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Solving Jamaica’s Foreign Exchange Crisis

By Dennis Chung CJ Contributor OVER THE LAST WEEK there have been two issues dominating the media in Jamaica, which illustrates to me that Jamaica’s foreign exchange crisis is driven primarily by the way we approach challenges. The first is […]

Sustainable Prosperity in Jamaica

By Dennis Chung CJ Contributor THERE IS SOMETHING the Honourable Dennis Lalor always says to me that has a lot of relevance for the country, and individuals. That is: “Bird seed don’t make John Crow sing.” For any reader who […]

Dennis Chung: The Cost of Cultural Habits in Jamaica

By Dennis Chung CJ Contributor IN 2011, I REMEMBER having a discussion with someone who questioned my continuous advice that people should look towards solar energy at home, and if necessary borrow the funds to install it. At the time […]

Dennis Chung: Why Devaluation Is Not Good for Jamaica

By Dennis Chung CJ Contributor OVER RECENT WEEKS there have been utterances from several quarters in Jamaica — including economists, analysts, and technocrats — about the benefits of devaluation for the country. The argument being made, is based on the […]

Dennis Chung: Jamaica’s Survival Under the International Monetary Fund

By Dennis Chung CJ Contributor AT THE END of December 2012, when it became clear no International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal was coming, I wrote an article titled “Jamaica without the IMF,” as I felt that it was important to […]

Op-Ed: When Will the United Nations Pay for Its Actions in Haiti?

By Jake Johnston Op-Ed Contributor Less than a week after cholera began its violent spread throughout Haiti, a UN military base in the central plateau became the prime suspect for having introduced the bacteria. The UN was quick to shoot […]

Chung: Fixing Jamaica’s Structural Deficiencies to See Growth

By Dennis Chung CJ Contributor THERE were two occurrences within the past week that reminded me that Jamaica still has a lot to do in order to see long-term sustainable development. There was an announcement that an International Monetary Fund […]

Dennis Chung: Business and Consumer Confidence in Jamaica

By Dennis Chung CJ Contributor LAST YEAR, when the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC) reported that consumer and business confidence were at their highest level for years, many persons were excited about the prospects. I remember speaking with Ralston Hyman […]

Dennis Chung: Jamaica’s Policy Options

By Dennis Chung CJ Contributor THERE ARE TWO THINGS of importance to Jamaica that occurred over the past two weeks which will have an effect on what happens to our economy going forward. The first is the update on the […]

Dennis Chung: Avoiding Economic and Social Decline in Jamaica

By Dennis Chung CJ Contributor JAMAICA IS ONCE AGAIN at an economic crossroads. Only this time it is more critical that we take the correct path, as the wrong one today leads over a precipice. The last time we were […]

Dennis Chung: Jamaica Without the IMF

By Dennis Chung CJ Contributor AS I READ the Dec. 29, 2012 statement, issued by Jamaica’s Finance Minister concerning the status of the International Monetary Fund negotiations, I thought to myself that it is not clear when Jamaica is […]

Dennis Chung: Jamaica’s Economy in 2013

By Dennis Chung CJ Contributor ONE QUESTION I get a lot is: what is to be expected of economic performance in Jamaica in 2013? In particular, people want to know about the IMF agreement, the exchange rate, inflation, and GDP […]

Post-Earthquake Housing in Haiti

Above: housing near Delmas 32 (Photo: Mercidieu Moranvil) By Dieudonné Joachim The already acute pre-earthquake housing problem in Haiti was magnified when 190,000 homes were destroyed or damaged after the Jan. 12, 2010 trembler. Even though the construction sector experienced […]

Op-Ed: The Exoneration of Marcus Garvey: A Moral Obligation

By Geoffrey Philp Op-Ed Contributor On June 16, 2012, the Rootz Foundation, Institute for Caribbean Studies, and the Marcus Garvey Celebrations Committee, of which I am a member, launched an online petition for the exoneration of Marcus Garvey, leader of […]

In Haiti’s Land of Canaan, a Promised Land Empty of Promise

Above: Canaan in Haiti By Kendi Zidor Haitian Press Agency Jeanne St Fleur spent more than two years living in a tent on the dusty hillside known as Canaan, in the northern end of Port-au-Prince’s metropolitan area. She moved there […]

Interview with Haiti Tourism Minister Stephanie Villedrouin on Remaking Haiti’s Brand

By Alexander Britell Haiti’s tourism sector is beginning again. Two years since the earthquake, new hotels are beginning to pop up, new hospitality students are being trained and destinations like Jacmel are entering the consciousness of international travelers. While it’s […]

Op-Ed: Jamaica, Greece and Putting the People Before the Creditors

By Jake Johnston Op-Ed Contributor Jamaica is barely emerging from its worst economic downturn in the last 30 years. Even after positive growth returned in 2011, the economy remains 3 percent below its 2007 level, and with anaemic growth projected […]

Forbes: Media Freedom in Jamaica

By Marcia Forbes, PhD CJ Contributor Media Freedom in Jamaica can be examined from the point of view of the consumers — that is — the reader, the listener, the viewer, or, from the point of view of the content […]

Op-Ed: Haiti’s Fight for Transparency

By Jake Johnston Op-Ed Contributor In the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, donors pledged billions of dollars for reconstruction efforts. With those dollars was a commitment to “build back better”; this time was supposed to be different from previous […]

On the Ground: Journalism Ethics in Haiti

By Kathie Klarreich A few months into my Knight International Journalism Fellowship in Haiti, I was conducting a training session in a radio newsroom in the capital when a reporter danced through the open door. He proudly announced that he’d […]

In Haiti’s Tabarre Issa, Finding Out the Truth about Ecological Toilets

Above: Septic systems dug by residents at Tabarre Issa (Photo: Fritznelson Fortune) By Lafontaine Orvild TABARRE, HAITI — COMPLETE WITH GALLERY AND GARDEN, 534 wood and plasterboard houses dot a gravel plot of former sugarcane fields northwest of Haiti’s capital. […]

In Haiti’s Villa Rosa, Building Back May Not Prove to Be Better

Above: Villa Rosa (Photo: Kendi Zidor) SEVERELY DAMAGED DURING HAITI’S 2010 EARTHQUAKE, the metropolitan area known as Villa Rosa is a striking example of what has gone wrong with reconstruction. The absence of a government presence is as noticeable as the […]

Op-Ed: Kathie Klarreich: Investigative Reporting on Haiti, by Haitians

By Kathie Klarreich Op-Ed Contributor For nearly two years, the battle cry over what is happening to the billions of dollars of aid money earmarked for Haiti’s reconstruction has resounded on the front pages of some of the world’s most […]

Haiti’s Camp Residents Seek Solutions As Money to Clean Latrines Disappears

Above: Champ de Mars, Port-au-Prince AS INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS in Haiti begin their drawdown, millions earmarked for cleaning latrines departs with them, while those in the country’s camps seek answers. With support from the Fund for Investigative Journalism in Haiti, Phares […]

Interview with Marcia Forbes, PhD

By Alexander Britell One of Jamaica’s foremost media specialists, Dr Marcia Forbes has most recently been exploring the ways technology impacts Jamaican society and culture. Her first book, Music, Media & Adolescent Sexuality in Jamaica, looked at the ways traditional […]

Rum Journal: From Jamaica, a Legendary Brand Grows Up