Commentary

This February 17 photo shows a collision involving a Toyota Axio motor car and an Isuzu truck along Mandela Highway.
Published 17 hours ago

Editorial | Make roads safe

There was good news and bad news in the crash report released this week by the Island Traffic Authority (ITA). The good news: that in the first 54 days of 2026 (up to February 23) road traffic fatalities were down 31 per cent, while fatal crashes decreased by 35 per cent compared to the same period last year. If that trend holds, there will possibly be approximately 127 fewer road deaths in 2026, than the 373 who died in road crashes in 2025.

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Published 17 hours ago

Tony Deyal | The good, the bad and the maybe

Many moons ago, I dared to go to a terrifying late-night show, The Horror of Dracula, at the country cinema in the dusty town of Siparia in South Trinidad. Originally an indigenous settlement believed…
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio gives a thumbs up during the CARICOM plenary session in Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Published 17 hours ago

Ronald Sanders | Rubio, CARICOM, and the work of diplomacy

When Marco Rubio arrived in St. Kitts to address the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, CARICOM, he did so only hours after attending President Trump’s State of the Union address in…
Gleaner editorial writes: The Gleaner urges, and looks forward to, a broader and deeper conversation of the projected skills requirement for the post-Hurricane Melissa reconstruction
February 27, 2026

Editorial | The HEART of skills

It is a long-standing complaint that Jamaica has a scarcity of skilled or certified trades people, such as carpenters, masons and plumbers. Even if they are good at the basics, they often fall short…
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio,poses for a group photo with other government officials attending the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) meeting in Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis. Also pictured are, Bahamas’ Prime Minister Philip Edward Davis, left, Gren
February 27, 2026

Peter Espeut | The dismantling of CARICOM

I guess if you ask Prime Minister Holness he might say that Jamaica already held a referendum on the issue on September 19, 1961 and the people decided. Sixty-five years ago, Norman Manley – premier…
Kristen Gyles writes: Something else that deserves serious attention ... is the amount of time that people waste waiting on government services.
February 27, 2026

Kristen Gyles | Bureaucracy and the low productivity problem

One quiet drag on national output that isn’t being talked about enough is inefficient bureaucracy. What if, after writing this article, it had to be reviewed by an editing assistant, then by two…
Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness
February 26, 2026

Editorial | JDF’s move no big thing

The establishment of the separate Ministry of Defence with the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) seems to this newspaper a largely administrative move that ought to be uncontroversial. On its face,…
Tiffany McLeggon
February 26, 2026

Tiffany McLeggon | Democracy beyond election day

On election day, Jamaica hums with a particular kind of energy. The streets grow loud with horns, colours, and conviction. Polling stations come alive, and there are spirited debate. People walk out…
February 26, 2026

Ruthlyn James | When good students look bad on paper

At first glance, the Jamaican high-school report appears straightforward. It lists grades, subject averages, attendance, conduct, order marks and class position. It looks objective. It looks…
Promise Longe, Ph.D. Candidate in Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Kansas
February 26, 2026

Promise Longe | How natural hydrogen, hiding deep in the Earth, could serve as a new energy source

In the search for more, new and cleaner sources of energy, a largely untapped resource is emerging: natural hydrogen. Unlike hydrogen produced from industrial processes, natural hydrogen forms through…