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Golding, Young Jamaica and the hypocrisy of filing

It was concerning to me when Young Jamaica, the youth arm of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party, issued a statement last week, urging Opposition Leader and President of the People’s National Party, Mark Golding, to give a ‘full and transparent explanation’ to the people of Jamaica, in respect of his 2024 statutory declaration, which, the news release said, had not been certified by the Integrity Commission.

Odd, I thought, because if it is one thing that I have observed about Golding over the years, it is that he has never been late with his annual filings. So, there I was thinking that he had now caught the disease that has afflicted Prime Minister Andrew Holness over his inability to furnish the Integrity Commission with his findings since 2021.

Even while I attended last Saturday’s funeral service for the life of my special friend, erstwhile parliamentarian and JLP stalwart Leslie Roy Campbell at Fellowship Tabernacle in Pembroke Hall, St Andrew, the matter rested on my mind as being inappropriate, if true.

How could Golding have done that,? I argued. How could he be so critical of others, and, yet, ignore his own affairs? … anger seemingly rising as I pondered.

More than 12 hours later, and while going through the torture of staying up to see India’s cricketers punish Afghanistan in a one-off Test match, the urge to check the daily newspapers online hit me. When I checked the Gleaner‘s site I could not believe my eyes when I saw something completely opposite to what Young Jamaica had put forward.

There was the latest on Golding’s statutory declaration from the Integrity Commission, confirming that the Opposition Leader had been certified, again, and there were no issues.

What a shame, I thought, on Young Jamaica. It led me to wonder whether or not youthful exuberance had anything to do with the conduct of the people who are slated to run with the political baton in years to come, because I have seen some silly, unchecked ones from the People’s National Party Youth Organisation too.

Golding’s assets and liabilities, those of his spouse, and children were declared certified by the Integrity Commission – and there seemed to have been no fuss about it, according to the Gleaner, which also said that the findings were published in the Jamaica Gazette on May 26, 2026 – long before Young Jamaica put out its evil, awful and ignorant news release. The numbers quoted by the Gleaner on Golding and his family do not concern me in the least. What matters is that the law has been followed.

This matter of certification must be taken seriously if there is to be general progress, and not a situation of compliance for some, but no action for others. Partisan politics should never be shoved upon the system, when all that is required is clean action.

The Gleaner building and Parliament

When news emerged that Radio Jamaica Group and the Gleaner Company Group would be merged into Jamaica’s most powerful media entity – the RJRGleaner Communications Group in March 2016, it was a sad moment for me.

I sensed there and then that the merged parties could not sustain all the affiliates that would be under the control of the new entity, and would stifle the collection and dissemination of news across Jamaica.

With all the changes going on in media, globally and locally, the RJRGleaner Group has been forced to lose some weight, which meant going on a financial diet that would result not only in the number of people on staff getting displaced, but the quality of the overall product would be diluted as well. That is exactly what has happened.

On the radio side, RJR has seen the transition of Power 106 FM, and Hitz 92 FM – which, by themselves, held their own quite adequately.

The Gleaner newspaper though, was the big fish that got caught in the new strangulation. The Gleaner represented, on its own, the journalistic history of Jamaica. It had been around since 1834, when brothers Jacob deCordova and Joshua deCardova hit the street with a weekly newspaper that contained a mere four pages.

The Gleaner touched the lives of more workers in the industry over the years than all other contenders combined. To have witnessed the paper being published by another was something that no individual in his wildest dream would have come up with.

Now, the Gleaner building, which covers a large area spread across sections of North Street and East Street in the Jamaica parish capital of Kingston, will conduct business journalistic in nature, no more. The building, which comprises five floors, has been sold to the Azars, a prominent Jamaican family of proud business leaders. The secret about what the building will be used for, remains just that.

It was so sad to know that Jamaica’s primary information sheet of all time, would never again leave from that address. The selling price, I am told was in the region of US$6.5 million, or just over a billion dollars in Jamaican currency, depending on which exchange rate is applied.

Last Friday and Saturday were the days set aside, I was informed, to sell some of the historical items that had driven the Gleaner over the years. They would include office furniture, computers, among other things. From a distance, I was ‘invited’ to partake of the offering, but I could not face a situation like that, having spent over 12 years popping in and out of the building, so I am not even aware of what transpired.

Looking at all of that though, and without knowing what the future holds for the building, I thought about what such a history-riddled structure would be best suited for. Alas, the answer came out easier than I thought: To house the headquarters of Jamaica’s Parliament.

Did it ever dawn on the Government of Jamaica that the old Gleaner building could be converted into Gordon House – the seat of Jamaica’s Parliament – instead of disturbing land at National Heroes Circle and having to spend more than five times the amount that it would take for the Heroes Circle development? In May 2023, the Government stated that the new parliament building would be at National Heroes Circle, but three years later, nothing concrete has occurred.

The Gleaner building has adequate space to hold meetings of the House of Representatives, also meetings of the Senate, committees, and certainly to house a museum. When retrofitted and refurbished, it would be a glorious sight (site too).

Adequate parking space is also available. 

Is it too late to renegotiate?

JPS shutdown a disgrace

What in blazes could have occurred on the night of Friday, June 5, that left most of Jamaica in darkness?

The spin doctors of the Jamaica Public Service, and Government agents, who are serving as prosecutors, know not the answer to an issue that left so many wide-eyed in amazement.

An investigation, the JPS has said, as is customary, will be conducted regarding the findings, and hopefully, will be dispatched to the public. Simultaneously, those great grandmother theories must be ignored. 

The Jamaica Government must urge the people, henceforth, to invest more in solar, and follow that by offering incentives that will lead to a reduction in the dependence of crude oil and its derivatives.

For starters, Jamaica needs solar farms, so by having a conversation with China, we would be able to kick off that ball game in no time and before you know it, solar farms would be all over the place, just like in Cuba which now benefits to the tune of 25 per cent of that country’s energy needs, from that source. There is more to come if the United States does not continue its foolishness of trying to destroy the lovely and delightful island.

Whenever the JPS realises that people are drifting further away from it, that it when the company will get serious.

World Cup blaze

The excitement is building with each passing day, although, when compared to other tournaments, the 2026 edition of World Cup football does not appear to me as being fully anticipated.

Maybe it is where the tournament, now up from 32 teams to 48, is being played, and the controversies surrounding it, in particular rule changes, and the treatment of Iranian fans and officials who are being denied the right to visit the United States by US immigration.

On the field of play though, the teams are looking decent, and you hear fans screaming the names of teams and individuals that they fancy to be competitive.

Based upon form, it is expected that the same faces that have dominated world football over the last 70 years, minus Italy, will have a say.

For the first time in decades, the most loved football team globally, Brazil, look highly competitive, although France, England, a resurgent Germany, and ultra racist Argentina must be fancied highly.

There is a buzz among African teams, but their lack of football pedigree will be a setback.

Those touting, or planning to wager on Japan as possible winners, had better focus instead on the motor vehicle industry in that country, because it just will not happen.