The cruel hands of fate dealt Shamara Maddan of Belmont, Westmoreland, a devastating blow early Monday morning when her life partner, 32-year-old district constable, Monir Maddan, died tragically as his motor vehicle crashed into a utility pole along the Paradise main road in the parish.
“I am numb. My best friend gone – this can’t be happening, it is surreal.We were working on having children, we both wanted twins and we were in the process of purchasing a home at Savanna Park,” shared a tearful Shamara Maddan, as she spoke in the aftermath of the tragedy which claimed the life of her husband.
Reports are that about 1:45 a.m., Maddan was driving a
Toyota Torneo motorcar along the Paradise main road when he lost control of the
vehicle and crashed into a utility pole.
Police were summoned and with the help of the Jamaica Fire
Brigade, Madden was removed from the vehicle. He was taken to the
Savanna-la-Mar Public Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The young widow said upon hearing the news, she did not
believe it, because her mind could not accept the thought of her husband, her
love, her rock – being dead.
“It felt like everything in my body stopped when I saw them
put him on the ground. I was saying ‘Please don’t let him die’”, but her words
were too late.
“We were the proverbial two peas in a pod. We have been
together since 2012 and have been married for the past three years. We got
married on my birthday, August 14, 2016, so we just celebrated our anniversary
just over a month ago.
Maddan, who was attached to the Marine Division of the
Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) in Westmoreland, started his service with the
JCF in 2013, and has been described as a jovial, fun-loving person who got
along well with everyone.
“He would be the one to make everyone laugh and the people
really loved him. “
His father, Reverend Devon Maddan, who formerly served at
the Belmont Missionary Church, is said to be overwhelmed with grief as he is
always saying “Monir is my favourite child”.
(Monir has three siblings one sister and two brothers). His mother lives
overseas.
“I am trying to cope – family and friends have been
supporting me well and members of the JCF have reached out to me, but there is
this awful feeling, this emptiness, I don’t know what to do. I shared everything with him. Who am I to
share with now? I am at a loss,” she lamented.
Police officers inspect the scene of one of the latest murders to rock St. James, even while a State of Public Emergency is active.
Crime sleuths in St.
James have been kept on their toes with another three murders committed in the
parish in as many days, pushing the tally closer to the 120 mark.
Information gleaned so far in the latest incident is
sketchy, but indications are that at minutes to 8 o’clock Tuesday morning, a
man who is said to be a resident of McCatty Street, known only as ‘Walker’ or
‘Frass’, was driving along the popular Hart Street in Montego Bay when gunshots
rang out.
He was later discovered slumped over the steering wheel of a
Toyota motor vehicle, which had crashed into the rear of another car.
Meanwhile, a probe has been launched into the shooting death
of artist Orlando Hennington, otherwise called ‘Fiddo’ or ‘Scheemers’, who was
shot and killed in Anchovy on Sunday night.
Residents reported hearing explosions in the area about 11
p.m. They, however, went to make checks on Monday about 6:10 p.m., and
discovered Hennington’s body in a house and called the police.
The police found Hennington in a one-bedroom board house
lying motionless on his left side on the floor in a pool of blood, with what
appeared to be gunshot wounds to the head and upper body.
He was later transported to the Cornwall Regional Hospital,
where he was pronounced dead.
Earlier on Sunday, a man was shot and killed by unknown
assailants along the Home Hill road in the upscale community of Ironshore.
The Coral Gardens police, who are investigating, report that
about 3:30p.m., residents discovered an abandoned motor car along the main road
and summoned the police.
The lawmen on their arrival, discovered a purple Toyota Voxy
motor vehicle, while a man was observed next to the motor vehicle, lying in a
pool of blood, suffering from what appeared to be gunshot wounds.
The man, who was clad in a black T-shirt and blue jeans
pants, was rushed to the Cornwall Regional Hospital, where he succumbed to his
wounds while undergoing treatment.
Minster of National Security, Dr. Horace Chang (seated right), converses with Councillor for the Montego Bay South Division in the St. James Municipal Corporation, Richard Vernon, during a Violence Prevention and Peace Building Symposium hosted by the Violence Prevention Alliance (VPA), in partnership with the Ministry of National Security, at the Montego Bay Community College, in St. James on September 26.
Minister of National Security, Dr. Horace Chang, says a coordinated multi-sectoral approach is needed for crime-prevention strategies to work effectively in St. James.
Speaking at a Violence Prevention and Peace Building
Symposium at the Montego Bay Community College in St. James, on September 26,
Dr. Chang said that while the social-intervention programmes employed by civil
society have reaped some level of success, long-term solutions are needed to
tackle the issue of criminality and social disorder in Montego Bay and other
volatile communities.
“The churches, the Peace Management Initiative (PMI), the
Citizen Security and Justice Programme (CSJP) and all the others have done a
lot of good things, but have failed to effect transformation in Montego Bay,
and unless we face that reality, we will not move on to make the required
changes,” he emphasized.
In this regard, he said the Government will continue to work
to ensure that crime-prevention activities and social programmes are paired
with stringent security measures.
“The crime-prevention department of the Government is
working with a number of international and local partners to seek to create a
kind of umbrella group, and we have come up with a slogan in one case, the ‘Liv
Gud’ programme, which seeks to reawaken the sense of community and family
identity,” Dr. Chang said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Chang challenged stakeholders to work to
create the impact and change needed to restore a sense of hope in volatile
communities.
“As we go through our programmes, we need to look at them
realistically. We need to look at how we can influence institutions (schools
and others), and, therefore, restore that sense of hope and belonging in the
wider community. If you are going to engage the community, we have to engage
everybody. Part of the challenge which we face in our inner-city communities is
lack of opportunity and access,” he further noted.
He advised that the current State of Public Emergency in St.
James should be used as “a window of opportunity to reach out and transform,
and that is what I am hoping we can do”.
The symposium was held under the theme, ‘Interventions:
Making a difference through sharing and collaboration’.
It was hosted by the Violence Prevention Alliance (VPA), in
partnership with the Ministry of National Security.
Support was provided by a number of ministries, departments
and agencies, including the Ministries of Health and Wellness, and Education,
Youth and Information, the Jamaica Constabulary Force; the Inter-American
Development Bank (IDB) and the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce.
In a
recently published analysis, the reputable market research firm Grand View
Research Inc., estimated that the global legal marijuana market will reach USD
66.3 billion by the end of 2025. That’s six years from now. That estimation begets
the question: what will be Jamaica’s share of that anticipated
financial/economic windfall? Further, how prepared are we, as a nation, to
capitalize on our world-renown ganja product? In its global analysis of market
production, Grand View Research Inc. did not list Jamaica as a major player.
I will cite
the following to buttress that conclusion; Legalization of medicinal marijuana
and decriminalization in some countries has led to a significant decrease in
the black market, as people are resorting to legally purchasing cannabis for
medicinal as well as recreational use. Moreover, government earnings through
taxation are further viewed as an opportunity for countries to earn revenues.
Presence of a large customer pool and legalization of medical marijuana in U.S.
and Canada is expected propel the product demand from North America.
However,
legalization of medicinal cannabis in European countries, accompanied by
stringent rules and regulations regarding the product sale and cultivation, may
limit the overall growth in Europe and in turn for the global market. Other
promising markets for Cannabis are Australia, Germany, Poland, Colombia,
Uruguay, and Israel. Israel is currently at the forefront of providing
technology and knowledge transfer to the other world markets. As the newer
markets such as the U.K. and Thailand create their legal structure for
cannabis, the revenue growth is expected to witness significant growth.
Moreover, countries like South Africa and New Zealand are discussing
legalization for medicinal marijuana and may emerge as viable markets in the
forthcoming years.
Jamaica
cannot afford to lag behind these countries named in the analysis. It is a no
brainer that we have an ideal product and room stock here to create a viable
medicinal marijuana industry which can be tied to our tourism product. Let us
not forget that many tourists do not come here for our sea, sand, sun,
beautiful girls and rent-a- dreads. Some do come for our ganja. Now, we have
the opportunity to legitimize their usage in partaking of the blessed weed.
Likewise,
we cannot afford to not capitalize on the bourgeoning legal export market. As
Jamaicans, we have some of the most enviable illegal exportation mechanisms for
illicit marijuana. We do not need those mechanisms for the exportation of legal
marijuana. What we need are the legislative frameworks through which we can
exploit and export our well awarded/regarded product.
In that
vein, I posit that Jamaica has the necessary production infrastructure, land,
water and manpower. We can go to market with lower prices than our global
competitors due to affordable land, relatively low wages and an abundance of
skilled farm hands who have toiled in illegal ganja fields since its
prohibition more than a century ago.
The
obstacles to full participation in the legal exportation are many and varied.
In that context, this past week, Agriculture Minister, Audley Shaw, welcomed
the easing of one such hindrance, the passage of the SAFE Banking Act in the
USA by the US House of Representative.
Shaw’s exuberance might have been premature because the Act still faces
obstacles in the US Senate, but Jamaica needs to put the requisite legislations
in place to anticipate and be ahead of US Senate’s adoption of the House of
Representative’s bill.
Let me
warn, the Jamaican government needs to act with alacrity to capitalize on the
exportation of our beloved product. Already, Colombia is ahead of us in the
legal exportation of medicinal marijuana to legal medicinal host countries such
as Canada and the United Kingdom. Unlike Colombia, Jamaica is well positioned
as a Commonwealth country to exploit both markets given our historical trade
agreements with both. We as a nation must exploit and utilize our most favored
status with those countries.
According
to the US-based National Public Radio, “Rather than a symbol of the country’s
dark past of narco-fueled violence, Colombian drugs can now be used to treat
people. At least that’s the bet of a growing number of entrepreneurs who are
building vast marijuana plantations and state-of-the-art pharmaceutical
laboratories that produce everything from cannabis-based pain relievers for
cancer patients to dog treats that act as calming agents.
Other
countries are passing laws to permit the production, import and export of
medical marijuana, but Colombia has a leg up because it did so three years ago,
says Rodrigo Arcila, president of the Colombian Cannabis Industry Association.
He said the group’s 29-member companies have invested more than $600 million in
building medical marijuana facilities”.
With all
the above, we must, as a nation, examine the role of longstanding ganja farmers
in the bourgeoning ganja market. I have seen some local exotic plants which
respected connoisseurs have given kudos to. My bredren and schoolmate, Chung,
has fallen into that category. He has one the most potent of all desired
Jamaican species, but he cannot market it. Why? Is there exclusivity in
exportation, farming, marketing and ganja medicinal clinics? Do you have to be
uptown to get an equitable share of the market, despite years of developing the
product? Ergo, are traditional ganja farmers deliberately excluded by
governmental inertia or the “brown skinned bias”?
It is not
good for a writer to interject personal biases into an article. I find that
practice disconcerting but, today, I must make an exception. From my vantage
point, as an owner of some of the most arable and traditional ganja bearing
lands n St. Thomas, lands previously owned by the Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church,
I have embarked on cultivating the three plants our government recommended we
can legally produce. Through advice from old ganja farmers in St. Thomas, I
have been able to develop a more potent strain of the popular and powerful
Kilmarnock St. Elizabeth ICE Weed on my property. Each plant has yielded 8 lbs
after the separation and drying process. Let us use this as an example of what
the potential can be for every Jamaican on minimal amounts of land.
As
background, let me iterate, the Coptics, in the guise of a religious and
benevolent entity, were a religious cult from the USA which, incidentally, were
the largest and the most profligate and major illegal exporters of ganja from
Jamaica during the 1970s and 1980s. Farmers, day labourers who packaged the
product and those involved in exports were handsomely rewarded. Police officers
and low level technocrats got rich. Today, that same exclusivity continues to
obtain. Where and what will be the role of those who toiled, tweaked existing
species, and were imprisoned and scarred by society for their participation in
the industry?
Whilst I
fulsomely support the benefits to our national coffers, we must be cognizant of
the local farmers (sic) agronomists, who have created this enviable industry.
We cannot allow the white and near white of the plantocracy to control or
dominate an industry which they publicly turned their collective and gentrified
noses upon. They must be shunted to the back of the line. Only the Jamaican
government has that authority to protect indigenous farmers. Let’s hope Senator
Charles Sinclair can articulate our vision in the Upper House of Parliament
because without legislative protection, small ganja farmers will be doomed and
prohibited from benefitting from this new, legal industry.
This composite captures the chaotic scene which unfolded at the Anchovy High School last Friday, as a number of students had to be rushed to the hospital after coming in contact with a myseterious stick, which caused them to faint upon making contact with it. Students are shown being lifted into waiting vehicles, while others were wheelchair-bound after making it to the hospital.
Barrington Flemming – Staff Reporter
“No sah, dem obeah di pickney dem! Watch how dem a faint weh,” were the words of a puzzled student of the Anchovy High School, in Southern St. James, which hastily suspended classes on Friday after several students fainted after coming in contact with a male student.
What has been described as a bizarre incident which left
many wondering what kind of forces were at work, began to unfold minutes into
the morning devotion when a male student, who was said to be a victim of
bullying, managed to bypass the security guard with a stick and, moving as
though in a trance, began to wield the stick wildly, hitting several students
during the devotional exercise.
Upon entering the school, he was confronted by a prefect who
asked him what he was doing with the stick and he responded ‘Move!’ in a
commanding tone, and sidestepped him.
“The boy began to wave the stick and hit a number of
students. Others began to panic, running all over, almost tramping themselves
in the process,”one senior student shared.
Eyewitness reports are that some students ran to the nearby
nurse’s station, which was closed, and the boy, with wild-looking eyes rushed
to the area, banging the door as though trying to force it open.
A prefect confronted him, took the stick and broke it. It
was then that things went awry as two students fainted, followed by what seemed
a ripple effect as the scene became more mysterious, with another two students
fainting.
“Fear began to wash over the school because everybody began
to wonder about the boy and the stick, if the stick had special powers, because
close to 20 students fainted after it was broken.”
This prompted speculation that some dark forces at work, but
some teachers and students shot that theory down, saying it was a panic attack.
The administration is said to have called the medics and the
affected students were rushed by ambulance to the Cornwall Regional Hospital,
for assessment and possible treatment.
Meanwhile, it is understood that a meeting of the Board of
Governors was hastily called to assess the situation. We have not been able to
get a comment on the situation.
“Returning
from work feeling inspired, safe, fulfilled and grateful is a natural human
right to which we are all entitled, and not a modern luxury that only a few
lucky ones are able to find.” – Simon Sinek, ‘Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams
Pull Together and Others Don’t’. For most people, that statement is, at the
very least, idealistic. After all, work is work, and by today’s standards, you
certainly can’t have it all. Looking for a job that is both fulfilling AND
rewarding? You may as well get in line.The rule typically is that we should be
grateful for whatever job we have – you know, for the chance to earn an income,
and stay in our lane.
Luckily,
I’m a millennial, so I know nothing about staying in my lane.
AN
IDEALISTIC BUNCH
The
characteristic penchant for idealism (in millennials) is what led me to the
conclusion that wanting more from our work environments – wanting to feel
inspired, safe, fulfilled, and grateful – is not just a pipedream that ought to
be reserved for when we’re living in a ‘perfect world’, but is something that
is uncompromisingly necessary if we are to move meaningfully closer to that
ideal world.
Is that all
still sounding like a bag of rainbows, gummy bears and unicorn tears? Alright.
Let’s assume for a second then that pursuing those ideals is utterly
unrealistic. Well, majority rules, right? By that token, the majority dictates
what that ‘reality’ will be, right? Have I got news for you! The Pew Research
Center recently revealed that in the next two years, 50 percent of the US
workforce will be made up of millennials. By 2030, according to the US Bureau
of Labor Statistics, that number will jump to 75 percent.
The world
typically goes the way of the US, so that data has reasonable external validity
to the Jamaican context. In other words, millennials are locally dominating the
workforce, and that number will also increase. What does this mean? It means,
unequivocally, our voices will dictate what kind of conditions employers and
leaders set for us. By extension, this means that our voices coming together to
dictate working conditions that are inspiring, fulfilling, safe and gratifying
will effectively set the status quo.
LISTEN,
IT’S GOOD FOR BUSINESS
In other
words, not paying attention to our voices will not be good for business. And
sure, that could very well be a threat rooted in our much-talked-about
heightened sense of entitlement and our place in the world, but the Gallup
Research on Millennial Engagement has us saying what we mean, and meaning what
we say. Here’s some of the info:
Only 29 percent of millennials are engaged in the workforce. 55 percent are not engaged, and 16 percent are actively disengaged.
They (millennials) change jobs more often than other generations. About 21 percent of Millennials reported switching jobs within the last year, and 60 percent are open to a different opportunity.
Millennial turnover costs the U.S. economy in particularly an estimated $30.5 billion dollars annually.
A number of
insights can be drawn from that data, but perhaps what may stand out to
employers especially is the seeming lack of loyalty on the part of millennials,
which costs companies billions each year. We are notorious for moving from one
job to a next, but is that because we simply have no concept of loyalty? Is it
that we simply take pleasure in not being stable? Here’s what The 2018 Deloitte
Millennial Survey revealed on the issue of millennial loyalty, and why it is
that we seem less incapable of that quality in relation to organizations:
– Majority
of millennials across the world agree with the statement that businesses “have
no ambition beyond wanting to make money.”
Only 48 percent of millennials believe that businesses behave ethically, a decline from 65 percent in 2019.
When millennials believe their company has a high trust culture, they are 22 times more likely to want to work there for a long time.
Millennials who say they have a great workplace are 59 times more likely to endorse their company to friends and family.
The top priorities when looking for a job are money (92 percent), security (87 percent), holidays/time off (86 percent), great people (80 percent) and flexible working hours.
JUST A
LITTLE MORE
Again,
there’s a lot to unpack, but the data basically suggests that millennials need
a lot more than the traditional provisions made for employee success in a
workplace. We’re an idealistic bunch, and as such, we’d like to see some of
that reflected in the places we work. It’s not just about money (though that is
unquestionably important). We need to know that we’re working for something
beyond making ends meet. We need to feel a part of something bigger than
ourselves. We can’t, however, create those connections if our work environments
do not allow us to feel safe, fulfilled, grateful and inspired. “Great
companies don’t hire skilled people and motivate them, they hire already
motivated people and inspire them… Unless you give motivated people something
to believe in, something bigger than their job to work toward, they will
motivate themselves to find a new job.” – Sinek.
So you see,
it’s not just about what we want. It’s also about understanding that
ultimately, what we want will absolutely result in the benefit of whichever
company we may find ourselves working for. We want what we want, but we’re not
self-centred, selfish pricks. The world will be better for it.
Mayor of Montego Bay
and Chairman of the St. James Municipal Corporation, Councillor Homer Davis,
has made an impassioned plea for more to be done by security officials in
countries such as the United States of America and Haiti to stem the flow of
illegal weapons into Jamaica.
Speaking at a forum put on by the Caribbean Policy Research
Institute, CAPRI at the Montego Bay Cultural Centre on Monday, September 23,
2019 entitled “Scamming, Gangs and Violence in Montego Bay”, Mayor Davis said
those countries are the main areas from which illegal weapons are shipped to
Jamaica.
He said if the flow of illegal weapon to Jamaica is stopped,
he is confident that the rate of gun murders in Jamaica will be significantly
reduced.
Mayor Davis said, “If we can stop the flow of guns, we would
not empower these gangsters or these scammers. There would not be anything for
them (the scammers) to buy. We are not in agreement with Scamming…We know that
people…pensioners have suffered immensely as a result of the action of these
scammers. What we are saying to our partners is help us to Police our space,
help us to restrict the flow of arms. We have over a thousand kilometers of
shoreline…We are a thousand kilometers from the United States of America, we
are less than 500 kilometers from Haiti and these are the points of departure
for these weapons that come into Jamaica”.
Mayor Davis said back in the day when the ganja trade was
rampant in Jamaica, there was a concerted effort by officials of Jamaica’s
major trading partners to stamp it out and a similar push is required at this
time to address the shipment of illegal guns into the island.
He pointed out that based on information from the Jamaica
Constabulary Force, the gun remains the weapon of choice for criminals who
continue to drive fear into the hearts of law-abiding Jamaicans.
SCAMMING
On the issue of scamming, Mayor Davis said it is a case of
“a good turning bad” as Call Centres which provide sustainable jobs for several
thousand Jamaicans, gave birth to the practice.
“Today I ask the question – how did we gain that label (of
being the capital of scamming)? It was never a part of our culture. Our
citizens were exposed to the technological age in the early 2000 and as such, a
number of our young people were employed to the Call Centres here in Montego
Bay and from that, they were taught in some instances…by persons who thought
they could be used as confidants,” Mayor Davis stated.
Meanwhile, Mayor Davis is expressing satisfaction with the
development of Montego Bay, even in the face of the negative effects that
scamming, murders and other anti-social activities have had on the city.
He noted that “even with the prevalence of murder, we have
seen the economy of Montego Bay growing at a much faster rate than the national
economy. Over the last 10 years, over 10,000 new housing solutions have come on
stream. We have seen the development of Barnett Tech Park, the developments of
the Fairview Commercial Centre, the Whitter Village shopping complex, the
expansion of the BPO sector, over 8,000 new hotel rooms coming on stream and an
additional 4,000 in the making. In other words, Montego Bay is very unique”.
A teenager is dead
and a police constable hospitalized in serious condition following
confrontations between gunmen and the police in Montego Bay, St. James.
The incidents took place on Sunday and Monday of this week.
The latest confrontation occurred on Monday afternoon when
19year-old Akeem Fray of Hugga Lane, Norwood, was shot dead by the police.
Information gleaned by the Western Mirror is that
about 3:20p.m., members of the security forces were on patrol at Hugga Lane
when they saw a group of men acting in a suspicious manner.
On seeing the police approaching, the men ran, and the
police gave chase. Fray, who was among them, was seen allegedly removing a
firearm from his waistband. He and another man who was also armed with a gun
reportedly opened fire at the police.
The gunfire was returned. When shooting subsided, Fray was
seen suffering from gunshot wounds and was taken to the Cornwall Regional
Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A Smith and Wesson 9 MM pistol with seven 9 millimetre
rounds were also seized by the lawmen.
The killing has prompted a probe by the Independent
Commission of Investigations, INDECOM.
COP INJURED
Monday’s incident came on the heels of a shooting on Sunday
involving a police constable and armed men following a minor motor vehicle
accident along the Porto Bello main road.
Reports are that at 2:45 a.m., the police constable and a
female companion were travelling in his grey Toyota motorcar along the Porto
Bello main road when a green Toyota Corolla Station Wagon attempted to overtake
his car, damaging the right rear fender of his vehicle.
The constable,
realizing that his vehicle was damaged, reportedly drove down the vehicle and
used his car to block the roadway; however, the driver of the green Toyota
Corolla managed to elude him and drove away.
The constable reportedly drove to the intersection of Porto
Bello and Sign Irwin where he stopped and was further examining the damage to
the vehicle when he saw the same Green Toyota Corolla driving towards him.
He allegedly
approached the vehicle and shouted ‘police’, when a man who was later
identified as Travis Malcolm, alias ‘Tippa’, who was a passenger in the
vehicle, opened fire, hitting him in the chest.
The constable drew his firearm and discharged a round, but
the car sped off.
The constable was later taken to hospital where he has been
admitted in serious condition.
he controversial Kent Avenue Wall by Sunset Beach in Montego Bay with inset showing new construction at another section of the open beach. – CWP photos
The St. James Municipal Corporation has raised the red flag over the construction of a wall along Kent Avenue in Montego Bay and is calling for answers from the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA).
The matter was raised by Senator Charles Sinclair at the recent regular monthly council meeting against the background of a pending new Development Order for the parish. He argued that there were some things he saw happening in Montego Bay that could be affected by what is contained in the new Development Order.
“If you drive on Kent Avenue, there is a development that is taking place which started some time ago and which there were issues with it as NEPA had served notice and I believe it was taken to court,” said Sinclair.
Without naming who is behind the development, he said there was continuation of the activity with additional dumping taking place into the sea to create land space. He argued, “And what was done from the original development is that a wall was constructed which obstructs the view to the sea and if you look at the Development Orders, I recall there’s a provision which says you have to construct windows to allow that people who have certain types of development not to obstruct the view.”
Senator Sinclair who is councillor for the area, reported that the wall in question had been constructed on the existing sea wall and it now appeared there was going to be an extension.
A large section of the Sunset Beach has been developed to complement the Sea Garden Hotel on the opposite side of Kent Avenue. It was confirmed on Friday that currently, construction is taking place at another section of the beach but there is no indication as to whether there is a connection with the existing facility.
Council Chairman Homer Davis said he heard about it and commented, “I don’t want to talk but it was brought to my attention last night that a wall is now constructed on top of the wall. I haven’t seen it myself…” at which point Sinclair interjected that there were issues with the first wall and notices were served. He sought word from the Corporation’s Director of Planning, Trevion Manning “whether the council was ever served or given any documentation that speaks to that development that is now taking place.”
The Senator further questioned, “Is it that this particular developer is going to construct a wall that creates a windowless passage? Is that what is happening? I don’t know but I think there needs to be some looking into what is taking place with the dumping up of the sea and the extension of the wall that is there.”
Sinclair suggested that notice should be served on the developer and NEPA contacted, stating that he had personally contacted the agency’s legal officer and twice promised a response but “the person who I spoke with at NEPA, from the legal department, did not get back to me so I’m asking he council to officially communicate with NEPA to ask them if they have granted any permit to any development that is taking place down at Kent Avenue and could they provide us with the specifics of any approval that has been done.”
Mayor Davis informed, “I am in full support of that request coming from the councillor because we are the ones who are being asked what is happening here, what is happening there and nobody knows who the NEPA people are. They come to our meetings, they spend some time yes but more times than not they are nor even aware of what is happening or even if they are aware of what is happening they are not prepared to give us that information.”
He asserted, “If it needs be that we have to get the head of NEPA here then we get the head of NEPA down because we can’t have things around us that we are not aware of and these are building issues of which NEPA forms a critical part and we are not on the same page.” Instruction was given that NEPA be written to as what was taking place along Kent Avenue “don’t look right.” NEPA has oversight and its approval is critical but said Davis, “as a municipality who has come under severe pressure and criticism, is like we can’t do anything.” He is pushing for a meeting with the head of NEPA to get clarity before the next council due October 10.
Work is in progress to overlay Kent Avenue with support from the Tourism Enhancement Fund, Mayor Davis the municipality was fixing it so that citizens can enjoy the area popularly known as Dead End.
Alkaline has unleashed his new diss track for Squash and Chronic Law, and has made one thing clear: no one is safe. Vybz Kartel, Heavy D, ShabDon, and even Squash’s mother are included in this latest version of lyrical warfare.
Alkaline and Squash’s beef was a relentless one, with each deejay releasing multiple diss tracks aimed at each other. It seemed things come to a head recently after Squash’s manager stated in an interview that the artiste would no longer be doing clashes. Fans reasonably thought that was the end of it, but then came Jahmiel, who dropped a bomb in the direction of Chronic Law, adding that Vybz Kartel had abandoned his his students. But the ever-posting Vybz Kartel made sure to dismiss those claims, posting on Instagram that he reps ‘The 6IX’ all day, every day.
Last week, however, Alkaline rose from the sidelines and made it abundantly clear that he backs down from no one, leading to the release of perhaps his boldest diss yet, ‘Nuh Mercy’. Fans, understandably, lost their minds after hearing the track. Up to the time of this report, over 89 thousand views had been racked up by the diss track.
At the beginning of the track, a man can be heard saying, “Mi need fi talk to Alkaline. Affi do a peace dealings,” to which Alkaline responded saying, “Only peace wah dem a do a rest inna piece, s**k unuh mada wid dat, nuh peace treaty.”
The deejay then goes after Squash, whom he’s famously donned ‘Turtle Neck,’ Vybz Kartel and producer ShabDon in a single go. Those lyrics can’t be posted here, but he went on to refer to Vybz Kartel as a friend killer, with the line: “When since it alright fi praise friend killer…”, referring to Vybz Kartel, who is currently serving a life sentence for the killing of Clive “Lizard” Williams, a former associate of his.
In response to the track, one fan stated, “ALL when dem ex-police manager told dem to wave the white flag we still a fire… nuh MERCY,” while another added, “No yute !!! Alka av somebody a Salt Spring number. Too much info #facts.”
The track ‘Nuh Mercy’ is perhaps one of the most lyrical diss tracks released by either side of the divide since the war started this summer. It will be interesting to see if Squash will return fire and what he will come with since his manager Heavy D said that the 6ix camp is done with war.
