Excerpt from Jamaica Observer column published 14 September 2020
By: Jean Lowrie-Chin
We borrow Toots’ words to herald in the members of the Cabinet announced by Prime Minister Andrew Holness last Friday. We heartily congratulate the reappointed and new Ministers, State Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries; you have worked hard and your appointments are well earned. The PM has not minced words about his expectations of those in whom he has entrusted the business of the country, warning against acts of corruption and reminding them that they are servants and not monarchs.
They have assumed their high office in the toughest times faced by Jamaica in recent history. Last Saturday we recalled the devastation caused by hurricane Gilbert 32 years ago and we reflected that the damage was horrible but visible, it had a beginning and an end, and we could appeal to our international friends for assistance. Covid’s damage is insidious and seems unending. Our international friends are also suffering from its wide and merciless grasp.
This Cabinet will have to draw on the support of citizens from every walk of life. I remember Monsignor Richard Albert relating how an old lady in Riverton Meadows called out to him on a visit, and handed him a paper package with coins she had been saving. She said she saw the good he was doing and she wanted to help. And there is my friend Mrs Ferguson, a humble lady in St. Elizabeth, who will not sit down to eat her Sunday dinner until she takes some for two elderly persons who live nearby. This is the spirit of generosity that we must enkindle in our people because no Government, no matter how competent, no matter how honest, can handle this crisis on their own.
There is so much sacrifice, so much pain. We have to search ourselves and find ways in which we can make another’s life more bearable. Yes, we should expect good governance and sound policies from our leaders, but they cannot do it all.
After elections, we should live as one Jamaican family, and so this disgusting behaviour of ‘burying’ a candidate and going to the extreme of producing a full-colour funeral programme, must be given no quarter. That kind of energy should have been expended for the good. Covid does not give us the luxury of time for foolishness. We need everybody on board, JLP and PNP, so we are depending on our political representatives to set an example of respect and dignity.
Covid scammers
We received reports of a scammer, pretending to be from the Ministry of Health, who telephoned a man, informing him that he had been in contact with a Covid-infected person and that he would be sending him a test kit. The caller asked for his card number to collect payment for the kit. When the man refused to disclose his card number, he was threatened with penalties. Please tell your senior relatives that there is no such programme and they should pass on the telephone numbers of such persons to the police so they can be tracked down and charged.
Farewell Trailblazer Jeanette Grant-Woodham
Jeanette Grant-Woodham’s life was one of dynamic leadership. The legendary educator was the first Principal of the Tivoli Gardens High School and was the first woman Leader of the Senate, appointed in 1984.
In his tribute, PM Andrew Holness said, “Jeanette pushed boundaries, broke barriers, and did the seemingly impossible.” She was appointed Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Industry in 1986, and a Foundation established in her name has made tertiary education possible for several West Kingston students. She became an active member of the Jamaica Women’s Political Caucus and must have taken comfort in the rising number of women politicians.
Our condolences to her son Omar and to her relatives and close friends. May the great soul of Jeanette Grant-Woodham rest in peace.
Jamaica Highlights 