Author name: Professor Canute Thompson

My interest in examining the question of racism in Jamaica is triggered by the public response to the depiction of oppression, using the symbol of chains, and the removal of those chains, which occurred at a recent political meeting of the People’s National Party (PNP).  Given that some readers may have seen the video in […]

The United States of America has entered an unprecedented era of lawbreaking by holders of public office and the normalization of wrongdoing. As such, there is little shock and surprise that a former president has the unenviable record of having been twice impeached and indicted four times.  He faces ninety-one (yes, 91!) charges across these

A week ago, Governor of the Bank of Jamaica (BoJ), Richard Byles, said that Private Sector companies should be mindful of the inflationary impact of wage settlements.  His comments brought widespread public ire and rebuke. In a piece entitled An open letter to Richard Byles – governor of the Bank of Jamaica and published on

Dear Mr. Byles: I am shocked and almost angry at your most recent comments cautioning businesses against excessive pay rises for employees as the country continues to grapple with inflation concerns. You made these comments on or about August 21, 2023. But only a three months ago, on May 22, 2023, you defended the massive

Jamaica’s unemployment rate has hit an all-time historic low of 4.5%.  This figure represents the percentage of the number of people in the labour force who do not have a job but are actively looking for work.  While this development is, at face value, something to celebrate (which the representatives of the government are doing),

Jamaica’s development as an independent nation, now in its 61st year, may be characterized as a series of stops and starts. There have been promising possibilities some of which realized their promise partially and others either stymied or shuttered, but the nation continues to hope.  In my assessment, a rough characterization of the country’s development

The decision of Kamina Johnson-Smith, Jamaica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, to contest for the non-vacant post of Commonwealth Secretary General (CSG) in 2022, remains a mystery despite so much that has been disclosed. Context and brief history It is to be recalled that in early 2022, at a CARICOM Heads of Government

The world is witnessing what many thought would not have happened in the United States of America, namely the arrest and arraignment of a former president.  Probably the only reason this did not happen to a sitting president is based on the Department of Justice guideline that a sitting president should not be subject to

The English-speaking Caribbean is a low-wage market of which Jamaica is the worst based on its GDP per capita and the size of that low-wage labour force.  While the Government of Jamaica has substantially increased the salaries of members of the political directorate, principals of schools and colleges and senior civil servants, the salaries of

Members of an organisation are entitled to their own perspectives and the right to disagree with a decision and direction of an organisation must be respected.  But when the leadership of an organisation takes a position, it is presumed to be reflective of, and binding on, all leaders in the organisation.  If this principle of