Sunday, December 16, 2019

Editor-in-Chief Kaymar Jordan 23 Orange Street SANGSTER’S BOOKSTORE Springs Plaza 17 Constant Spring Rd. Tel: (876) 960-8264 THE GLEANER, MONDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2019 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com A5 [ LETTER OF THE DAY ] The Gleaner [ EDITORIAL ] OPINION #GLNROPED LETTERS The opinions on this page, except for The Editorial, do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Gleaner. 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 WHAT’S YOUR VIEW? P RIME MINISTER AndrewHolness’exhortation of African capital to look for investment op- portunities in the Jamaicanmarket is a timely, and positive, move about which this newspaper hopes he is serious, but as part of a wider process of political and economic engagement between the continent and the Caribbean. We are, in that regard, happy for the coincidence of Mr Holness’invitation and disclosure by Barbados’ prime minister, Mia Mottley, of her planned initiative along these lines. Mr Holness, like Ms Mottley, was in Nairobi, Kenya, last week for a summit of leaders of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of countries, in whose formation, in the mid-1970s, as a vehicle for negotiating trade and economic-support agreements with the EuropeanUnion, Jamaica played a critical role. In recent years, though, the ACP has grown less influential as the Europeans have insisted on having a suite of so-called regional economic partnership agreements, such as the one it signed in 2009 with the CariforumGroup of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states, plus the Dominican Republic. While the ACP continues to amble along, its char- acter has changed fundamentally, and it is yet to find, or clearly articulate, a new, cogent mission. That, however, doesn’t mean the ACP is without use. Indeed, as we have suggested before, within it may be the embryo, or at least the stepping stone, towards reprising some old, but relevant, ideas for dealing with new global challenges, not least of these greater cooperation between countries of the global south, such as was championed by Michael Manley in the 1970s. Mr Holness is right that while African and Caribbean countries speak in glowing terms about their rela- tionship, “we haven’t really utilised the value of that relationship to layer on top of that the business opportunities”. Cooperation agreements signed between Mr Holness and Uhuru Kenyatta, when the Kenyan president visited Jamaica during the summer, or those with Namibia’s Hage Geingob during his 2018 stop in Windhoek are, potentially, significant for deepening economic relations. It is not our sense, though, that this engagement is being framed in larger geostrategic terms, including possibilities for helping to fashion insulations for small, vulnerable nations against disruptions to the post-war, rules-based, multilateralist global order, led by America’s DonaldTrump. This is not to suggest that the existing order is without need of reform. Quite the contrary. That reform, however, must have at its core the principle of multilateralism rather than a return to the 19th-century system of greater-power politics, in which the presumption of who, or what, is right rests on who is economically, or militarily, most powerful and the shunting of all others to the periphery. GLOBAL WARMING It must also take into account the problemof global warming and climate change and the existential threat it poses to the island states of the Caribbean and the Pacific. Confronting these issues will demand a counter- force to Donald Trump and his notion of how global relations ought to be arranged and power appor- tioned. It insists, too, on countries with common interests, and having the most to lose from these disruptive forces, including those in the Caribbean and Africa, organising themselves to articulate their positions and to be effective participants in the global conversation on reform. Where possible, they should erect their own buffers against the marauding forces. It is in that context that we welcome Ms Mottley’s promise, when she assumes chairmanship of CARICOM next year, to work towards ensuring that a proposed CARICOM-Africa summit takes place. The agenda of that meeting, says Ms Mottley, is to ensure that the two regions work to advancing their own “interests and not that of others”. In the case of Jamaica, planning for this summit is an opportunity to begin a major review, leading, perhaps, to an overhaul of its foreign policy. Prime Minister Holness should invite experienced foreign-policy hands to help in this exercise. THE EDITOR, Madam: J AMAICA’S FEMALE power was on full display this weekend. On Friday, Shelly-Ann Fraser- Pryce was recognised as the Best Female Athlete at the Pan Am Sports Awards in Fort Lauderdale, United States. She was beauti- fully photographed with her son Zyon as she added to the many accolades she has garnered over her career. Congratulations, Mrs Fraser-Pryce, and commendation to your supportive husband. Toni-Ann Singh on Saturday walked away with the covetedMiss World title in London, England. Jamaicans were in their ‘ackee’ celebrating our fourth hold on the crown. She exuded beauty, grace, brains, and a power-punch singing ability. Well done, Toni-Ann. What I admired was Toni- Ann’s humility in remembering to empower that little girl in St Thomas, Jamaica, and the other little girls in the world to believe in themselves. Also touching was her honouring her mother’s influence in her life on the world stage. You made Ms Jahraine Bailey a proud mom. Ms Dahlia Harris, the co-fran- chise holder of the Miss Jamaica World pageant, is to be congratu- lated. She is a true Jamaican female powerhouse. Congratulations, Ms Harris, on copping a Miss World title through your franchise. It was nice to see a very supportive Miss Nigeria. Wonder if she has some Jamaican genes? Ladies, you truly rocked. Jamaica has a rich reservoir of highly accomplished females who are making a difference. We thank the Almighty God. ANDREA DUNK THE EDITOR, Madam: THE RECENT utterance by Minister of National Security Dr Horace Chang about crim- inals committing crimes to pay lawyers, though unsub- stantiated, is not a surprise to many good-thinking, ordinary Jamaicans. This argument was first posited by a witness in a re- cent case, again unproven. What this line of argument has done, though, is have ordinary Jamaicans asking: Why has the Proceeds of Crime Act, since its inception over a decade ago, not tackled this matter head-on? We would like the Jamaican Bar Association to know that ordinary, good-thinking Jamaicans are growing concerned about the potential risk that tainted money (money laundering) can have on our fragile judiciary. We don’t need the Jamaican Bar Association to try to silence such comments with- out declaring its hand. Tell us in an appropriate forum how many of your members, during the last seven to ten years, you have called in about such concerns. Suspects and criminals are to be represented but not enabled. Criminals are not conventional in their acts, so ordinary policing alone won’t deter them from com- mitting crimes or bring them to justice. ACT NEEDS TO DO ITS JOB The banks, for a long time, have stayed far from marijuana money and cryptocurrency because of potential repercussions. The Proceeds of Crime Act needs to do its job and have lawyers toe the line, thereby recommending certain potential clients to the country’s legal-aid services rather than putting themselves at risk. Criminals need to learn that their ill-gotten gains will not aid in their defence. How can an individual without a nine-to-five, legitimate licensed business, or family endowment be allowed high-profile legal rep- resentation in our courts without first proving that his/her source of income is not tainted? How come? This is a plight of the judiciary that ought to be corrected forth- with. Makes no sense you say you are serious about stopping crime yet leave so many loopholes. FRANK PEART Activating the Proceeds of Crime Act THE EDITOR, Madam: WE ARE the only race on planet Earth that embraces a religion that was used to captivate us and place us in slavery, then take it as our official means of seeing our Messiah. We are the only race that sees God through the eyes of another race’s beliefs. The black race is ignorant towhat their true belief should be.We don’t even have our true names. Most black men have the capac- ity to understand where we came from and where we are heading and to beckon to the blind blacks who are heading into a cul-de-sac. We have been brainwashed and brain-drained for centuries to sat- isfy the insatiable ego of the white man. He has led us astray to the ravines, precipices, and dungeons so we don’t know our worth as a race or who our true enemies are. BETTER UNDERSTANDING If we searched the NileValley, we could have a better understanding of our cause and purpose and what we have done for the betterment of all humanity. We will have to col- laborate and collate all the infor- mation we have gathered with our brother-men to liberate the many blacks from their ignorance. I recall in about 2002 when the late Garner Ted Armstrong, the son of HerbertW. Armstrong, who started the Worldwide Church of God, came to the National Stadium to preach the word of God. He made a statement I cannot forget, and he almost had to withdraw it. He simply said, “Jesus is like you people in the congregation, not like me, who is white.”Some black people almost killed him for his beliefs. PARIS TAYLOR Have we lost our identity as the black race? Jamaica’s female power electrifies the world Engaging Africa a foreign policy imperative Miss World 2019, Jamaica’s Toni- Ann Singh. FILE The Ministry of National Security last week handed over equipment to the Court Management Services as part of measures to further streamline the Traffic Ticket Management System (TTMS). The provision includes 13 laptop and three desktop computers and three printers. The TTMS is a centralised web-based platform designed to improve traffic ticket management from the point of issuance to either the payment of fines at tax offices or adjudication in court. National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang said that the equipment will assist the courts to readily access information on matters being adjudicated. Traffic Ticket Management System gets new equipment Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce CONTRIBUTED Dr Horace Chang SHORN HECTOR/ PHOTOGRAPHER