Roleli Speaks

Yesterday produced yet another example of how crime going down and how safe Jamaica is(according to that poll in March 2006) . The operators of www.yaadrides.com where to come to shocking reality at sometime after 2:30 p.m. on November 22, 2006 that the myth of a safe Jamaica is just that. For a long time, every time I see my car after waking up, going to work and after any function, I give thanks. Here it is, a teacher of a school in Kingston Jamaica who parks his old 1990 Nissan Sunny motor car under the same tree he has done for years. He goes to class as usual only to this time to return to see the spot. The security at the exit gate who know him well, can only say that they never knew it was not him who was driving out the car. Only a few weeks ago, another co-worker's father lost his Vitara to the hands to these crooks. You here crazy stories of a 2001 Mitsubishi Evolution being stolen on Ripon Road in Kingston Jamaica, then being found in Porus and taken to the Porus p...

The last time I wrote I was questioning who to vote for. I now have the answer and it is simple. Vote for a better situation. There is no point saying that you are not voting as that will not stand a chance of making things better. Everyone who wants better must vote and let their voice be heard. Every Vote Counts By not voting, nothing changes if that is what you want then that is good. I must tell you that in the last general election in Jamaica in 2002, a few more votes, less than 40,000, and it could have been the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) in power and not the Peoples National Party (PNP). Simply put, if a few hundred more persons had voted for the JLP in some constituencies they would have won the last election. In the local government election in 2003 a few more votes, less than 20,000 as matter of fact, the PNP would have controlled the Parish Councils. Twenty thousand might sound like a big number but it is simply 20,000 multiples of one(1) The truth is every vote cou...

10 Golden Rules for staying happy with the One You Love 1. First and foremost, love each other. Realize how lucky you are to be in love with someone who loves you. Say, “I love you” often and in different ways. Surprise each other with gifts of praise to show your love. Remember that love grows in an atmosphere of freedom and trust, not from restraint and obligation. Do things to keep your love and romance new and alive. Don’t take love for granted, ever. It’s such a blessing. 2. Listen objectively to each other, as you would to a friend. Acceptance is a key to understanding and a buffer for tension and resentment. Don’t take things personally; give each other the right to have different opinions, the right to disagree. You don’t want anyone to control your feelings, so don’t try to own someone else’s, not even the feelings of the one you love. 3. Never stop treating each other like sweethearts. Talk to each other as sweethearts. Do things that sweethearts do. Work togeth...

Just weeks after the Trafigura Scandal that should have painted the Peoples National Party(PNP) red with shame and a pity to behold, comes reports that there are massive breaches in procurement procedures in the Jamaica Labour Party(JLP) controlled Parish Councils. True to form and not to be left out, a PNP Parish council is involved. The righteous Minister Dean Peart who obviously saw nothing wrong in the Trafigura Scandal, "yes it is immoral, unethical but not illegal", has called in the police. This country is simple corrupt to the bone. The infamous Renato Adams was once reported to have said that 70/75% of Jamaicans are involved in crime. Could he be right, or could it be "all in his mind"? I honestly believe the JLP is probably not the brightest party in the country. How could Bruce be allowing the Parish Councils to be running amok while he, Audley Shaw and Karl Samuda are out front shouting corruption and pointing fingers? This given the fact that an audit ...

A interesting review and commentary on a interview on CVM TV involving Milton Walker, Chris Tufton and Raymond Price "So if Dr Tufton and the Labour party want to belabour the point about Trafigura, or Whitehouse, or the cement crisis or undisclosed campaign financing or any other government activity that smacks of in-your-face corruption, waste, and mismanagement, just allow them. That transparency and accountability doesn't carry the swing right now, doesn't make it right. When a future leader, as young Pryce did, can excuse an "immoral and unethical action" because it was "not illegal," it makes you wonder what else they're capable of." Read the full article Immoral, unethical, but not illegal

Jamaica's National Pledge Before God and All mankind. I pledge the love and loyalty of my heart The wisdom and courage of my mind, The strength and vigour of my body in the service of my fellow citizens. I promise to stand up for justice, Brotherhood and Peace, to work diligently and creatively, To think generously and honestly, so that, Jamaica may, under God, increase in beauty, fellowship and prosperity, and play her part in advancing the welfare of the whole human race. National School Song - I Pleadge My Heart I pledge my heart forever To serve with humble pride This shining homeland, ever So long as earth abide I pedge my heart, this island As God and faith shall live My work, my strength, my love, and My loyalty to give. O green isle of the Indies, Jamaica, strong and free, Our vows and loyal promises, O heartland, 'tis to thee Jamaican National Anthem Eternal Father, Bless our Land, Guide us with thy mighty hand, Keep us free from evil powers, Be our light through count...

The Trafugura Issue has raised many questions. At this point I would like to put the following questions on the table. 1. SW Services (Team Jamaica) Who is SW services and who are the principals and what was their role in all of this? No one has bothered to look at this given that JMD $ 30 million of $31 million dollars was effectively transferred to this account from CCOC Associates account. 2. Why was the PNP Leaderships willing to defend the money without know the facts? 3. How the did the JLP get the information? Did the JLP do anything illegal in order to ferret out this information? Did the JLP act illegally by showcasing private confidential information in the public domain? 4. Campaign Financing Legislation Where do we go from here? 5. When will Media stop being Biased I have already said that Golding's method of disclosing the scandal was irresponsible and the media has hammered him for that . Now that the PNP chairman and especially the PNP Legal Advisor has been clea...

The Prime Minister of Jamaica, Portia Simpson-Miller, has finally spoken and given instructions that the JMD $31 million dollars be returned to Trefigura. In addition, news is now surfacing the Peoples National Party (PNP) General Secretary and Minister of Information, Collin Campbell, has resigned. Interestingly, we have also heard rumors, on HOT102 FM, that the PNP is seeking a JMD$45 million dollar settlement from the bank involved in the leak. I find this all a bit amusing. Return the money, ditch Collin Campbell as the fall guy, settle with with the $JMD 45 million dollars from the bank and Portia and the PNP will come out looking good and possibly with a profit. Already one apologist, has hailed the decision as correct and saying that the PNP could now rebound from the current scandal. Why CCOC - CC only charged (with responsibility)? Collin Campbell it must be noted was a key member in Portia Simpson-Miller's Team Jamaica. Was Collin Campbell the only one that knew abo...

It has been yet another interesting week in Jamaica, where confusion and war of words between the Peoples National Party(PNP), Jamiaca Labour Party(JLP),Jamaicans For Justice (JFJ), Jamaia Chambers of Commerce (JCC), Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) among others, is the order of the day. Donation or Payment? Confusion number one centers around was this money in the now closed CCOC Associates account at Frist Caribbean Bank a donation or part of a commercial agreement? We first heard from the PNP that is was a donation when they vehemently denied Bruce Golding's suggestions that there was something corrupt going on. Now we hear, reports supposedly backed up by fax and e-mail, that Trafigura has stated that it was not a donation but was a payment, part of a commercial agreement. The Sunday Herald in Jamaica has even claimed that their sources have said that there is an invoice, a claim the Minister does not deny. Now if it was a part of a commercial agreement, did the ...

The government of Jamaica is accused of using 'state revenues' to fund their annual party conference. It turns out that a Dutch firm, with which the country does business with, has donated about Jamaica thirty-one million dollars(JMD$31,000,000) to the governing political party, the Peoples National Party(PNP). This is the same Dutch firm that is accused of involvement in the oil for food scandal and the dumping of toxic waste in the Ivory Coast. While the party admits receiving the payment, wired to a particular account, they claim nothing is shady or questionable and it is all above board. If the figures you hear are correct, this company would have donated to one political party, a figure equivalent to one-fifth of the revenue the country earned over the last five years from the deal, which revolves around reselling Nigerian oil on behalf of the state. There are some other interesting things about this. Although the named account is acknowledged to be a PNP account there...

I did not around to writing but I absolutely must say thanks to the Cable and Wireless technican K.E. for sorting out my phone service. After weeks without phone service and ADSL connection, it was good to finally have it back. This gentleman was very pleasant and professional, and unlike the foul-mouth technician that first turnup, went around systemaically eliminating the problems and final enabling the telephone service. Interestingly it turns out that he was the same gentleman that sort out the ADSL service at my parent's house. My parents had told him about this CW technician, how nice and professional he was and how he worked dilligently to ensure that when he left the problem was fixed. My brother had even suggested that it was a pity he did not get the gentleman's name and number to have him come and look at our problems. Well as it was to be, he did end up coming to my location and sorting out the phone service. It just goes to prove that while Cable and Wireless mi...

Now there is a toll road but the traffic problems between Portmore and Kingston remain. The Portmore toll users who fork out between $40-$60 a trip must be wondering where is the truth to what there were told. After all they were told no more sitting and ilding in traffic and the money spent on the toll would be quickly gained from savings on their gas bills. Well if the Television Jamaica reports are true, and seeing is believing, and the stories I have heard, nothing could be further from the truth. Nothing is worse that having your hopes for better being dashed and expecations turned to disappointments. Just like water flowing in and out a canal, the more exits or the larger the exits the faster it will flow. That is the problem facing the Portmore toll Road. Marcus Garvery and Hagley Park Road in their present condition simple can not take off the traffic fast enough off the Toll Road to ensure a smooth and quick flow of traffic. These issues were highlighted long ago by the...

Cable and Wireless never fails to amaze me. This time, I have received a bill with charges for rental, voice mail, other features and ADSL service for the period August 1 to August 31, 2006 During this period I have had no phone, no ADSL service but yet still I have received a bill. Then to add to my simmering fustration I called the "All our agents are still busy, pleace continue to hold" number only to have to wait again. I spoke to one customer service representative and then I am transferred to another. The other indicates to me she can't help and she can't transfer to the first section and I will have to call again. I call again and once again I must endure the agony of listening to Enya. I wonder if Cable and Wireless is paying Enya royalties for the music. Why isn't Flow in my area yet?

I applied to Cable and Wireless Jamaica(CWJ) for my telephone line to be transferred to my new residence some seven(7) weeks ago . They finally came and installed the phone line but there was no dial tone. The technician advised, that in two(2) days the line would be up and running, and everything would be ok. When this did not happen, the customer care department was contacted, and after some waiting and messages of "all our agents are (still)busy, please continue to hold", we were informed that there was a line fault and a problem with some box on the street and that they would try and sort it out. On Friday, August 25, I got a strange call from a CWJ agent asking me how my DSL service was performing. I nearly broke out in laughter, but contained myself and advised the agent that I have no telephone line service, much less DSL service at this time. He promised to send a technican to look at this problem but up to this point we have not seen or heard from them. Well not qu...

For all those who did not know, I would like to let you know I got married on July 2, 2006 to a long time friend of my mine, Karyl. She is a sweetheart and I am happy to be married to her. You can see pictures at http://jamaicagasprices.com.jm/2006_07_02/ for now. NB: I will begin regular blogging again and will comment soon on Paying to Pay Bills

Today May 1, the toll rates on Highway 2000 officially move up. It is very interesting how this was done. As stated in another blog as part of the contract or terms of agreement they are allow do so. The increase is interestingly based on the U.S. inflation rate and changes in the value of the Jamaican dollar the United States dollar. The Jamaican dollar has slipped from US$ 60:1 to US$65.50:1 over the last 2 years while inflation has run at over 20% over the last 2 years. However over that period, many motorists were shackled by the MOU between the government and the public sector workers. Also of interest is that by the end of June the Portmore residents should be paying the toll if the builders of the highway meet their stated deadline of June 2006.

Maxfield Bakery seems to be all sold on Buns at least on-line. I went to check the Maxfield Bakery web site, on Tuesday April 11, 2006, to look the prices of Easter Bun on-line. To my shock I was greeted by the notice below. It seems that Maxfield is doing extremely well with this on-line venture. For years they advertised and marketed this service on Go-Jamaica.com & Jamaica-Gleaner.com along with other sites. In later years they even added to the advertising mix online an audio advertising clip on or before the Power106 FM stream. This was a good case of advertising to a niche overseas of Jamaicans scattered around the world by using web sites, on-line properties, that they new their target market visited. It would be good if other Jamaican advertisers followed suit. nb: The actual URL http://www.maxfieldbakery.com/(hrisug55brvue1ubixfd4hel)/default1.aspx I suspect that the notice will be removed soon so I took a screenshot.

Well Flow , a new entrant in the internet Service Provider(ISP) market in Jamaica, is here and once again Cable and Wireless Jamaica(CWJ) find themselves challenged. Flow Jamaica is getting ready to roll out their Internet service bundled with landline and digital subscribe channels to residential customers for as low as US$10(J$650).The promised bandwidth sounds better that CWJ but seeing in Jamaica is believing. They have a big advantage over most of the other ISPs in Jamaica in that they have their own fibrelink out of the Island. I have heard it is 250 GB/s link. When Digicel came, with their hype and in reality better service, I stuck with my CWJ cell phone because honestly I was having no real problems so I never rushed and got a Digicel phone.That was despite the fact that nearly everyone I knew was getting on the supposed 'bigger better network'. I think though I might behave differently when it comes to internet Service. I started with Colis, in those BBS days, then to...

I have noticed with concern an increase in the number of incidents of disabled or broken down Jamaica Urban Transportation Company(JUTC) buses on the roads of Kingston & St. Andrew. It now seems like everyday I am likely to encounter one if not two cases. This must be taken in the context that I don't spend much time on the road. I mostly drive to work in the mornings and back home in the afternoons. Is the maintenance program at the JUTC not going to plan? Or is this part of the short-sighted 'cost saving' measures to delay the time between maintenance? Someone should investigate and find out what is going on at the JUTC as it relates to maintenance. I surely would not want to be a commuter on one of those buses when they break down. The JUTC is already facing stiff competition from the taxis, illegal and legal ,and an unreliable service certainly will not help their cause.

It is no surprise and it was expected, the cigar smoking cowboy lawyer has thrown in the towel. Given the cowboy taunts that were thrown the way of 'Sister P', it was coming. I was always thinking how was this well-spoken educated lawyer going to present his reports at a cabinet meeting. Imagine 'Sista P' stating something like can you give a report on your ministry but oh I need a written one. I am not sure he could take kindly to that. He would have found himself constantly trying to refrain from uttering a few 'choice jamaican words'. The Minister of Misinformation has also indicated that he too will be leaving. As the crowning of Sister P draws near, interesting days are ahead. We now wait to see who will step aside voluntarily and who will be pushed. Related Knight Leaving the Round Table