that the verdict was unfair as the trial judge did not give sufficient regard to their constitutional right to counsel. It was argued that if they had attended the video identification unit (VDU), they would have been deprived of that right.

THE COURT of Appeal has upheld the conviction of eight former members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) who were found guilty on July 28, 2014 of failing to comply with a requirement of the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) without lawful justification or excuse. Gerville Williams, Kenneth Daley, Francis Rennals, David Hutchinson, Devon Noble, Marcel Dixon, Petro Green and now-deceased Orrett Williamson were sentenced by then Parish Court Judge Georgiana Fraser to serve six months behind bars or to each pay a fine of $650,000. Despite paying the fine, the cops moved to mount an appeal against their conviction and sentences. A recent ruling handed down by appeal court Justices Patrick Brooks, Almarie Sinclair-Haynes and Paulette Williams said the learned Parish Court judge con- ducted a careful analysis of the evidence and the issues involved in the case. Subsequently, it stated that she arrived at a conclusion that was consistent with the evidence. It also stated the verdict should not be disturbed and Psych evaluation ordered for accused baby snatcher

They also argued that the sentence from the Parish Court judgewas unreasonablyharsh in light of the evidence adduced. Charges were laid against the former cops after they failed to obey a notice issued by INDECOM for them attend at the VDU on September 14, 2010 to provide the oversight body with a statement. They were also to answer questions relating to occur- rences in the vicinity of Tredegar Park, Lauriston, Brooklyn and Spanish Town, in the parish of St Catherine, between August 12 and 13, 2010, including the circumstances that led to the death of Derrick Bolton and Rohan Dixon.

Regina and Peabo thrilled at Red Rose For Gregory. B7

Nine-to-five jobs are redundant – Dr Eric Deans. A7

RSPL footballers call for new union. A7

nickoy.wilson@gleanerjm.com

PARISH COURT Judge Vaughn Smith has ordered a psychiatric evaluation for Peta-Gaye Ffrench, who is accused of stealing a

Officials at the agency became suspicious after shegave conflicting information about the child’s birth. The alleged baby snatcher was

taken into custody by the police and later charged with child stealing. The infant was sub- sequently returned to his family after the results from a DNA test confirmed that he was

day-old baby from the Victoria Jubilee Hospital on January 9. The evaluation was requested by Ffrench’s a t t o r n e y R a c h e l Donaldson. Ffrench, 28, was arrested on February 5,

FFRENCH

when she attempted to register the infant at the Registrar General’s Department in Twickenham Park, St Catherine.

the stolen child. Ffrench was remanded and is scheduled to return to court on March 13.

THE GLEANER, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com | NEWS

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Navardo Griffiths: from coma and amputation to Paralympics dream

BRIEFS

WATCH TODAY

Gov’t waives fees to treat flu-like symptoms at UHWI Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton has declared the public health system to be under severe pressure from sus- pected dengue, gastroenteritis and flu-like symptoms. To deal with a heavy influx of patients, the ministry has applied changes to a number of health facilities in the Corporate Area. In a release, Tufton said that overcrowd- ing at certain facilities has resulted from the increase in persons, including children, experiencing symptoms. Measures put in place to combat over- crowding include the waiving of fees until further notice, as well as extending opening hours at certain facilities. Parents of children experiencing flu-like symptoms have been advised to go to the University Hospital of the West Indies for assessment and treatment. Until further notice, the Government will waive the fees at the facility. “In Kingston, Bustamante Hospital for Children is particularly affected, with moth- ers coming in with children experiencing severe symptoms. We are reminding cit- izens that we have extended opening hours for a number of health centres in the Corporate Area,” he said. British woman charged for cocaine find at airport Police officers attached to the JCF Narcotics Division arrested and charged a British woman in connection with the seizure of eight pounds of cocaine at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, St James, last Thursday. She is Marjolyn Gayle, 57, a nurse aid of Nottingham, England. Reports are that about 6 p.m., Gayle arrived at the airport and checked in to board a flight destined for London. Her luggage was searched by narcotics officers and six packages were detected with white substance resembling cocaine, weighing approximately eight pounds. She was charged with possession of cocaine, dealing in cocaine and attempting to export cocaine. The drug has an estimated street value of $4 million. The Universal Service Fund (USF) will be setting up more community access points (CAP) across the island this year. Director of projects at the agency, Kwan Wilson, said St James and Portland are among rural areas being targeted for new sites. He said the USF would also be looking at increasing the number of freeWi-Fi zones in a drive to facilitate greater Internet access for Jamaicans. Secure, public hotspots are already available in high-traffic areas in Kingston, St Andrew, Manchester, and St Elizabeth. The USF has, over the years, established more than 300 CAP sites in an effort to bring information and communications tech- nologies to underserved areas in Jamaica. These locations enable citizens to use the Internet at minimal or no cost for research, bill payments, educational purposes, com- munication, business, marketing, and social networking. Twenty-five-year-old JavaughnDavis, a barber of Monza inGreater Portmore, St Catherine, is suspected to have committed suicide at his home on Saturday, February 16. Reports from the Portmore police are that about 10 a.m., a relative stumbled upon Davis’ body and alerted them. On their arrival, he was seen in a room hanging from the grille by a cord. He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead. Investigations continue. More free Wi-Fi hotspots coming Suspected suicide in Portmore

1:05 p.m.: Daytime LIVE Cast of the new sitcom ‘Bigger Boss?’ 6:30 p.m.: Schools’ Challenge Quiz 2019 Munro College vs Yallahs High

Jason Cross/Gleaner Writer A FTER BEING revived from a coma that lasted roughly one year and six months,thenwakinguptorealisehe could no longer walk, 31-year-old Navardo Griffithsnowhashiseyessetonrepresenting Jamaica at the 2020 Paralympics in South Korea and the Parapan American Games in August this year. Electrocuted in 2010 while walk- ing through a property in St Catherine, Griffiths questioned whether life was worth living after he discovered his legs were amputated. “I gave up on life, thinking it would be the end. I was passing through [private] prop- erty at a bauxite plant. They were doing some relocation of equipment from the property. A couple of my friends and I were going across. Somehow they didn’t turn off the main breakers, so current was still in the wire hanging down. Because the place bush up, I didn’t see the electric wire, so I stepped on it,” he told The Gleaner on Sunday at the annual Sagicor Sigma Corporate Run in New Kingston, which raised more than $50 million for charity. ‘AT THE POINT OF SUICIDE’ Stepping on that wire was the last thing Griffiths remembered that day. It would be 18 months before he would regain consciousness. “I was in a coma and was in the intensive care unit for eight months. After that, they placed me on a ward,” he explained. “When I woke up, I found out my legs were amputated. I didn’t know that was the plan because they did the operation while I was in intensive care. [Losing my legs] got me down. After coming out, it took me about two years to recover. I was at the point of suicide, but I started thinking that if Father God wantedme dead, I would have died from the incident.” Griffiths’real saving grace came when he was introduced to the national Paralympics programme, under the guidance of Neville Sinclair. He now trains alongside star Paralympian Alphanso Cunningham and revealed that his respect for Cunningham

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TUNE IN TODAY

10 a.m.: Hotline Clive Mullings and Daniel Thompson 2 p.m.: Too Live Crew Action and the Burgerman with DJ Delly 5 p.m.: Beyond The Headlines: News: Dadrian Gordon Discussion: Dionne Jackson Miller

Navardo Griffiths embraces his teammate, Sashagaye Thompson, following their participation in Sunday’s Sagicor Sigma Corporate Run in New Kingston. Griffiths was second in the 5K race for male para athletes. PHOTO BY JASON CROSS

100 per cent determined to get there. I train every day, so Jamaica can look for- ward to that.” The Sigma Run raised $52.4 million for the Lupus Foundation, the Diabetes Association of Jamaica, and the May Pen Hospital’s Neonatal Unit.

has made them best friends. “I am training for the shot put event. My coach says I am doing good. I am not there yet, but getting there. Participating at the Paralympics would be a dream come true,” he told The Gleaner . Griffiths’ personal best in the shot put is 9.3 metres, well off the world record of more than 14 metres, but, he said: “I am

9 a.m.: Daydream

1 p.m.: Ovadrive

jason.cross@gleanerjm.com

5 p.m.: Rush Hour

Most Windrush victims J’can, says Ahmad Compensation details to be known in weeks

He said that Queen’s Counsel Martin Forde, the independent adviser appointed to oversee the development of the com- pensation scheme, has been given free rein and that he was not restricted in terms of what he may consider for compensa- tion or the value of the payout. “He was given full remit to make recommendations as to who would qualify,” the high commissioner stated. The Windrush Generation refers to immigrants who were invited to the UK between 1948 and 1971 from Caribbean countries to help rebuild after the war. The name derives from the ship MV Empire Windrush , which, on June 22, 1948, docked inTilbury, Essex, bringing nearly 500 Jamaicans to the UK. In recent years, thousands of Caribbean people who subsequently arrived in the UK, even as children, were threatened with deportation in what became known as the Windrush scandal. They were told that they were in Britain illegally, despite having lived and worked in the country for decades.

9 a.m.: Real Business with Ralston Hyman 10 a.m.: Power Talk with Ronnie Thwaites 2 p.m.: Both Sides Of The Story with Dervan Malcolm

Paul Clarke Gleaner Writer

BRITISH HIGH Commissioner Asif Ahmad has revealed that more than half of the British government’s Windrush Generation cases registered under the compensation scheme are Jamaican. “We know the 12,000 peo- ple who have registered for the compensation scheme; we know them by nationality. But what we do not know is, of those, how many would come within the scope of the compensation scheme. Many would have just made an enquiry in the hope that they might qualify, but find that they were not in the UK in the period concerned,”Ahmad told The Gleaner yesterday. “And what I do know, overall, is that roughly 60 per cent of the Windrushcases–intermsofsever- ity or just genuine enquiry – are from Jamaica. It is safe to say that Jamaica will be a very significant

Asif Ahmad, British high commissioner to Jamaica. GLADSTONE TAYLOR/MULTIMEDIA PHOTO EDITOR

proportionofanypayout.Thatisa given,”explainedAhmad. Thousands of Jamaican Windrush victims are awaiting the verdict on their applications and should know in a matter of weeks if they qualify for com- pensation under the British Home Office Compensation Scheme, following the closure of the consultation period last November. “Right now, there are assess- ments going on within the Home Office to push things through and to see how much

the scheme should be and then to secure funding from central government,” Ahmad said yesterday. He explained that British Home Secretary Sajid Javid told the British Parliament “a few weeks ago” that the com- pensation scheme would be announced to the House. “Although no timeline was attached to Javid’s statement, he did say that it would have happened in the next few weeks, so we are waiting for that,” Ahmad said.

10 a.m.: Soul Café 2 p.m.: Chill Zone

6 p.m.: Cruzing

paul.clarke@gleanerjm.com

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1 7 11 20 24 $800,000 No Winner

11 Winners $1,055 ea. 11 Winners $1,400 ea. 18 Winners $1,228 ea. 35 Winners $1,000 ea. 60 Winners $1,000 ea.

182 Winners $204 ea. 234 Winners $210 ea. 334 Winners $211 ea. 514 Winners $200 ea. 844 Winners $200 ea.

21 16 13 10 3 22 18 15 14 3 19 18 16 21 22 21 21 18 16 11 6 No Winner No Winner No Winner 1 Winner $800,000 2 Winners $100,000 ea.

1, 2, 4, 7, 10, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 22, 34 2, 3, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 25, 31, 35 2, 5, 7, 14, 15, 16, 20, 24, 25, 27, 28, 32 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 18, 20, 22, 33, 35

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No Winner 11 Winners $9,142 ea. 375 Winners $251 ea. 5,470 Winners $100 ea. $89,000,000

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30 Winners $1,347 ea. 726 Winners $100 ea.

28 Winners $459 ea.

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THE GLEANER, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com | NEWS

A3

Former CHEC worker awarded $700K for injuries

Erica Virtue/Senior Gleaner Writer FACEDWITH a 10 percentage-point drop in the rate of used bot- tles and high costs of purchasing new ones for its products, beer manufacturing, production and distribution company Red Stripe has been forced to double payment for each bottle returned to the company. A media blitz by the company, including via text messaging and full-page advertisements in the major local newspapers, calls for individuals to return bottles and be paid $20 for each and $600 per 24-bottle crate. The company hopes the announced increase will entice individuals to return their empties in a surge. Red Stripe bottles, including flavoured beers such as Sorrel and Lemon; Heineken; Guinness; Malta; and Smirnoff Ice, are in demand by the company. Gleaner sources have indicated that there is a chronic shortage of bottles at the company, a claim denied by com- pany officials. “There is no chronic shortage. We spend millions of dollars every year for new bottles and we want to reduce our costs. We have been working on this project for years to ensure there is value for the returns. We are taking a short-term hit, but will reduce the purchase of new glass significantly,” Dianne Ashton Smith, head of corporate relations, told The Gleaner . The beer giant said recycling figures have declined over the last Happy hour for used liquor bottles Red Stripe doubles price for returns but insists there’s no shortage

A FORMER labourer at the China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) has been awarded more than $700,000 for general damages resulting fromhis personal injuries, loss and damage he sustained during the course of his employment, arising from the negligence of the construction company. The ruling was handed down earlier this month by the Supreme Court in downtown Kingston. In the particulars of his claim, KiloWalton said

that while carrying out his duties on August 27, 2015, at a road-construction project at Golden Grove, in St Ann, a brick from a pile broke in two and fell on his right foot. After seeking medical attention, it was revealed that there were broken bones in his leg and a cast was applied to his foot. The cast was removed three months later and he went to work for a different company. During this three-month period, however, Walton said he still experienced pain.

CHEC, in response, acknowledged that Walton was employed by the company, but failed to file a defence. As a result, a judgment in default of the defence was entered. Walton was awarded $737,043.34 for general damages with three per cent interest from the date of service of the claim form, May 5, 2017, to the date of judgment.

nickoy.wilson@gleanerjm.com

Paulwell: Gov’t failed to implement bad gas recommendations

Carlene Davis/Gleaner Writer S HADOW MINISTER on Energy Phillip Paulwell is scolding the Government for what he calls a failure to implement rec- ommendations from the 2016 bad-gas saga. In a statement yesterday, Paulwell called on Energy Minister Fayval Williams to update the nation on the implementation of recom- mendations by the Petroleum Trade Reform Committee (PTRC) that investigated the sub- standard product in the market in 2015. “I am asking the minister to clarify whether the PTRC and the relevant agencies had ceased its implementation meetings since October 2016 and what steps she intends to take to ensure that all the recommendations are implemented to guarantee quality standards in Jamaica’s petroleum sector,” said Paulwell. He was responding to a Sunday Gleaner article in which mechanics and a Petrojam employee expressed concerns about the quality of the gas currently on the market, pinpointing issues with a number of vehicles and saying it could cause lasting damage. “I am extremely surprised to hear of new reports of the possible existence of bad gas in the petroleum retail sector, as Cabinet had accepted the report from the PTRC on August 22, 2016, and agreed to implement a series of recommendations. Apart from the minis- terial document setting out specifications for unwashed gum, it was now apparent that both Minister Dr AndrewWheatley and Prime Minister [Andrew] Holness, in his capacity as minister of energy, failed to follow up and to ensure that the events of 2015 were not repeated,” Paulwell said in a statement yesterday. NO EXCUSES He said the report was fully accepted by the Holness Cabinet, and as a result, there should be no excuses for the failure to implement the recommendations. Yesterday, three regulatory and oversight groups also responded to the concerns that the country might be heading towards another round of bad gas, saying that they have no evi- dence of contaminated fuel in the marketplace. The Bureau of

10 years, coming from a high in 2009 with 95 per cent of bottles being returned, to 85 per cent in 2018. REDUCE ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT According to Managing Director Ricardo Nuncio, “ ... Sustainability informs all we do at Red Stripe, and it is important that we reduce our environmental footprint. We needed to provide a greater incentive for closed-loop recycling of bottles, in which bottles come back into the production cycle and are cleaned and refilled with the same product.” Nuncio believes the low cost of each returned bottle was the reason consum- ers sent some to landfills. “While everyone wants to do what’s good for the planet, the low value of the bottles made it easy for consumers to

end the practice of forging cover notes and certificates,” said Levy. The study was quick to point out challenges in ascertaining the exact number of registered vehicles and called for a coherent database of the country’s vehicle inventory. “There seem to be some issues establishing the number of vehi- cles on the road based onTAJ data. Also, we should note that some registered vehicles are not in use, laid-up awaiting repairs, written off, stolen and scrapped, for sale and sitting on second-hand car lots, and so the owners may legit- imately have chosen not to insure them,” Levy said. He implored motorists to get insured despite sometimes pro- hibitive price points. “One of the things we encour- age people to do is if you have an insurance company that is telling HAZARD CONTINUED FROM A1 The company’s release said a glass bottle can be reused up to six times in the production cycle without losing its purity and quality. Middlemen are not expected to pay the full $20 cost per bottle and the company is urging individuals to visit its distribution centres in Kingston and Montego Bay. Returns will also be accepted at wholesales across the island and at Red Stripe 214 Exchange in Kingston. The company said it reserves the right to reject bottles and crates that do not meet its quality standards. erica.virtue@ gleanerjm.com discard them. We are confident that the increase in the redemption value of our bottles will drive a culture shift so that buy- drink-return becomes a way of life in Jamaica,”the release said.

(CAC) insist that, so far, they have not received any such reports.

regarding engine damage due to alleged com- promised fuel,” a release issued by the groups said yesterday. The entities said despite having no evidence to corroborate fears of bad gas, they will be increasing monitoring of the sector to give the public greater confidence in the integrity of their fuel supply. “All fuel entering the market, through legal means, at the point of import or refinery must be certified by the BSJ/NCRA prior to release. Any fuel which fails the specification is detained and barred from release in the market until found to be satisfactory,”the release said. It also urged consumers with complaints to report them to the BSJ and the CAC. Paulwell is also seeking, among other things, an update on the drafting of

“This morning, mem- bers of the respective boards of direc- tors and relevant executive teams convened a joint meeting to dis- cuss the concerns raised. The CAC has reported that, to date, they have not received any complaints

a new Petroleum (Quality Control) Bill and Regulations and the establishment of a petroleum inspectorate in the BSJ fully equipped to test samples of petroleum throughout the chain of custody.

Standards Jamaica (BSJ), the National Compliance and Regulatory Authority (NCRA) and the Consumer Affairs Commission

PAULWELL

carlene.davis@gleanerjm.com

Jones said that while the NRSC was primarily focused on reduc- ing traffic injuries and deaths, the non-insurance crisis was a major cause for concern. “It’s the law, and it’s not just a matter of driving safe, it’s pro- tecting those others who, in case there’s a crash, there’s some kind of compensation,” said Jones. Assistant Commissioner of

estimates could very well include fraudulent policies. RAMPANT INDISCIPLINE “If that number is indeed cor- rect, then that is a huge number. It’s a manifestation of the rampant indiscipline and illegality happen- ing in the country,”said Jones.“Part of the reason why so many people are driving without an insurance is because in many instances, peo- ple have forged insurance papers. They are complicit with other agencies, so there’s a big racket going on in the country.” NOTICE Will Mr. Michael Stephens whose last known address is Paul Mountain Above Rocks, St. Catherine or anyone knowing his whereabouts please urgently contact the Child Development Agency; 40 Duke Street, Kingston CSO at 948-1145 or 948-6218.

at and examine, especially against what we know when a person is drivingwithout insurance coverage, and the injuries that one can sustain from a collision,”he said. “That person has nothing to get because the vehicle is not insured, so it is very serious. It is a very seri- ous and frightening revelation.”

Police Calvin Allen, who heads the Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch, said many motorists are before the court for insurance breaches. “We shouldn’t have none at all drivingwithout insurance, but sadly – and the insurance company is the right entity that is in the position to give that sort of feedback – it is something that we have to look

carlene.davis@gleanerjm.com

Friday, February 15, 2019 12 14 16 17 26 1

Dr Lucien Jones, chairman of the National Road Safety Council.

you something that you don’t like, go shop around, because they don’t all operate by the same set of rules,” he said. Vice-chairman of the National Road Safety Council (NRSC), Dr Lucien Jones, told The Gleaner that while he is alarmed by the fig- ures cited in the study, he believes they could possibly be higher. He hinted that the IAJ insurance

No Winner No Winner 3 Winners 14 Winners 32 Winners 385 Winners 270 Winners 974 Winners

No Winner No Winner 5 Winners 10 Winners 223 Winners 159 Winners 548 Winners No Winner

$218,500,000

THE GLEANER, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com

A4

[ OPINION & COMMENTARY ]

Sigma does so much more

by the resultant city detours. There are several roads that are inaccessible to vehicular traffic for four or five hours annually because of the race. Alysia Moulton White, assis- tant vice-president of marketing at Sagicor, posted on Twitter on Saturday,“Many will be inconven- ienced on Sunday. I know, I get the calls … and believe me, we’re truly sorry. The Sigma Run 2019 will bless many and raise PLENTY MONEY and so I thank you for your sacrifice”. She followed that up with a newspaper article detailing the traffic changes to be expected. Even in the very few years I haven’t participated, I’ve never thought of complaining about the ‘inconvenience’…because there’s a much bigger picture. This year’s beneficiaries – the Lupus Foundation of Jamaica, the May Pen Hospital Neonatal Unit and the Diabetes Association of Jamaica – or any of the recipients over the last 20 years, as well as the millions they serve, I’m sure would join the call in thanking folks for

putting upwith the inconvenience. MASSIVE INCOME GENERATOR Beyond the millions donated to charity, Sigma does somuchmore. It’s a massive income generator for local promotional items provid- ers. Every year their services are uti- lised toprint newshirts and caps for the various teams. Formany, outside of Christmas, Sigma represents their single largest selling opportunity. At the end of the morning, near nobody cooks breakfast because you’re just too tired. Whether it’s the caterers who supply meals to the hundreds of teams, or the various restaurants that receive the uncustomary sweaty Sunday morning walk-ins, they don’t see Sigma as an inconvenience at all. Banana, orange and watermelon farmers and vendors smile because they’re guaranteed a good sale that weekend to satisfy the fruit needs of race participants. And the marketer in me doesn’t miss the captive audience Sigma provides. Bert’s Auto Parts had a champion

in the crowd this year who was shouting out all the services they offer and parts they carry as he jogged down the road. It was a welcomed injection of humour, but a stroke of advertising genius. Now I knowwhere to check first for a control arm for my car. Catherine’s Peak used the finish line to remind everyone about their ‘pickney’-sized bottle of water, and the trend of branding shirts both in the front and back turned every participant into both a walking billboard and potential customer. For those who continue to complain about closed roads and inconveniences, lawks man, I urge you to see the bigger picture. Next year, come join the race, the comrade and the fun, the exercise, the economic ecosystem andmost importantly, the giving. And even if you choose not to, recognise the world of good Sigma sparks and, like Elva would advise...RELAX!!!!!! Patria-KayeAaronsisaconfectioner and broadcaster. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and findpatria@gmail.com.

Patria Kaye Aarons

F IFTY-THREEMILLIONdollars worth of people rolled out on Sunday to participate in this year’s staging of the Sigma road race. I find it more impactful referring to the donation figure as opposed to the headcount, because it brings into focus the power of what we can accom- plish when together we attack the same problem. Corporate Jamaica and giving individuals raised that! The attendance numbers were impressive nevertheless. Almost 30,000 strong. I quickly combed through my social media feed that afternoon and it was flooded with pictures of teams, people sharing their race times and hearty con- gratulations to the organisers for an incident-free event. One post that did stand out amid the Sigma praise was one from a non-participant complain- ing about being inconvenienced

Cheerleaders putting on a show at the 21st staging of the Sagicor Sigma Corporate Fun Run/Walk on Sunday.

Thematic approach to the structure of CSEC English Language exam could yield better results

to be some amount of guidance offered to teachers and students as to what areas students should inform themselves about to demonstrate their language skills. It is quite counterproductive for teach- ers to have to teach an entire topic for a singular lesson on a particular language skill and when the objectives of that lesson are met, they have to teach an entire topic all over again to teach a new language skill. This is so because teachers at the CSEC level use past-paper questions to prepare their students for the exam, and these questions often pull on knowledge from a wide range of topics that often times students are just not knowledgeable of. Therefore, the teacher is now forced to cram in one lesson, knowledge of the stimulus and development of language skills. This cramming of information in a 50-minute period is ineffective and the student neither really learns about the topic, nor do they fully grasp the language skill. Consequently, I posit that the CSEC English examination should adopt a sim- ilar thematic approach like that of the City and Guilds English examinations and the CSEC Spanish examinations for a more realistic approach to teaching students the various language skills to be assessed in the exam. With the introduction of the School-Based Assessment (SBA) compo- nent, students are even given an addi- tional opportunity to“inform themselves about, and to contribute reasoned opin- ions on social issues”. Hence, it is perfectly acceptable, and does not compromise the legitimacy of the exam in the least bit if students are aware of the theme and top- ics they will encounter in the written exam. As much as we should expect our chil- dren to be widely informed on various sociocultural issues, it is really unrealistic to expect that they will have knowledge of everything and, therefore, they should be prepared to discuss any possible topic that will appear on the exam. A thematic approach, however, would at least ensure that students have compre- hensive knowledge of at least one soci- etal topic, and at the same time provide teachers with more opportunity to focus on developing their language skills. -Rhonda Williams is a teacher of English A, City and Guilds and Communication Studies; English A lecturer/presenter for The Gleaner’s Youthlink CSEC Seminar; BEd, language education, and MA, cultural studies. Email feedback to columns@ gleanerjm.com.

Rhonda Williams/Contributor L AST YEAR’S sitting of the Caribbean Secondary School Examination (CSEC) for English language re- corded a 68 per cent pass (JIS News). Albeit satisfactory, passes in CSEC English language have always remained a long-standing concern. Educators and other stakeholders have been burdened with the task of figuring out the winning formula that would yield results of at least 80 per cent of students passing the exam. One such ‘winning’formula that teach- ers often exhaust is to encourage students to read ‘widely’, as success in the exam is heavily dependent upon knowledge of various topics, ranging from science, cul- ture, economics, governance, and the list goes on. So it was no surprise when I found myself heavily criticising my students for having very little knowledge of just about everything. In one particular summary writing class, the stimulus for the activity was based on globalisation and transnational crime. The students were given some questions to stimulate their understanding of the extract. When it was time to discuss the responses to the questions, they struggled to respond, almost as if the discussion in the extract was completely lost upon them. A farfetched thought then came to me: could it be that they don’t knowwhat glo- balisation is and therefore they are unable to contextualise the discussion? I then made a daring move. I asked, “What is globalisation?” One student responded with much uncertainty, “The cutting down of trees, Miss?” That response propelledme to then ask, “What is global warming?” The responses were disastrous. After a proper ‘tongue lashing’ on the importance of social and cultural awareness to be successful in the exam, I

English language (written and spoken) rather than the students’capacity for gen- eral knowledge. In exploring my position, I analysed the structure of the CSEC Spanish examination in comparison to the CSEC English exami- nation: both non-native languages among CARICOM states. The CSEC Spanish examination adopts a thematic approach for the content used as stimuli to test the language skills to be assessed; each unit to be studied has a different theme. Therefore, neither stu- dents nor teachers are overly caught up in deconstructing the stimuli for under- standing, but instead, they get to focus on the language skills to be developed for assessment. Similarly, the City and Guilds English examination has a thematic structure. Each year, a new theme is selected and all stimuli used throughout the course of preparing for the exam is centred on a singular theme. Examples of themes used by City and Guilds are ‘Employability’, ‘Science and Technology’, ‘Tourism’, ‘Music’, etc. The examination body even goes as far as to provide a vocabulary list of the words stu- dents should expect to encounter from the theme during the exam period. Likewise, this exam structure gives students and teachers maximum opportunity to focus on the language skills to be developed for assessment, and students and teachers are not burdened by the pressures of having to navigate through random topic selec- tions that the students may or may not be knowledgeable of and, as a result, robs them of the opportunity to demonstrate their language skills. COUNTERPRODUCTIVE FOR TEACHERS While one of the main objectives of the CSEC English language syllabus is to “pro- mote in students awillingness and ability to inform themselves about, and to contribute reasoned opinions on social issues” ( CSEC English syllabus 2017 ), there still needs

As much as we fail to admit it, the students who sit CSEC English in this region are really learning English as a second language, even though they are not taught English as a second language.

suspended all summary skills lessons until they each return to the next class with a correct definition of‘global warming’and ‘globalisation’ and present one fact they learnt about each topic. Following that, I used an entire class to teach both topics before I moved on to teaching summary skills. UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS Then just Friday, a repeat of the situation occurred. This time the topic was ‘border protection and national security’. I had to pause teaching summary skills to teach the role of Customs departments in mon- itoring the entry of goods received at the ports, as this was crucial to understanding the main points in the extract. After this experience, I thought to myself again, how could they not know the functions of a Customs department? Then mid-thought it hit me; perhaps

the structure of the exam just does not facilitate our ‘modern’ children and our expectations of them; that is, to have knowledge of a wide range of topics is really unrealistic. I am, therefore, of the opinion that, since we have conceded that this generation of school-age children learn and process information differently, and teachers are expected to adjust their strategies tomeet their learning needs, then it is only fair that the assessment tool is also adjusted to facilitate same. As much as we fail to admit it, the stu- dents who sit CSEC English in this region are really learning English as a second lan- guage, even though they are not taught English as a second language (that is another battle to be fought at another time) and, therefore, the examination really needs to focus its assessment on testing the students’ ability to use the

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km/hr. Tonight will be fair to cloudy. High temperature will be near 31°C with a low ranging between 19°C and23°C. Locally, it will be sunny to partly cloudy. Isolated clouds and shower activities may a ect mainly hilly inland areas of central and western parishes. Winds will exceed 38 are across Jamaica, is expected to remain over the area for the next few days. F air weather conditions the eastern and western Caribbean. A cold front is across the Gulf of Mexico. The high pressure over much of the northern Caribbean, including

Atlanta Boston Bridgetown

Sunset 6 : 10 PM 6: 13 PM 6: 15 PM 6: 16 PM

Locations Kingston Mandeville Mobay Negril

Sunrise 6: 32 AM 6: 35 AM 6: 37 AM 6: 38 AM

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Full Moon Feb . 19 10 : 53 A M

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Please send comments and suggestions to weather_data@yahoo.com 31 Partly to mostly cloudy, 5 0% psbl. showers. TODAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY 31 31 40 % psbl. showers. showers. Sunny to partly Sunny to partly cloudy, cloudy, 40% psbl.

Tides:12:17 AM hgt. 0.43 m. H.; 8:01 AM hgt. -0.27 m. Weather: partly cloudy with isolated afternoon clouds/showers. Port Royal Tides: 2:34 AM hgt. -0.11 m. L.; 11:18 AM hgt. 0.16 m. H.; 2:39 PM hgt. 0.11 m. L.; 9:10 PM hgt. 0.18 m. H.; Negril L.; 3:38 PM hgt. 0.39 m. H.; 8:06 PM hgt. 0.26 m. L. Inshore - north coast: winds east-north east 15 - 20 kts., seas 1.5 - 2 .0 m; Tonight: southeast 5 - 10 kts. wave 0.5 - 1.0 m. Inshore - south coast: winds east-southeast 15 - 2 0 kts., seas 1.5 - 2. 0 m; Tonight: southeast 5 kts. seas 0.5 m.

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THE GLEANER, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com

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Gov’t to spend more than $350 million to build drop-in facilities The Government is expected to spend in excess of $350 million during the new fiscal year to construct three multipurpose drop-in centres to serve indigent residents in the Corporate Area, Portland and St Catherine, noted Minister of Local Government and Community Development Desmond McKenzie. The drop-in centres across the island will be furnished to create a more comfortable environment for persons who use the facilities.

WHAT’S YOUR VIEW?

OPINION #GLNROPED

The Gleaner welcomes your views on any issue. Preference will be given to letters of 300 words or less. They must bear the writer’s name, address and telephone contact. If using a pen name, you must state your full name. Your name and address will be withheld on request. EMAIL US: letters@gleanerjm.com or

WRITE US: Editor, The Gleaner Company (Media) Ltd, 7 North Street, PO Box 40, Kingston, or fax: (876)922-6223

THE EDITOR, Sir: WHO MUST we turn to for pro- tection? Can we, the people of Jamaica, depend and rely on the State to protect us in the face of decades of violent crime? It seems that the prime minis- ter of Jamaica, the leader of the Opposition, the minister of na- tional security and the commis- sioner of police do not know the necessary steps to take to save our lives from gunmen and criminals. Guns are not made in Jamaica, so I find it very strange seeing so many people dying by the gun, by the hands of so many gunmen, when our authorities have the powers to curtail the onslaught. The only thing that man can- not do is create a living being. I firmly believe that the powers that be have the power and the necessary equipment to conquer the gun trade and the gunrun- ners in Jamaica. All they need to do is to find the guns, and they need to find them quickly, too. Technology, surveillance cam- eras, trained dogs, telephone calls, etc., are some of the tools that we can use to cap- ture the monsters of crime – headed by our national security. Why do so many people continue to die by the gun in Jamaica when we have our national security to protect us from the gun pests? DONALD J. MCKOY donaldmckoy876@gmail.com The police need to find the guns quickly Since the Greater Mandeville Water Supply was developed decades ago, there have been no improvements to the system. It has got rather worse and with hun- dreds of houses unconnected due to the lack of water, for example, in the Moorlands area, what will the NWC tell the Mandeville people. If‘water is life’what do you think the ‘lack of water’ is? DANIEL LEWIS danlew2020@gmail.com THE EDITOR, Sir: IN RESPONSE to the column in The SundayGleaner ,‘NWC com- mitted tomeeting Jamaica’s water needs’, written by Mark Barnett, president of the National Water Commission (NWC), I must com- mend the NWC for finally putting together a number of projects that will increase water availabil- ity for the country. The outline of expenditure speaks ‘volumes’. I must, however, take issues with the low allocations for rural areas , and in particular, Mandeville. From the table of expendi- ture presented, one tenth of the resources goes to the rural areas ($1 billion, as oppose to $10 billion for Kingston). I am living in Mandeville on DeCarteret Road, close to the town centre, where the water situation is atrocious. The norm is to have a two-hour trickle once per week, down from the three times per week five years ago. I live by rain- fall and trucked water in the lower area. Can you imagine what it is like for people on the hills? NWC committed, but not to Mandeville

[ LETTER OF THE DAY ]

Deal with the real problems, Minister Montague

LETTERS THE EDITOR, Sir: R ECENTLY, TRANSPORT Minister Robert Montague announced a raft of meas- ures he intends to implement as early as April 1, 2019. These include, among other things: 1. Instalment of tracking systems on all public passenger vehicles (PPVs). 2. The formalisation of all‘robot taxis’, or illegal operators. 3. Uniforms for all PPV operators. 4. Stiffer fines and penalties for illegal operators, etc. While I applaud the minister’s vision to have a comfortable and professional transportation sector, the sad reality is that there are a number of underlying issues that will prevent this from happening unless addressed. The minister can’t be living in a vacuum with regard to these issues, as they are all around him, staring all of us in the face every day. The first issue is with the Transport Authority (TA). It is tardy, to say the least, with the processing and issuing of road licences for the various transport operators. The TA just doesn’t have the capacity to deal with the load of applications. It functions like a monopoly handicapped by bureaucratic bungling. Just ask several applicants how long it takes them to get their licence after submitting all their documents; it’s anywhere from three to four months and beyond. In the meantime, some of them still work illegally as the loans still have to be paid, food has to be bought, and bills have to be paid. Some of these operators have their vehicles seized and impounded by the police, compounding the problems. THE EDITOR, Sir: ON OCTOBER 10, 2017, the Data Protection Bill,“an act to protect the privacy of certain data and for connected matters”, was ta- bled in Parliament. During its introduction, the importance of expediting the process was reiterated. Like the rest of the public, Jamaica AIDS Support for Life (JASL) has an interest in this bill and the timeliness of its expedition. The bill places an obligation on public and private entities to implement particular systems to safeguard their collection, storage and processing of data and spe- cifically covers certain classes of “sensitive personal data” (that is, genetic or biometric data, and data regarding racial or ethnic origin, sex life, physical or mental health or condition, political opinions, philosophical and religious beliefs, trade union membership, or the commission or alleged commission

The second issue is poor road conditions. I have not heard the minister mention anything about the poor condition of the roads. I pray for the day to come when all drivers in Jamaica can drive on pothole-free roads that are well lit and marked with the relevant signs and stop lights where they ought to be. Sadly, the reality is the complete opposite. Pothole-riddled roads with no light and markings are the norm when driving across Jamaica, con- tributing to bad driving, accidents, and stress to the PPV drivers, in particular, because they have to continually work under these con- ditions. All of these contribute to high maintenance costs and, cou- pled with the cost of keeping the vehicle, will drive an owner mad if he or she is not business-savvy. The minister seems to feel that PPV operators are awash with cash because now, they will have to install tracking devices on their vehicles come April. Is this minis- ter for real? In addition to the cost of insurance, fuel, a road licence and membership, operators will now have to findmoney to pay for tracking monthly. And yet, there is no indication as to when fares will be increased to offset some of these costs. No wonder the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) is bleed- ing billions with no end in sight, because the cost to run the JUTC outweighs the revenues. Some PPV operators have to increase their fares, be it illegally, as a means to remain viable. I hope the minister will address some of these issues in the near future before trying to put a Band-Aid over a boil. P. HARRISON phbravo2@gmail.com of any offences). After hearing submissions from the public in early 2018, including JASL, which has asked for improve- ments in the Bill to protect the most vulnerable in society, the public has heard nothing further on the bill. JASL’s recent hosting of a mul- ti-stakeholder consultation with civil-society and health-sector rep- resentatives on the Bill has raised some serious concerns about the lack of public education and nec- essary revisions to the bill, as well as a timetable for its passage. Given that the health sector is to be severely impacted by this Bill, we deem it important and in the best interest of the public that the Government reopen the dia- logue on the Data Protection Bill as a matter of urgency. PATRICK LALOR Policy and Advocacy Officer Jamaica AIDS Support for Life rmiller@jasforlife.org

Members of the Jamaica National Service Corps Intake 1801 helping to clean up the Boys Town Infant and Primary School in Kingston on Saturday, as part of a beautification project. KENYON HEMANS/PHOTOGRAPHER

The Gleaner [ EDITORIAL ]

The uphill climb for Labour’s rebels

Y ESTERDAY’S DEFECTION from Labour of seven members of the British Parliament will, as was the case nearly four decades ago, likely again reveal how difficult it is to up- end the entrenched two-party arrangement of Westminster-style politics, with its first-past-the- post voting system. It is a fact that we know only too well in Jamaica. In this case, the rebels’ task will probably prove even more difficult unless they somehow convince big hefts of both Labour and Tory voters that they are driven by, and stand for, more than antipathy to, Labour’s leader, Jeremy Corbyn. From this distance, we question their strategic capacity to do so. Their timing, at best, seems to be badly wanting, if not atrocious. The seven who decamped Labour are Ann Coffey, Angela Smith, Luciana Berger, Chris Leslie, David Shuker, Mike Gapes and Chuka Umunna, whose action has clear echoes from 1981, when there was another split in the party. Back then, four members – David Owens, Roy Jenkins, Shirley Williams and Bills Rodgers – left to form the Social Democratic Party (SDP), which, a decade later, merged with the old Liberal Party to create the Liberal Democratic Party (Lib Dems). The seven haven’t, at least not yet, created a party, calling themselves, instead, the Independent Group. Their intention, however, as was the case 38 years ago this past January, is clear. Making the claim that Labour had become anti-Semitic and that under Mr Corbyn, it was pursuing ideology rather than eco- nomics, they urged both Tory and Labour members of parliament (MPs )to join them. On the latter point, there are similarities with the fallout of ‘81. The quartet of that era argued that Labour under Michael Foot, as is much of the com- plaint against Mr Corbyn, was being dragged too far to the left, including with proposals for unilateral nuclear disbarment and renationalisations that made it unelectable. SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES There are significant differences in the circum- stances of the two periods, however. For instance, unlike the rebels of‘81, none of this group, except for Mr Umunna, with his limited service on the opposition front benches, has experience in government and commands a substantial national profile. None is, as they were even then, a towering political figure of a Dr Owen, Mr Jenkins or Ms Williams.

Further, there will be plenty people ready tomount an argument in favour of Labour’s electability. Mr Corbynmay have got on the leader ballot by a whisker in 2015, but he won the contest by a landslide and did even better merely a year later, even after a massive vote of no-confidence in leadership by MPs. More critically, in the 2017 general election, when Mr Corbyn’s critics expected the party to be mauled, there was a 9.6 per cent voter swing to the party, and it received 5.5 million more votes than in the election two years earlier under Ed Miliband’s leadership. DIVERSE FRONT BENCH While Ms Berger, a reported victim of abuse, and others may have credible claims of Mr Corbyn’s slow- ness in tackling anti-Semitism, the racial and gender diversity on Labour’s front benches under his lead- ership is apparent. Critics of the group will probably recall that Ms Coffey was a seconder of the motion by MPs in Mr Corbyn’s leadership; that before he backed away, Mr Umunna was touted as a front-runner to challenge the leader; and that Ms Berger and Messrs Umunna and Gapes were beingmentioned as possible targets for deselection by Mr Corbyn’s supporters in their constituency parties. The point is that Labour MPs have long been uneasy with Mr Corbyn, a lifelong left-winger, and this group, as much as any and more than most. It may yet be that British politics deserves, and is about to get, a shake-up. But the rebels will do well to remember history and determine the investment for this to happen. In the 1983 general election, the SDP got 25 per cent of the votes but 23 seats in the more-than- 600-member commons. Its successor, the Lib Dems, has oscillated in support since, but is yet to get the big breakthrough. The point is that Labour MPs have long been uneasy with Mr Corbyn, a lifelong left-winger, and this group as much as any and more than most.

Urgent dialogue needed on Data Protection Bill

The opinions on this page, except for The Editorial, do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Gleaner.