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Silvera is a dirty, two-legged rat 

There is a nasty perception in the public space that white or ‘high brown’ people in Jamaica are treated far differently than those of darker pigmentation.

Some see the latest development in the court matter that involves former Member of Parliament for St Mary Western, Jolyan Silvera, who confessed to killing his wife, Melissa, on November 10, 2023, and was charged with murder and using a firearm to commit a felony, which was later reduced to one of manslaughter, (cynical ones say womanslaughter).

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in a cowardly move, backed by what it called a statement, said in a nutshell that it would have been difficult to prove murder under the circumstances, based on a detailed written statement from Silvera, which addressed what he said happened at the time. 

The DPP’s office wants us to even believe that the matter was based on circumstantial evidence, and none “in the prosecution’s possession that can speak to what occurred at the residence when the deceased was shot and killed by the defendant.” Foolishness! Does anyone remember the case that involved ex-policeman Noel Maitland?

Clearly, with Melissa dead, Silvera had the freedom to concoct a ‘cock and bull’ story about what transpired on the night, and managed to fool some legal minds that provocation was at the heart of his merciless strike.

Silvera also said put forward hogwash that he did not, initially, admit to Melissa’s death because he did not want to deprive his children of both parents, which is now a reality.

In this matter, the chief justice, who was presiding, could not have gone against the decision of the prosecution and defence to settle for manslaughter, and had he objected to the lesser charge, he, according to legal sources, would have had to recuse himself from the trial. So, Bryan Sykes’s hands were tied. Justice Sykes though, still has the opportunity to deliver meaningful justice when sentencing comes up on March 6 though, which I hope will amount to around the next 25 years without freedom.

I have known Silvera for many years – a failed MP, whose constituents rejected him forcefully in 2016, after he had received their overwhelming approval at the end of the 2011 poll. I also knew Melissa, an accomplished chemical engineer and graduate of, among other institutions, the University of Virginia. Her mother, Leslene Davis, who died around May 2023, whom I knew also from the late 1970s, was a dedicated public servant who, like her daughter, contributed much to Jamaica’s development.

I believe that there was premeditation in Silvera’s actions, not mere walking into what turned out to be a confrontation as stated by him. Melissa was non-confrontational. She had been suffering, emotionally, for long, and had been blamed for many things that she was not guilty of.

I have no letter of mercy for dispatch to Jolyan Silvera’s address. We would have all been fooled that Melissa died naturally, had there not been an intervention by one of this country’s greatest sons, who suggested to the grieving family that an autopsy should be done.

Vaz disrespectful to AG

Somehow, I thought that nowhere in this life would I have heard some of the things that emerged from the mouth of Daryl Vaz, Minister of Transport, Telecommunications and Energy, and co-chair of the Cabinet sub-committee for Hurricane Melissa recovery, called the Recovery Oversight Committee.

Vaz, in a rant last week, said that he did not breach procurement guidelines in relation to a section of an overall review by Jamaica’s Auditor General, Pam Monroe Ellis, that he authorised same, in the name of the State, since the passage of Melissa.

Haven’t we been here before? How long will the political directorate continue to ignore clear regulations and do things that demand procedural scrutiny?

In spending just over $12 million to buy 200 devices produced by one of the world’s richest men, Elon Musk, among other things, of SpaceX fame, Vaz said that the country was in such a sorry state after Melissa that he had to push a fast button, and instructed the under-pressure Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management to buy the items and stand the cost. Interestingly, many of the items have still not been used, so you would have to question the urgency of the initial move.

The auditor general, in an executive summary of the report that was tabled in Parliament, rightly pointed out that the law did not give a minister or chairman of a particular committee the authority to choose suppliers or instruct an agency such as ODPEM to carry out any such transaction, I suppose even in a time of crisis. I am not sure how much longer it would have taken just to follow procedure and do the right thing.

But then, Vaz is Vaz, and people so named these days, seem to have an uncanny style of doing things that do not always conform to what is right. So, therefore, the arrogance and disrespect that flowed from the mouth of the Daryl kind, clearly tells us that Jamaica is in no particular rush to go anywhere close to the land of the civil, anytime soon.

The fact that the minister can be bold enough to say that he would carry out such breaches again, means that we might as well ignore all laws that govern State accountability, and make it an absolute free for all, whether in cases of emergency or not.

Jamaica is far too corrupt for there not to be the kind of accountability that the auditor general has been begging for so many years. Sometimes I wonder if Ms Monroe Ellis does not suffer from perennial headaches caused by annual breaches in the State apparatus, and would want to leave the mess alone and journey to the south of France for a long chill.

And speaking about Starlink devices, didn’t the Government get hundreds of them as gifts from global friends right after the natural disaster? Have those been accounted for and distributed in a manner that is transparent? Maybe we should ask the other co-chair of that specially selected partisan committee who has been awfully quieter than usual these days. 

Warmington will have a ball on ECJ

One smart move that Prime Minister Andrew Holness has made in recent days, is the appointment of veteran parliamentarian Clifford Everald Warmington as one of two nominated Jamaica Labour Party commissioners on the Electoral Commission of Jamaica.

Warmington, the arrogant and often disrespectful Member of Parliament for St Catherine South Western, replaces Senate President Tom Tavares Finson who served the commission for over two decades, and who went into retirement last month. 

The other JLP commissioner on the nine-member organisation is Dr Aundre Franklin.

The move followed one made by People’s National Party president Mark Golding weeks before, to remove long-timer Wensworth Skeffrey, and replace him with Maureen Webber. Her political teammate on the commission remains Dr Dayton Campbell, the party’s general secretary.

The job of nominated commissioner is important to the management of elections nationally, and those who serve, are known to be more highly compensated than others in key areas of public life, among them Members of Parliament, and ministers – their salaries in the region of $24 to $25 million annually, according to sources, although not in addition to their compensation packages if they already serve as MPs or ministers.

But the money and perquisites aside, Warmington’s capacity as an individual who knows the national turf better than most, as well as a sharp knowledge of election regulations, should convert to a master stroke by the prime minister, as he has all that it takes to make key points when delicate discussions surrounding electoral matters, among them boundary changes, and the voters’ list, come up during closed door deliberations.

The inability by the PNP to have someone giving strong support to Dr Campbell when the political organisations are jostling to emphasise their points along party lines, has given further credence to the view that Webber’s appointment was not a clever one. It’s now like, for those who follow cricket, Michael Holding, as Warmington, coming off the long run with the second new ball, with me at the striker’s end, without a helmet, no jewel protection, and a wickedly fast pitch to contend with, when the values of the newcomers are measured.

Many of the matters discussed at meetings of the commission are not known to John Public. But some of us do know, from time to time, about so many things that we call pertinent information, which others refer to as leaks.

As long as Warmington is around, there will be fireworks.

Not surprised by Trump’s depiction of Obamas

Should anyone to surprised about the depiction of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States and his wife Michelle, by US President Donald Trump in a video post, as monkeys?

Look at what has been happening regarding Trump’s conduct over decades. Why should anyone then, consider it strange for such a thing to emerge from his bowels?

The fact that Trump has not apologised to the Obamas for demonstrating the worst case of racism to have emerged from the White House, sums up the story of the man that he is. Merely deleting the post, due to pressure from his own Republicans and Democrats in Congress, is clearly not the answer. Going as far as blaming a member of the White House staff for posting the video to Trump’s social media account, is merely a cop out too.

The world should be on the alert for what will happen next. The disgusting video aside, Trump is on the rampage on his mission to disrupt life in countries that do not conform to the US’s political system and style. Those countries must either follow things the US way or stand the chance of being crushed. Cuba readily comes to mind, as conditions in that Caribbean island have worsened to almost crisis proportions, following the tightening of sanctions, including punishment to countries that supply oil to that destination.

Why should millions of innocent people suffer more, or die, just because one man wants to have his way in countries that have nothing to do with him, in terms of governance? Yet, the world just sits and follows the dictatorship, as if there is nothing else to do.