Opinion

How Aruba’s Strong Tourism Growth Can Get Even Stronger

Maximizing Jamaica’s Potential

AS I listened to the Planning Institute of Jamaica’s recent review of the Jamaican economy, I thought to myself that we have become a nation that is too used to mediocrity. The PIOJ estimated that the Jamaican economy grew by 0.9 …

Doing Business in the Caribbean 2016

By Paul HayCJ Contributor Doing Business 2016: Measuring Regulatory Quality and Efficiency is the 13th in the long-standing series of co-publications by the World Bank and International Financial Corporation (IFC). This annual report on the ease in doing business in …

Education in the Caribbean

By Nancy GeorgeOp-Ed Contributor The very good news for Caribbean education is that the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) has agreed that 2016 is the time to craft a Regional Strategic Action Plan that presents …

Jamaica’s Growth Agenda

By Dennis ChungCJ Contributor Jamaica’s government has placed growth at the front of its priorities. Since political independence, in 1962, we have only seen growth of any significance in the period 1962 to 1972, and then about three years in …

Getting the Facts Straight on Zika in Puerto Rico

By Clarisa JimenezOp-Ed Contributor “Ground Zero?” “Pandemic?” “Hundreds of thousands of cases of Zika virus in Puerto Rico this year?” “Puerto Rico is not prepared!” None of the statements above reflect the situation on the ground in Puerto Rico. So …

The Voice of Caribbean Cricket

By David P. RoweCJ Contributor The news this week that Tony Cozier had died was shattering and tragic for many cricket fans internationally and fans of West Indian cricket especially. For those of us who were children and cricket fans …

Why Jamaica Needs a Long-Term Crime Solution

By Dennis ChungCJ Contributor According to the World Economic Forum’s 2015-16 Global Competitiveness Report, crime and theft are the second most problematic factors to doing business in Jamaica, accounting for 16 per cent of the challenges. This is only outdone …

The Caribbean Has an Air Tax Problem

By George NicholsonOp-Ed Contributor The regional airline industry has been characterised by a high degree of commercial difficulties. The last three decades has seen the Caribbean airspace littered with the remains of more than thirty carriers – some of these …

The Jamaica-Trinidad Relationship

By Dennis ChungCJ Contributor The recent impasse between Jamaica and Trinidad, arising out of the latest round of Jamaicans being not only denied entry to Trinidad but being detained in less than acceptable circumstances, has once again raised the question …

Putting Zika in Puerto Rico in Perspective

By Ingrid I. Rivera RocafortOp-Ed Contributor While we celebrate the ease and accessibility of global travel, it requires some common-sense precaution, no matter where in the world one goes. That’s the nature of enjoying new and different destinations. Education is …

Disaster Risk Reduction in the Caribbean

By George Nicholson and Nnyeka Prescod Op-Ed Contributors In the economic sphere an act, a habit, an institution or a law produces not only one effect, but a series of effects. Of these effects, the first alone is immediate; it …

Taxes and Caribbean Tourism

By Robert MacLellanOp-Ed Contributor LIAT Airlines has been a vital factor in the commercial and tourism life blood of the Caribbean for decades. However, the company has now had three CEO’s and two Acting CEO’s in the last seven years, evidence …

What Are Jamaica’s Development Goals?

By Dennis ChungCJ Contributor Last year I had set a goal to ride 7,500 miles on the bicycle, which I achieved. Discussing it with another cyclist, I was asked if that was my ultimate objective and if I would be …

Cricket and Air Transport in the Caribbean

By Kareem YardeCJ Contributor Firstly, congratulations to the CHAMPION teams- ‘WI’ under 19s, ‘WI’ women’s and ‘WI’ men’s. Like many West Indians, on Sunday, I too was glued to the television, gripped with suspense and anticipation as ‘WI’ secured our …

Why to Buy Jamaican

By Dennis ChungCJ Contributor As Jamaica pursues our eternal search for economic development, one focus has been on the need for us to purchase local goods and services in preference to imports. The reasoning behind this seems logical, as it should …

Social Media and Jamaica’s 2016 Elections

By Marcia Forbes, PhDCJ Contributor #StayInLine As the day wore on almost into afternoon, complaints about tardy election workers and polling stations started to be heard across traditional media. CVMTV and Nationwide Radio, national free-to-air TV and radio, respectively, both …

A New Caribbean “Kokomo?”

By Ryan PetersonCJ Contributor Popularized by The Beach Boys during the early 90s, many have wondered whether ‘Kokomo’ is real or simply an imaginary place. Likewise, as the smaller economies of the Caribbean venture deeper into the 21st century and …

Thinking Beyond Caribbean Climate

By Ryan PetersonCJ Contributor No, we are not talking about climate change and the disruptive effects of increased temperatures, sea level rise, coastal erosion, ocean pollution and acidification, nor the loss of biodiversity, water scarcity, and the increased frequency of …