Tufton has nothing to smile about

The report submitted to the Jamaican Parliament by the Integrity Commission into the operations of a public relations firm, Market Me Consulting Limited, the principal of which has personal links to Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton, is serious, and should not be seen as a ‘clearance’ by the minister, as he seems to be implying. 

It emerged that 15 public relations contracts, 14 from the health ministry, and one from the National Family Planning Board, amounting to over J$78 million, were granted to the firm, co-managed by Lyndsey McDonnough, Dr Tufton’s lover.

Although the report said that there was no evidence that Dr Tufton, personally, pushed for their approval, the mere fact that your partner is directly involved in the process of acquiring contracts under a ministry of which you are policy head should have raised all colours of flags.

There were clear procurement breaches, the IC said, and I hope that Tufton will follow the rules henceforth, and focus on lifting the health sector from the sorrowful state that it has found itself since he took over as minister in 2016.

The IC said that Tufton and McDonnough failed to tell the public about their “friendship” at a time when her company was awarded the contracts.  

It is interesting that the IC said that Tufton “appeared to have advanced a private interest, which resulted in a monetary benefit to Market Me Consulting Limited.” What more do you want? It’s clear that the minister acted improperly, and, according to the IC, contravened the principles of transparency and good governance.

Pillow talk does not always result in tangible benefits for the public service and the nation as a whole.

Taxis again… What can be done to tame these street monsters?

The Government must realise by now that the behaviour of taximen on certain roadways across Jamaica is fast becoming the foremost showpiece of everyday activity.

If you think it is bad in Kingston, visit sections of Spanish Town, Mandeville, Montego Bay, and a few other parish capitals.

Taxi drivers are all in this mad rush to get to Hell, as St Peter, who I am sure has been watching the situation from afar, must be convinced that he wants to have nothing to do with those rogues and Heaven’s gate should, under no circumstances, be opened to even an urgent appeal for mercy.

You see, dangerous, careless and reckless taxi driving has become a culture. Those behind the wheel do not have a care in the world about the safety of themselves, their passengers or the public. Yet, the State system established to cage those monsters does very little, which opens up the process to questioning. 

In the Corporate Area, for example, why is the carefree attitude still allowed to go unpunished? Pick any roadway in the morning, or late afternoon into evening, and you will find the same thing happening all seven days of the week, which is a surprise for Saturdays and Sundays when the traffic is lighter

Thoroughfares like Spanish Town Road, Molynes Road, Red Hills Road, Washington Boulevard, Half-Way-Tree Road, Courtney Walsh Drive, Dunrobin Avenue, Old Hope Road, Waltham Park Road, Mountain View Avenue, Constant Spring Road, are like hell zones.

Those roads, and others, are turned into three and four lanes when only two exist; drivers fly past pedestrian and school crossings like the now out-of-production Learjet, and in most cases, police presence is minimal or non-existent, so the perpetrators carry on as if laws do not exist.

Dr Horace Chang, the longstanding deputy prime minister, has spoken boldly for many years about ridding the roads of danger, yet things have only grown worse. 

The senior police officer in charge of the traffic division, Assistant Commissioner Dr Gary McKenzie, a nice and brilliant man from the time I met him as a lower-ranking policeman at Traffic Headquarters, Elletson Road in central Kingston, will do his legacy no good if instances of road indiscipline are not adequately addressed.

Dr McKenzie must advocate for a system now, which would include the immediate seizure of vehicles, not only for lack of fitness and non-licensing, but other traffic infractions. Offending taxi drivers must be thrown in jail, without the possibility of bail for 48 hours, before being passed on to face the bench.
Also, pushing for tougher sentences in the Traffic Court and Criminal Court would pay off.

Those in authority must rescue Jamaica, as the public has been pressing the panic button for too long.

A ‘Hope’ for Campbell and West Indies

Those of us who continued to sacrifice vital sleep time to stay up and watch the West Indies team in action on the third day of the second Test match against India in the highly polluted capital of Delhi, would have been given a rare breath of fresh air when two West Indies batsmen (I still refuse to call them batters) put on a classy demonstration.

John Campbell, a man who has had to clear several negative hurdles in the race of his life, and Shai Hope, to me, the best batsman in the Caribbean across formats, stood tall in the fight to postpone another bout of embarrassment by their team, in a tremendous display of grit and determination that has side-stepped the West Indies in recent months.

They showed that despite the misfits in the coaching and management teams, led by Daren Sammy, their lost coach, his assistants and similar non-achievers, Floyd Reifer, Ravi Rampaul, and manager Rawl Lewis; that there were millions who were craving for respect and honour, who should be so treated.

At the close of play Sunday morning, Jamaica time, Campbell had scored a defiant 87, eyeing his first Test century; and Hope was 66, as the team trailed India by 97 runs, after they were forced to follow on in the two-match series. Remember now, they were rolled over, in humiliating fashion, by India in the first Test match, within three days of the five-day encounter.

I’m particularly happy for 32-year-old Campbell, as the western St Mary man, as humble as you can get, has been fighting his battles for years. He was unfortunately banned for evading a drug test, when the evidence, to me, did not seem to amount to the kind of 22-month punishment (reduced from four years) handed down, and even before that, the skin disease that afflicts him, called Vitiligo, made him the subject of teasing by children and adults even up to the time that he attended Tacky High School in Gayle, St Mary.  

Sure enough, for him to have demonstrated the steely attitude, against all odds, that we have seen, meant that he found deep inspiration from Tacky High’s motto: ‘The Brave May Fall But Never Yield’, which was used, originally, by Kingston College, although Tacky does not recognise the Latin version of ‘Fortis Cadere Cedere Non Potest.’

Unless rain intervenes or some kind of fundamentalist digs the pitch up for whatever reason, the West Indies will likely lose the match, as the route is too mountainous to manage. But, for once in ages, there was a conviction by two batsmen, who decided to allow their bats to do what their makers intended.

Fire football coach McClaren before it is too late

It is a puzzle, a mystery maybe, that the head coach of Jamaica’s national football team, Steve McClaren, still has his job.

Last Friday’s 0-2 loss away to Curaçao in that Dutch-speaking colony’s oddly constructed capital, Willemstad, proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the former Manchester United assistant manager knows nothing about coaching at the international level.

His overall results have been surprising so far, and it is time that the Jamaica Football Federation makes the decisive move to strip him of his role. Oh yes, some will argue, Jamaica, now in second place of their Group B, which also includes Trinidad & Tobago in third place, and lowly Bermuda, can still qualify for the 2026 World Cup to be hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

The winner of the group advances automatically, while the team that finishes second will get the chance to play off with Ukraine for a spot, which is not the easiest of tasks.

Jamaica have scored wins against Bermuda, away, the group’s beating stick, and Trinidad & Tobago in Kingston. They have upcoming matches against Bermuda at Kingston’s National Stadium, away to Trinidad & Tobago, and home to Curaçao. Automatic qualification is not as easy as it seemed up to last Friday evening.

So, what has been causing the hiccup and misfiring? Well, since the early 1970s, I have seen coaches in action who appear to know how to prepare a squad for international action. McClaren is the worst of them, despite his links and connections. 

Yes, if the JFF does not fire him by time Bermuda gets to Jamaica on Tuesday, October 14, the birthday of Allan ‘Skill’ Cole, the greatest footballer to have come from Jamaica, the Reggae Boyz would be handed a further three points, as there is no way that Bermuda can create the upset of the century, even if in wild imagination, the JFF uses politician Everald Warmington to coach the team for that match. But what if Curaçao defeats Trinidad & Tobago on the same day, and then T&T slaps Jamaica in the final match? It means that Jamaica would not be guaranteed automatic qualification as group winners, maybe even not as runners-up, depending on other results.

McClaren has had the best squad of players at his disposal. He has recruited several from the United Kingdom, who fly to matches and warm the bench for the duration of the game. That should not be. Any player who boards a plane in England and cannot start a match or go on as a substitute is not worthy of a place in the squad. It’s best then to focus on those who are available in Jamaica, even to keep the substitutes’ bench warm.

Maybe McClaren just wants to qualify for the World Cup. But, even then, there are basics that must be done. He should be looking to not just qualify, but to be competitive in the group and knockout stages. Alas, he clearly does not have a plan.

The JFF needs to act before it is too late.