Giving thanks and taking responsibility

Observer column for MON 30 Dec 2013 | Jean Lowrie-Chin

Finance and Planning Minister Dr Peter Phillips (left) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Representative in Jamaica, Dr Bert Van Selm (right), listen keenly as IMF Staff Mission Team Head to Jamaica, Jan Kees Martijn, addresses Nov 13 media briefing at the finance and planning ministry’s National Heroes Circle offices in Kingston. (PHOTO: JIS)

There was a lot to give thanks for this year.  We braced for an active hurricane season, and thank goodness we were not hit.  At one point, we were on the verge of a drought and water lock-offs were started, but the rain came and we were saved.  We wondered if we would be able to pass the IMF test and get our draw-down – we passed not one, but two IMF tests. According to a report on the Jamaicans.com website, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair of the IMF Board, Nayouki Shinohara, said that the overall programme implementation under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) remains strong.  He saw tentative signs of a gradual economic recovery.

Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce after being awarded IAAF Athletes of the Year

Our athletes
We must never take for granted the continued dominance of our athletes.  Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce again triumphed at the World Championships in Moscow.  It is no easy task for these athletes to keep returning these results.  They went on to cop the top Male and Female Athlete Awards from the IAAF, and only last week were named the top Caribbean sports personalities by AIPS America, the Continental arm of the International Sports Press Association (AIPS), via the votes of sport journalists.

Alia Atkinson

While we were at the height of ‘Tessanne Fever’, Jamaica’s three-time Olympic swimmer Alia Atkinson was making history for her country too, in the FINA World Cup Series which started in the Netherlands in August and had its grand finale in Beijing last month.  Swimming against the world’s best, Alia impressed at all seven meets including two Gold in Eindhoven (Netherlands), two Silver in Moscow, two Gold in Dubai, Gold in Doha, two Gold in Singapore, and 2^nd overall after the Japan outing. In the final leg in China, Alia earned two Gold and a Silver, earning a total of US$136,000, the highest for a Jamaican swimmer, and taking the third highest spot. 

Our Sunshine Girls

Our ever-dependable Sunshine Girls also brought us honour, ending their campaign in the FAST5 Netball World Series scoring 44-17 over South Africa to bring home the bronze.  Marva Bernard, big-hearted President of the Jamaica Netball Association, has the team touring various Jamaican communities to fire up enthusiasm for their upcoming campaign in England.
Gold Musgrave Medalists
Whenever our energy flags, let us remember those Jamaicans who have multiplied their God given talents through sacrifice, diligence and perseverance.

Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer From left: Dr Trevor Yee), Bronze awardee; Earl 'Chinna' Smith, Silver; Governor General Sir Patrick Allen; Professor Franklin Knight, Gold; and Professor Michael Taylor, Silver, proudly show their citations during The Institute of Jamaica's Musgrave Medals Award Ceremony at the institute's complex on East Street yesterday. , Kingston on Wednesday October 16, 2013. Here are Dr. Trevor Yee (left), Bronze Awardee; Earl "Chinna" Smith (second left), Silver Awardee; Governor General Sir Patrick Allen (centre); Prof. Franklin Knight (second right), Gold Awardee; and Prof. Michael Taylor (right), Silver Awardee.

The Institute of Jamaica’s Gold Musgrave Medal is awarded for a lifetime of exceptional achievement. We are proud that one of this year’s two recipients is Professor Franklin Knight, eminent historian and retired professor at Johns Hopkins University, the first non-white tenured Professor in the history of the University. The Spanish-speaking Manchester-born Calabar and UWI graduate has also served on academic advisory committees for Harvard University, Princeton University, City University of New York, Swarthmore College, Ohio University, Colgate University, The Schomburg Library, The University of Florida at Gainesville, and the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras.

The second Musgrave Gold winner was Lee “Scratch” Perry, the Kendal-born musical genius, owner of the Upsetters label and band, who was asked by Bob Marley to produce one of his records in the late sixties. The Institute of Jamaica Citation reads: “Perry then opened his own studio, the Black Ark, in 1973.  Black Ark innovations attracted Chris Blackwell, and Perry began recording other Jamaican artists and his solo work with the Upsetters, including the popular Super Ape, for Island Records. The Island connection allowed Perry to inculcate his unique production technique onto foreign genres. Seeking to capture the Black Ark sound, Paul McCartney sent materials of his to be rearranged by Perry.” Yes, Paul McCartney himself wanted the ‘Scratch’ Perry touch!

National Honourees 

Winston Chung Fah receives the Order of Distinction, Commander Class from Governor General Most Hon Sir Patrick Allen

Among those who received National Honours this year were my good friends Winston Chung Fah who received the Order of Distinction, Commander Class and Oliver Jones, inducted into the Order of Jamaica.  CPTC did an excellent three-part series on Winston Chung-Fah for their ‘Hill ‘n’ Gully’ programme and I urge football coaches to share this with their young charges. The honour to Chung Fah, the man who ensured that our humblest ‘ballers’ got a chance to shine in the sport, was long overdue.

Hon Oliver Jones - inducted into the Order of Jamaica

Last week Oliver Jones called me to say how moved he was to have been appointed to the Order of Jamaica. Oliver was the founder of the Island Life Insurance Company, which disappeared in the financial meltdown of the nineties. While he was quite outspoken about the then PNP Government’s handling of the economy, he refused to become bitter.  Instead, he decided to share his message of resilience with thousands in corporate Jamaica.  Oliver’s story is told in the book ‘Oliver Jones: An Entrepreneurial Journey’ written by UTECH’s Professor Rosalea Hamilton and Dr. Angela Ramsay. Oliver believes that this recognition sends a positive signal that Jamaica may be rising above her politically-divided past. 

Hard-working Tessanne

I have selected these personalities for special mention and of course, I must again hail the extraordinary Tessanne Chin.  On Thursday evening, CVM-TV showed excerpts from a Jimmy Cliff concert held some years ago, and there was a long-haired Tessanne with singer-trumpeter Dwight Richards doing back-up.  We noticed that she was no mere prop on the stage, but an energetic, expressive singer, and we saw why the great Jimmy Cliff gave her the thumbs-up for her ‘Voice’ campaign.  Those tours are not easy - she has certainly earned her stripes.

More success stories to be written …

Digicel Group CEO Colm Delves

Jamaica has so much promise, and this was highlighted in an interview last week with Digicel Group CEO Colm Delves by UK Guardian writer Elizabeth Braw.  He explained that by targeting the low-income majority, the company had helped to create sustainable growth, while remaining profitable. He noted that Digicel employs 1,200 Jamaicans directly and through dealerships, contractors and vendors, approximately 50,000 others. Jamaican managers have trained fellow employees in the 30 other countries where the company operates.

Digicel Founder and Chairman Denis O'Brien supports a market vendor in Downtown Kingston where he built a multi-million energy-efficient Regional Headquarters

The Digicel success story started right here in Jamaica when an entrepreneur named Denis O’Brien applied for a telecoms license advertised by the Jamaican Government.  There are many more success stories to be written.  Yes, we are concerned about crime and violence, the result of pathetic parenting and political tribalism. Therefore let us become mentors, activists and investors in the building of our nation. Jamaica waits.