The introduction of this rapid antigen test, by Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/World Health Organization (WHO), provides a well needed backbone to the region’s fight against the COVID-19 virus. It is an (inherently) primary care tool, in stark contrast to it’s Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) alternative, akin to a secondary-tertiary level type intervention.
Finally, the legendary public health expertise, of PAHO-WHO (in tandem with the regions primary care health workers) can be put to work, battling this virus, where it is most important, at the level of the community.
Now, primary care doctors, public health nurses; health center nurses; and other primary care workers can do what they do best: early detection, early referral and early treatment.
Shortly, our friends in the Ministries of Health, across the Americas, can go back to their principal responsibilities of: policy development and monitoring; While, regulating delivery of health care systems in an equitable manner; and preparing for the rollout of a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as one becomes available.
Arvel Grant Public Health and International Development Specialist.
A gentle reminder that: Today is International White Cane Safety Day. This year we are celebrating White Cane Safety Day, amidst the worst pandemic in 100 years.
Because the COVID-19 virus is highly contagious: people who are blind, their families, friends, colleagues and associates, must do everything to observe: the wearing of masks; frequent hand washing; and social distancing.
Because touch is an important prerequisite for people who are blind to locate their surroundings, it is most important that everyone observes the requirement for frequent cleaning of service areas including reception and point of sale areas.
Each year across the globe the importance of the white cane is recognized on October 15. The white cane is very important in the lives of blind individuals as it is a symbol of independence, freedom and confidence.
Proper use of the white cane allow blind people to move about independently and safely throughout their community. The cane allows them to easily complete various task throughout the day.
Since 1964, the day has been annually observed to recognized the movement of blind people from dependency to full participation in society.
Celebrate the day with us as we thrive for independence and freely navigate with pride.
A safe and secure International White Cane Safety Day 2020!!!
Arvel Grant, CEO CCB-Eye Care Caribbean. Public Health and International Development Specialist
Over a matter of weeks, the Honourable Asot Michael (believed to be of middle-eastern descent) may have caused extreme distress at or near the top of three branches of Government in Antigua & Barbuda.
The: Chief Magistrate, Speaker of the House and the sitting Prime Minister (all black people) took evasive actions as a kind of “political wrecking ball” appeared to sweep through the heights of polite society.
Such was the consternation, that:
A Chief Magistrate appearing to hurriedly recuse herself from a matter (some believe) well within her purview.
A Speaker referring an MP to a Parliamentary Privileges Committee, which does not appear to exist.
And PM Browne declaring his “frenemy” a future outcast from party and Cabinet.
That an (ethnic minority) elected member of the house could be accused of causing such public mayhem (in a matter of days) suggests that:
Either the system of public manners is so badly broken in Antigua & Barbuda.
The accused has yielded contact with minimum behaviour required by polite society.
or it is OK for a member of an ethnic minority to keep his “knees” on the necks of the black majority (in Antigua-Barbuda) for as long as he likes.
Having observed the politics of these islands for more than 30 years, I never (before) witnessed so great a consternation in the higher echelons of polite society. Truth be told, for decades now, many in Antigua and Barbuda seemed numbed to the alleged excesses of the Antigua & Barbuda Labour Party (ALP) politician and the seeming inability of his party colleagues to do anything. Indeed, members of the public, begun to believe that so overwhelming were any ”secrets”, that some party officials could not survive a release.
In 2014, Gaston Browne became Prime Minister and continued earlier talk about corruption in the party. Leading by example, the PM even laid his finances before the house. But it took the actions of British crime authorities to nudge the hand of Browne and his colleagues. Those British intervention(s) triggering Michael’s sojourn “out of Cabinet, back in Cabinet and out of Cabinet”. Now, if this round is not enough to “break the camel’s back” then the Camel has no spine.
Secrets or not, that any mortal can attract such sustained and decades long, national and (now) international allegations of running roughshod over civil and (perhaps) criminal norms, (almost undisturbed) is stranger than fiction. Let us see if PM Gaston Browne has the “political balls” to “bell the cat” and “put the genie back in the bottle” for some people think “the whole country fed-up”.
Between February and August 1964, at the heights of the Guyanese independence movement, led by Jagan and Burnham; the 2 main trade unions (GAWU and MPCA) locked horns over representational rights for sugar workers. Their dispute spiraled into all-out race riots. Some suspected US intelligence as a player, keen to prevent Chedi Jagan from establishing a communist bridgehead on Atlantic South America, on the heels of Fidel Castro’s victory at “The Bay of Pigs”.
Some believe the race riots: Took 176 lives and injured more than 900; destroyed 2,600 homes and uprooted more than 15,000. The Guyana Agricultural Workers Union failed in its representational rights campaign; Burnham defeated Jagan and Guyana settled into a socioeconomic ebb-and-flow.
In March 2020, Guyanese went to the polls. As in the two previous general elections? The results were very close in 2011-2015, the “group of 4” (UK, Canada, EU and US) may have helped broker a kind of gentleman’s agreement about which side should take the reins of Government. But in those years, Guyana was not about to become an oil economy. This time, neither side would be dictated to by foreign diplomats – black or white.
For 5 months, not even the Caribbean Court of Justice could tell candidates Ali of the PPPC and Granger of the APNU/AFC, to behave themselves and follow the rule of law. As both sides poured odium on each other, over their social media feeds, my mind went back to 1964, wondering, when the first bomb will explode. But to their credit, the long-suffering Guyanese people (mostly) “toughed it out”. Finally (and to the credit of the emerging Caribbean Civilization), the contestants accepted the ruling of the Caribbean Court of Justice, and a new Government sworn in.
But “somebody’s eyes passed somebody” on a coconut farm. It appears that an Indian coconut farmer (and his associates) chopped two African Guyanese to death perhaps, in the act of stealing coconuts. So, what angry politicians and their surrogates (observing the rules of polite society) avoided in five months of bitter dispute, a hand-full of angry (machete-wielding) coconut farmers, achieved in a few hours. Returning Guyanese to the risk of: race riots, injuries, death, destruction of property and mass displacement.
But, if you know the core Guyanese psyche, (notwithstanding the air of suspicion which broadly exists between the races) the citizens and residents of that South American state are (mostly) very forgiving and peace-loving. That accepted (Regional Security System or not) this flare-up should not be anything like the Guyanese race riots of 1964. Certainly, there should not be foreign intelligence agents infiltrating Guyanese communities, fermenting civil disorder and thuggery, to destabilize the government of the day. Furthermore, 56 years later, the average Guyanese has more to live for and protect.
Walk good until next time.
Arvel Grant, Political and Current Affairs Analyst
(Senior PNP Members – Hannah, Brown-Burke, Robinson, Bunting, Golding and Phillips)
What with this group of 6? People’s National Party (PNP) needs a consensus leader to take it back to the “promised land”
As PM Holness commences his 2nd term as Prime Minister, the question of who will succeed Peter Phillips as President of the PNP is gaining greater significance. If several or all in this group of 6, are interested in the job, the PNP could be on the road to even more internal struggles and further splintering. Portia Simpson-Miller and P.J. Patterson must be wondering, how it all came crashing down so quickly for their active comrades?
Could Peter Bunting (finally) get his wish to be PNP President?
One interesting scenario (I heard) is that Bunting could run in the seat being vacated by Peter Phillips and that Mark Golding could hold the presidency while the PNP shifts the furnishings around. Golding and Bunting being former “brethren’s” in banking, they should share enough mutual trust for such a risky maneuver to succeed. All that “song and dance” should give Holness at least 6 months to hone his new cabinet and Jamaica’s sprawling parastatal infrastructure.
PM Holness very powerful in Parliament and tenuous (at best) on Jamaican streets: On one hand, the results of the September 3rd elections, voted Holness as the second most powerful PM to manage Jamaica’s executive affairs, by reason of seats in the House. P.J. Patterson being the most powerful, governing with 50 seats against Holness’ current 48. On the other hand, Holness may be the weakest Prime Minister on Jamaican streets ever; Given that (perhaps) more than 75% of the registered electors did not vote for his victorious JLP. Further, only 37% of registered electors voted on September 3rd. Down from 47% in 2016. The goal is (therefore) wide open for a resurgent PNP to score big, unless Holness can tighten things in defense.
Taming: COVID, corruption and crime; Delivering: economic expansion and transition; and Equitable: health care, education and social safety net.
If PM Holness does well enough to persuade a majority of Jamaicans that his administration is making good progress in those key areas, he could put the PNP out to pasture for a very long time.
Furthermore, in order to lay claim to the mantle of majority party (in Jamaica) Holness and the JLP, must string together, 3 or 4 successive victories with high seat counts and high voter-turn-out. More successive victories by the JLP is exactly what a new PNP President would want to prevent.
Walk good until next time
Arvel Grant, Political and Current Affairs Analyst
At about this time in 2019, several of us (in our background chatter) assumed that PM Andrew Holness would have called general elections by December of that year. Back then, he could have walked on water, with a ton of led as the sole of his Clark’s Desert Boots. But December came and went; and talk of elections in 2019, left with it.
2020 took its place in the annals of history, bringing with it the now ubiquitous COVID-19. A stubborn “devil of a virus” which is turning human societies and civilizations (around the world) upside down; and threatening to turn PM Holness and his administration out to pasture. Politically, (for the Jamaica Labour Party) Covid-19 is worse than the mythical 7-headed hydra; for each time Holness cures a few, the virus delivers hundreds more new cases.
Such a strangle-hold has COVID-19 laid on the Jamaican Political culture; that it single-handedly shut-down the hitherto invincible, 5-yearly Jamaican street carnival which qualifies as the country’s general elections campaign. If the (almost invincible) Don Anderson polling organization is to be believed, the under-dog PNP is “barking louder and louder” and “biting at the heels” of the Andrew Holness Jamaica Labour Party. I am not surprised, for that same Don Anderson seems to suggest that 34% of Jamaicans gave Peter Phillips an average pass as Opposition leader, with 16% rating his performance as good. Those of us who have been marking exams, know very well that any student who scores 50% in course work, has a better than average chance of getting B or better with finals added. A late-run by the PNP may not be enough, but it certainly forced a JLP canter into a flat-out sprint, without any certainty of victory.
Some believe that the Peter Phillips led PNP won the 3 campaign debates. If true, such a performance could help drive and power a successful late run by Phillips and the PNP, by improving the Party’s stock-value among uncommitted and independent electors. The latest iteration of the Anderson poll identified about 40% of 1.9 million registered electors as not planning to vote or undecided. Of course, a late run by the PNP is not a guarantee of victory. Road works are proceeding at a frenzy across Jamaica. Obviously, Holness and his administration are pulling at all the levers available to an incumbent administration.
By Friday morning, we should know if the Andrew Holness “power of incumbency” is enough to escape the grasp of an increasingly confident Peter Phillips and the PNP. Unlike delays in conceding in Guyana and (to a lesser extent) Trinidad and Tobago, the revere and high esteem with which Jamaican hold their electoral authority, should guarantee that however close the vote, the winner will be undisputed.
Walk good, while the JLP and the PNP run for their political lives.
Arvel Grant, Political and Current Affairs Analyst
Guyana finally escaped the political torture chamber or, has it just stepped outside for a few years? The seat count in that House of Assembly is precarious at best.
Trinidad and Tobago are preparing to count the votes. It is expected that the incumbent will be returned to office. Something to look forward to, because T & T will begin to open its economy once the elections are over.
In Jamaica, the political parties are behind the starting gates. The Jamaican Prime Minister is touring constituencies in his Clark’s desert boots. A sure sign that the sprint is about to begin. Those of us in the business of observing politics and political behavior, are keeping our eyes fixed on seven (7) marginal seats, which we believe will determine who forms the next administration in Jamaica.
In Antigua and Barbuda, the Gaston Browne administration, is eyeing the grounded LIAT airlines, with hawk-eyed precision. That species of the “iron bird” could be one of the government’s trump cards when elections are next held in the island paradise.
In the United States, Joe Biden and COVID-19 have Donald Trump in a vice-grip. Can he escape their stranglehold?
Walk good until next time. Arvel Grant, Political and Current Affairs Analyst
Recently, many were consumed by the circumstances of the seven-year-old Jamaican pupil, who was prevented from attending the school of her choice, because her hairstyle takes the form of dreadlocks. One of the more angry retorts I heard was that the pupil might have been better off, represented by a couple of constitutional bush lawyers from yonder mountains.
I really do not believe that their case management was that far off the mark. Their main failure may have been, an inability to mitigate the fact that, sections of the Jamaican jurisprudence, are yet to graduate from, the early post-independence paradigm relating to rights. Indeed, it seems apparent that the Jamaican justices who heard the case, are yet to achieve a level of judicial maturity, which embraces a modern set of rights, values held sacred by more advanced jurisprudence.
Having said that, the trial attorneys, may have committed serious and unforced errors, by an apparent failure to recognize that, schools have a responsibility to make rules governing their operations. So, in their pleadings before the court, her attorneys, may have succeeded in casting themselves in the likeness of naive legal anarchists.
In a “take-off” from one of George Orwell’s most famous observations, all lawyers may be equal but some are definitely more equal than others. Perhaps if they can adjust the handle of their arguments; enhance their human rights focus and approach the Judicial Committee of Her Majesty’s Privy Council; They will repair some badly-damaged reputations while restoring some confidence in the Jamaican judicial system. All be it through the back door.
I agree with the Jamaican justices that the political class needs to get off the fence, on the matter of dreadlocks, and legislate to protect freedom of this powerful (internationally-acclaimed) Jamaican cultural refinement and propagation. Especially since they (the Jamaican justices) do not have the ovarian or testicular fortitude to rule in favor of dreadlocks.
Walk good until next time.
Arvel Grant, Political and Current Affairs analyst. Authorized for publication.
On the matter of Algernon Serpent Watts entry into partisan politics, as the UPP’s candidate for the Saint George constituency here in Antigua-Barbuda:
Even though he is the Managing Director, this should not affect the normal operations at The Observer Media Group, if news and current affairs are conducted in a balanced and even-handed manner e.g. Observer A.M, Good Morning Jojo and Dave Lester Payne in the afternoons. Programs with an overt partisan profile, may find themselves struggling to attract significant levels of advertisements.
Serpent’s impact on the UPP’s chances at the polls? A mixed bag of sorts for the following reasons: a) He brings a very high name recognition to the table. However, high name recognition is not the same as high: Acceptability, approval or favourability ratings. b) Radio is a very efficient double edged sword. Every utterance has the potential to earn as many friends as enemies. God knows, Serpent will have earned many of those over the past 20 years. Needless to say, he takes all his friends and enemies with him into the United Progressive Party. c) His chances of winning the seat are only as good as the political organization and funding he is able to put in place.
What must the United Progressive Party do to win the next general elections? a) Mend fences with Joan Messiah and the almost 30% of UPP supporters who may still be angry with the party’s leadership and the Observer Group, about how Miss Messiah was treated. b) Restore its electoral support to at least 21,000 votes. c) Regain the four seats it controlled during the 90s and win at least five of the seven seats which abandoned the Antigua Labour Party in 2004. d) Of course, one assumes that the UPP is paying keen attention to the ongoing registration of voters.
Sir Gerald Watt, QC – Speaker of the House of Representatives
A week ago, Hon. Pringle (Leader of the Opposition) “threw down the gauntlet” to Sir Gerald, Speaker of the House; So, is Antigua and Barbuda’s “rookie opposition leader ready to join the “big league” of opposition politics? If Hon Spencer v. Dame Harris and Hon Brown v. Dame Isaac, are harbingers of things to come, the legendary Sir Gerald, should be busy, preparing him self for more.
Some of you may have watched young Pringle testing PM Brown and Hon Maria Bird-Browne with some quite torrid bouncers during the 2020 budget debate; Now it seems that the opposition leader (lone UPP seat in the house) is determined to challenge the authority of the Speaker on the basis of impartiality. Hon Pringle appears to believe that Sir Gerald has left his “umpire’s position” at square leg or behind the stumps at the bowlers end; and has taken guard at the batting crease.
Hon Jamale Pringle – Leader of the Opposition
Pringle’s actions and words may have frowned on classical parliamentary manners, in the art of politics, ain’t nothing wrong with his “antics”. If anything, the Speaker should expect Mr Pringle to push him harder and further, even trying to get himself ejected from the chamber, once in a while.
Hon Pringle and his advisors may have calculated that an “under-dog” has nothing to lose, coming from so far behind; his only option is to “go for brokes”.
Taking back the reins of Government won’t be easy; the current Labour Party administration is the most powerful in independent Antigua-Barbuda; at least by way of popular votes.
The priority for Hon Pringle and Mr. Lovell, is to plug the loss of popular support for the UPP, and (at least) win back those seats the UPP controlled during the 1990s; decidedly more difficult, without Joanne Messiah in the party’s leadership. If the UPP takes back those seats, people will start believing that the party can win Government again. In the circumstances, having Harold Lovell as political leader is a plus; He is experienced and he almost always gets the attention of the PM.
Some may argue that (when in Parliament) Sir Gerald’s best antidote to a clearly “fired-up” Pringle, is to put-off the garbs of judicial advocacy and clothe himself in the moral armor of a well-respected supreme court judge, always striving for a perfect balance in the scales of parliamentary justice. Otherwise, The Speaker “may be weighed in the balance and found wanting” .
Walk good until round two Antigua-Barbuda’s Opposition Leader v. Speaker of the House.
(Authorized for republication in its entirety) Arvel Grant, Political and Current Affairs Analysts
