The mounting challenges facing Jamaica while traversing our roads, with unruly public passenger vehicles, mainly taxis on the one hand, and congestion on the other, caused by motorists who don’t care, have stepped up a notch.

I am wondering whether or not I am the only one being affected by the now constant dose of noise that has become the new phenomenon. The main culprits are those motorcyclists who believe that they should disturb this side of the globe with noise at any hour, even between 1:00 am and 6:00 am.

I am sure that those bikers did not get or buy their motors with mufflers that get people’s attention readily. No. Some amount of modification had to take place. And guess what? I am sure that no one has been prosecuted for what amounts to noise pollution, ergo breaking the law. Welcome to Jamaica…Where some break all the rules, and those who can enforce them couldn’t care less.

Bikers are not the only ones caught up in the messy situation, though, as there are trucks also, whose operators ensure that they serve as alarm clocks for people who really need a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

Have these perpetrators even visited other countries, like Canada, the United States, England and others where road and noise laws are strictly adhered to? I think not. It is not to say that Jamaica must follow everything that others do, but I argue that the action of bikers and truck drivers in particular, cut into the production time of many people, because of the disturbance that they cause, especially at times when some are trying to sleep to face another tough day.

If this matter is not one to be addressed under the Noise Abatement Act, then I don’t know what is. I have heard the police talk about controlling the conduct of public passenger drivers on the road. This has been going on for over 10 years. The police will tell you that one taxi man had accumulated over 400 tickets, others over 300, and yet, they are still driving. How could that be? Amazingly, at one time, one had accumulated over 2,000 tickets … Information that should have been dispatched to Ripley’s.

It now leaves me to wonder. If the police cannot take charge of keeping things tight on the road, how will they attack the noise from bikes and other vehicles that is torturing some of us?

Between crocodiles and humans…

Very interesting it was, when news emerged last week about the death of around 10 crocodiles over a month, from starvation and dehydration in the Greater Portmore area of St Catherine.

The reptiles had succumbed, we were told, after they were stuck in old sewage ponds.

Immediately, the Government, by way of the man with responsibility for the environment, Matthew Samuda, rushed to the rescue of other crocs known to be in the area, by putting in a raft of measures to ensure that such a situation does not recur.

Good for those who want to lay out the red carpet for crocodile, but I am not among that crowd. I absolutely hate crocodiles, and until someone can convince me of how they contribute to improving the environment, my mind will not change.

I do not subscribe to the view that crocodiles are harmless creatures, and in most cases, they only retaliate against humans when they are attacked/threatened. I have seen enough evidence to the contrary for me to maintain my dislike for them.

I would suggest that crocodiles get better treatment and protection than humans in many cases. When, for example, a man dies in a jail cell at a police station, he being held by the State for having a ganja spliff in his possession, and is killed, it is painful that the matter of his demise still lingers in the court 12 years after.

Believe it or not, but there are people in Jamaica who die of hunger and thirst. They die too, of the inability to purchase medicine to keep them active. When will they get the attention that they deserve?

I will never forget my very good friend, a football coach of youngsters we called ‘Heightsman’ from Rae Town in Kingston, who said he was not feeling well one morning and went to Kingston Public Hospital to be attended to. He arrived close to 7:30 am and sat there waiting to be seen by a doctor.

It was only when he, feeling weak, could take it no more, that he decided to call a man he coached, whose daughter worked at the institution. By time she got a chance to go and see him it was around 4:00 pm. Seeing how frail he was, she pushed for a stretcher to take him to the accident and emergency area. By the time the porter arrived and Heightsman got onto the stretcher, he took his last breath. A man who had touched so many lives and turned several into stars was failed by the State apparatus.

It continues today, while crocodiles continue to be treated better.

Silly Breakout T20 cricket league

Whomever came up with the idea of the Breakout T20 Cricket League that Cricket West Indies introduced to the world last week, should be banished to Siberia.

The league, which has countless rules, and bonus points allocations that I am told is meant to inspire good results, has so far been lousy and I cannot see how its introduction will benefit cricket in the Caribbean.

The objective of this league is to presumably boost the quality of T20 cricket in the region and make the West Indies as competitive as the team can be on the international stage. Some just do not understand that hitting the ball in the air consistently is a good-for-nothing move. You need young people who can build innings and get their techniques in order.

The West Indies T20 team have been doing better than the Test, and One-Day International aggregations for long. The last title the team won was the T20 World Cup in 2016. The One-Day (50-over) team have flopped. So too the Test side – a monumental failure that can only win the World Test Championship one day if they dream about it.

So, if your Test and One-Day teams are in shambles, why focus on a new league that can churn out ‘stars’ to play T20 cricket, considering too that the West Indies T20 team are ranked in the top four in the world?

I have had the displeasure of watching matches in the Breakout League and have come to the conclusion that there are administrators who should break away from Cricket West Indies, because what they are trying to achieve has fallen short of the mark.

Up to last Saturday, I saw the Jamaica team play the Leeward Islands, which resulted in victory for the latter. There was one player who had represented the West Indies in Tests – Kirk McKenzie, who didn’t know where he was and what he was doing. He eventually scored 30 off 36 balls, but the point is that such a player, and others, must learn to bat in the game’s longer version before they are thrown into the deep end of T20 cricket.

Chinese will reign

It appears that a mixture of good and bad has been happening at the site of a much-talked-about garage in Ferry, close to something bordering the parishes of St Catherine and St Andrew, which has drawn attention.

Ten Chinese mechanics, it emerged, do not have work permits to operate in Jamaica; while on the other hand, despite their jump start, they have been achieving a telling purpose of service.

Firstly, not having work permits in Jamaica by mainly people of oriental background is nothing new. It must be formulated. Secondly, these workers often outshine their Jamaican counterparts in their field of endeavour, and it is cause for concern.

Apparently, the mechanics have not only been doing a splendid job, but have also been easier on the wallets and purses of customers. Jamaican parts distributors and mechanics often overcharge their clients. It is way more expensive to maintain a European vehicle in Jamaica than it is with respect to Japanese or Chinese vehicles. When you check vehicle parts online for European types, you have to conclude that parts distributors in Jamaica are wicked. So, people will look around for the best options.

We still live in a world in which economics is in charge, despite what President Donald Trump is doing to the United States. Methinks that the Chinese are good for Jamaica, and should be encouraged to play their role in the game of supply and demand.

Things are not looking so good for America-Jamaica trade relations, so if Jamaica does not get smart and embrace the Chinese as best as they can, as long as rules are followed, then this country will be left behind.