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Strategies to boost your business on social media

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What are the best strategies to boost your business with social media?

Social media is growing in popularity as it has become the “go-to” option for effective marketing. In the U.S. especially, a large percentage of businesses use social media as a major marketing platform. However, how does this apply to businesses in Jamaica? Well, social media is now being considered as a marketing tool as more and more business owners discover its usefulness and relevance. As we revolutionize the way we reach our target audience, it is imperative that you know how to make social media marketing work for you.

In this article, we will explore five strategies for using social media to boost your business this year as well as the relevant tools to assist you in doing so.

  1. Know your customers and competitors on social media.

Access to comprehensive data on your competitors and target market is of paramount importance when it comes to successful marketing. This involves knowing your target audience, what you’re competitor’s have brewing in their cauldron of ideas and where your market is aiming at. This information will fuel the possibility of creating better marketing strategies and marketing decisions altogether.You may be wondering, “How will I get this information?”

Through monitoring specific conversations taking place online, you can learn several things based on your own focus. In fact, by using one of the top social listening tool, Sentione(Forbes 2019),you can to monitor keywords across the web and social media, find influencers, gain more knowledge on your audience and conduct market research. There are several other tools with similar features, however, A good social listening strategy enables you to:

  • Monitor your brand name, zone in on discussions that make mention of your brand and join the conversation whenever a potential client is looking into your product or customer service implications.
  • Keep tabs on competitors so you are able to comprehend what their digital marketing is, its effectiveness, the population of their audience and the types of content they produce.
  • Discover better influencers for collaboration which involves monitoring certain audiences and keywords in order to source the best influencers in that niche.
  • Comprehend the personality of your audience, their geographical location, the hashtags and keywords they frequently use, their preferred content and so on.
  • Thoroughlyassess the emotional reactions of consumers/customers/clients (choose most appropriate word) to measure the success of a campaign.
  • Build conversation by using charismaticvideos for advertisement on Facebook.

Videos remain a cut above the rest as it regards to click through rates and conversions. Among the trends that help tocreate a strongeronline presence is personalization. Customers prefer personalized content and thus gravitate towards it more reaulting in consistently increasing conversion rates and sales. Therefore, Facebook now allows you to make Dynamic Ads which aid in delivering personalized ad experiences through videos. I am certain you may have seen these videos while browsing through Facebook during your lunch hour at work. However, to make the most of this tool you must have data on your audience to make a personalized ad more “personal”. You can also check out Idomoo, aFacebook marketing partner with features that helpyou to create these ads.

  • Transform your employees into brand ambassadors

Now, this strategy is unique to the previous strategies mentioned. It entails increasing brand awareness and producing better results through the representation of the company’s messageby employees. This type of promotion can have an enormous impact on website traffic and social media engagement as they will essentially be using their platform to build yours.

To develop an employee advocacy campaign it is important that you consider the following strategies:

  • Motivate your team to share your content and develop a company culture that is built on this form of advocacy which will further encourage their enthusiasm.
  • Give guidelines to avoid any harm to the company’s reputation and to also avoid  the sharing of misleading information.
  • Ensure an efficient and user friendly system is implemented to facilitate employees carrying out these tasks. Having such a system in place will ensure that content is easily accessible and will make it easier to monitor what is shared thus reducing the likelihood of misrepresentation.

Smarp is a platform that facilitates employee engagement and advocacy through an internal content hub that has all the relevant information needed and more.

  • Highlight your branding on Social Media without a designer.

So far, we have explored three strategies to boost your business on social media and we will now zone in on branding, social media branding in particular. It’s vastly known that visual content results in greater engagement on social media but it may be detrimental if the visual content does not match your brand.

For your content to earn the trust needed by your target audience, social media channels should be consistent in developing one specific branded visual language. It should be meticulously designed and in alignment with your brand identity. Though it can be a definite challenge with the absence of the aid of a graphic designer, if you need assistance with this process it may be wise to check out PromoRepublic which helps you to create these branded visuals with a wide variety of features. In the world of business, research is always a relevant option if you want great results.

  • One on One Action, reach out to your audience.

The final strategy I will cover is customer engagement which involves reaching out to your audience with a one on one approach. It helps you build your knowledge of the customers and shorten the sales cycle thus, improving conversions. Furthermore, it helps to build rapport which is essential in customer rentention. This strategy can be effectively performed by sending targeted messages with consistency and in real time. However, how can you keep in-touch with your customers when you’ve managed to lead them right on to your websites?

Well, Drift is a conversational marketing platform that can be used as a means of keeping the conversation going.

There are so many ways to make social media marketing work for you but ultimately, you need to find the right recipe to cook up success in building your business and keeping competitors on their knees (you mean toes right?). Through experimenting with new strategies, utilizing data effectively and constant optimization of your approach, you will be better able to leverage social media platforms to the advancement of your business. Considering that social media is quickly becoming a preferred marketing platform worldwide, Jamaica shouldn’t be far behind in filling that missing link in the global chain. The tools are available and accessible so with some research and consistency you could just be a click away from business success through social media marketing.

Highlights Research and Strategic Management Solutions

Email: info@highlightsresearch.com /876-424-2054

Website: highlightsresearch.com

IG: highlightsresearchja

Lapwing: St. James’ Top Carver

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ALL MADE BY ME: One of his many fish carvings in hand, Lapwing sits surrounded by all his work in his shop at the Harbour Street Craft Market recently. –Alan Lewin photos

Alan Lewin – Contributor

Talent can be spotted in an instant, but perhaps most intriguing is the individual’s ability to convert the simplest of materials into a masterpiece. While talented people roam the earth, Jamaica definitely has its fair share and woodcarver, Lapwing is just one of the chips off the talented Western Jamaican block.

Lapwing started carving alongside Kelly, Norman at the Harbour Street Craft Market in the early 80’s and his unique ability to draw made him very instrumental to Mr. Kelly who employed him as his main carver. Lapwing was being rewarded handsomely for his abilities as his weekly pay motivated him to continue doing carvings for a living. So versatile is he, he can replicate almost any object through drawing. However, his most notable carvings are that of various animals such as fish, alligators, crocodiles, turtles, giraffes, lions, parrots, elephants, owls, chickens and bulls. He also carves bowls and images of the Jamaican national heroes.

FRUIT BOWL: The talented Lapwing has carved bowls resembling pineapples.

While he is known by many as Lapwing, his mother christened him Trevor Samuels 55 years ago. He was born in Cascade, Hanover, but spent most of his time in St. James. His early schooling began at the Mount Salem Primary and from there, he went on to the St Phillips Academy which was located on Brandon Hill.

Although his talent and the work produced over the years have largely gone unnoticed, in his opinion, they are award worthy and he is not ruling out the possibility of getting that big recognition from some notable person or institution any time soon. 

BIG CATCH: Lapwing shows off one of his lager fish carvings just outside his shop.

From working under a craft vendor in his younger days, Lapwing is now the owner of shop 114 at the Harbour Street in Montego Bay, where he has shelves and walls full of his carvings.

Lapwing confessed that tourists are his main supporters and he tries to be available to them but “it is too hassling” to transport his wood carvings to and from the pier where the ships dock in Montego Bay based on their sizes.

Many returning residents introduce his business to new customers, which is one of the things that keep his business going. “Most of my works are based on recommendation from visitors who send tourists to my shop to buy carvings and jewelries, and I am pleased with them for that. It shows that my work is well-recognized and I am happy for that,” said Lapwing.

One of his carvings can be found in the hall of the Glistening Waters Hotel in Falmouth, which he admits gives him a sense of pride to look at.

Hunt on for 10 Most Wanted

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• Person of interest turns himself in

One man listed among four as a person of interest in Westmoreland has turned himself in to the police as crime sleuths intensify the manhunt for the parish’s ten Most Wanted men.

The Most Wanted list, which was published by the parish police hierarchy on Saturday, include 25-year-old Dushane Allen, who is also called ‘Nigel’, wanted for three murders committed in the volatile Bethel Town area.

Others on the list wanted for murder are 30-year-old Mashorn Samuels, otherwise called ‘Ammie’ of Hatfield district, Westmoreland, who is wanted for the murder of Ladwayne Russell committed on October 26, 2017, 18 year–old  Romel Poyser of Dester Street, wanted for being a member of a criminal organization, 50-year-old Burton Shearer otherwise called ‘Bap’,  24-year-old Ashwayne Campbell, also called ‘Cappy’, ; 40-year-old Isiah Perry, also called ‘Cat’ or ‘Matthew’; and Andre Freckleton, otherwise called ‘Kunte’, of Red Ground district, Negril.

The list of wanted men is completed by 30-year-old Anthony Osborne, also called ‘Burnes’, of Ricketts Street, Savanna-la-Mar, who is wanted for shooting with intent and illegal possession of firearm; Frank Thompson of Frome, who is wanted for wounding with intent and illegal possession of firearm; and Roneil Cameron of March Pen Road, Spanish Town in St. Catherine.

The police also listed Courtney Hall, also called ‘Matthew’ of Savanna-la-Mar; Jason Harris, alias ‘Timmy’, of Savanna-la-Mar; Shawn Smith, alias ‘Blacks’, from Three Miles, Frome; and Alistair Drummond, also called ‘Al’, of  Savanna-la-Mar, as persons of interest.

Cop arrested for killing wife

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Jennifer Hardy Lawrence

Shamir Brown

“Mi love di whole a unu enuh, but dis a di last time you a hear mi voice. Mi wife… a torment mi life… she a torment mi. Mi go a station last night go file a report and dem come from mawnin a talk to di woman, and she come lick off mi door fi money…and dis mawnin mi affi kill har. Mi sorry, but a so it go….”

In a voice note allegedly forwarded to his colleagues, those were the chilling words of the Falmouth-based police officer who, on Tuesday morning, killed his wife following an extended dispute, and is now in police custody.

According to information reaching this newsroom, the lawman was reportedly home on Tuesday morning when around 10 o’ clock, a dispute developed between himself and his wife. Further reports are that shortly after the dispute erupted, several explosions were heard in their Tower Isle, St. Mary home. After lawmen were alerted and descended upon the scene, 45-year-old Jennifer Hardy Lawrence was found suffering from gunshot wounds.

She later succumbed to her injuries.

The officer in question, who was reportedly still on the scene when other officers arrived, was taken into custody by the Prospect Police, where he is now being held.

Members of the Trelawny Police Division were said to be left bewildered following the tragedy, with some expressing that they did not expect this. One co-worker, however, who spoke on condition of anonymity, shared that perhaps the stress that officers face daily because of the nature of their jobs could have led to the shooting.

Other unconfirmed reports by people claiming to be close to the couple suggest that the conflict could be one long in the making, as the couple was said to be experiencing a number of internal issues.

Despite no clear motive being expressed for the shooting, the circulating voice note, if verified to be that of the officer in question, could provide investigators with some much-needed insight into what led to the fatal encounter.

The officer, who is said to be ranked at Detective Corporal, reportedly had responsibilities for the Proactive Investigations Unit in the parish, and was also said to be doing a good job.

He is said to have held other posts in the parish and one point, was stationed at the Wakefield Police Station. Investigations continue.

Chetwood vs Catherine Hall

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STRETCHING OUT: The flamboyant Natania Fairclough the drive in the Chetwood team, plucks a ball under her control during her schools match against Success in their St. James Netball Foundation/Burger King Under-12 game played at the Montego Bay Boys’ and Girls’ Club. Chetwood won 9-6 in that gamke and remain undefeated - Noelita Lawrence-Ricketts photo

Noelita Lawrence-Ricketts

In-form and resurgent, high-flying Chetwood will look to maintain their stance at the summit of the standings while Catherine Hall hunt a first win when play resumes tomorrow, Tuesday, May 28, in the preliminary round of the St. James Netball Foundation Burger King Under-12 Competition being played at the Montego Bay Boys’ and Girls’ Club.

Chetwood, playing a nice brand of attacking netball not seen in recent years and one of the installed favourites, go in search of a fourth straight win when they meet the tottering Catherine Hall in what should be a competitive affair between the longtime rivals.

Catherine Hall have been struggling so far in the campaign, but down to challenge one of their fiercest rivals, they are expected to bring their ‘A’ game to the table for what is the feature game of the round.

Another struggling ex-champion, Barracks Road, are also listed to be on show when they line-up against the on-and-off Hosanna Prep in the first game of the day’s triple header.

Barracks Road are joint third in their zone on three points with just one win from their games played and they will be hoping for another three points to cut the lead in the zone.

However, the Barracks Road team is down to face an unpredictable opposition in Hosanna Prep, already with four points and can only surge ahead with an outright victory.

In the other scheduled game, cellar dwellers John’s Hall and St. Mary’s Prep clash for a shot to move off the foot of the standings.

St. Mary’s Prep, despite showing slight improvement, sit rock bottom in the standings and are one of three  teams yet to record a win or a point.
John’s Hall, with three going into the game, are joint third with three points after their solitary win.

POSITIONS

Chetwood hold top spot in Zone One with 9 points, three ahead of the defending champions Corinaldi (6), who have played a game less.

John Rollins and Howard Cooke, each with three points and Catherine Hall, along with Irwin yet to get off the mark, are the teams rounding out the table.

In the other zone, flying Flanker, are ahead of the pack with nine points, followed by Hosanna Prep, four, and two schools, John’s Hall and Barracks Road, each with three (3).

Somerton, with a solitary point from their drawn game and St. Mary’s Prep with zero, complete the list.

FLANKER WINS AGAIN

In the previous round, Flanker, John Rollins and Howard Cooke each recorded wins, keeping alive their chances of making progress to the next round.

Flanker, last year’s beaten finalists and so far one of two teams showing form, continued their scoring of more than 10 points in each game with a 15-3 clobbering of Hosanna Prep.

With sweeping passes, Flanker made their intentions clear from the get-go and established a 5-0 lead at the close of the opening 8 minutes. They allowed a solitary goal in the second quarter but still dropped three as they went into the break 8-1 ahead.

Hosanna managed another two goals in the third quarter, but it was not enough as Flanker, with three and four in the final quarter after they were held scoreless wrapped up the win in emphatic style.

In other games, John Rollins Success ticked off their first win in a narrow 7-4 beating of late entrants Irwin, who steadily scored one goal per half. Howard Cooke ensured Catherine Hall remained off the points board with a 6-3 beating.

Tuesday, May 28 schedule

Barracks Road vs Hosanna@10

John’ Hall vs St. Mary’s Prep @11

Catherine Hall vs Chetwood @12

Taximan killed

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Horace Roseway, whose body was found wrapped in a sheet along the Brandon Hill main road in St. James last Thursday.
  • Suspect killed

Swift and decisive action by the St. James police on Thursday led to the discovery of the body of missing taxi operator, Horace Roseway of Rosemount Crescent in the parish, and the apprehension of a suspect in connection with his murder.

Information gleaned by the Western Mirror indicate that on Tuesday about 6a.m.,  a relative reported 49-year-old Roseway, who plied the Farm Heights to downtown Montego Bay route, and who was popularly known as ‘Chunkman’, missing.

Later in the day, a man was found in possession of Roseway’s motorcar and the police were subsequently informed.

The lawmen, acting on the information, discovered the man with the motor vehicle. The man told the police that the car was given to him by a relative of his to operate as a taxi. Acting on information, the police picked up the suspect who works at a popular resort in Montego Bay.

The suspect later led the crime sleuths to Roseway’s nude, partially decomposed body, which was found in bushes along the Brandon Hill main road, not far from his Rosemount Crescent residence, wrapped in a sheet and covered by a sheet of zinc. The body was removed to the morgue.

It is suspected that Roseway was strangled.

The suspect, who was taken into custody and is expected to be charged following an interview, allegedly told investigators that he killed Roseway after he made sexual advances towards him.

Deadly standoff

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Donovan Thompson, the man who was at the centre of a four-hour hostage crisis in St. James
  • Father dead, 8 y-o son critical

Barrington Flemming – Staff Reporter

The usually quite community of Comfort Hall, Anchovy in South St. James, is reeling from a four- hour hostage crisis, which has left one man dead and his eight-year-old son in critical condition in hospital.

The dead man is 56-year-old taxi operator, Donavon Thompson.

The four-hour ordeal began to unfold about 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday, when a police team went to the Comfort Hall area in search of Thompson, who was a suspect in a sexual offence case.

Commanding Officer for the St. James Police Division, Superintendent Vernon Ellis, said on arrival at the premises, Thompson barricaded himself in the house and held his eight-year-old son hostage, while refusing the police entry to the house.

 Thompson reportedly pulled the curtains from the windows and made several attempts to set the house ablaze with the use of a lighter and two gas cylinders.

“The fire department, the paramedics, negotiators and the SWAT team from the JCF were all on the scene and they all tried to persuade him to end the hostage situation. He, however, made a request to see his wife who was in another parish. The police acceded to the request and brought the wife to the house at Comfort Hall.

 Superintendent Ellis said Thompson’s wife and members of the church he attended, as well as community members, pleaded with him to release the son and give up himself up to the police but he refused.

ATTACKED HIS SON

“Instead, Thompson started to attack his eight-year-old son and used a knife to stab him several times to the upper body, during which the SWAT team from the JCF gained entry by breaching the front of the premises.

He further explained that the police tried to use less lethal options to subdue Thompson, including bean bags but:

 “He continued to attack his son, stabbing him, and in a bid to save the child’s life, the police resorted to lethal option. Mr. Thompson was injured, and the paramedics who were at the scene transported him and his critically wounded son to the Cornwall Regional Hospital,” he explained.

Thompson succumbed to his injuries while his son has been admitted.

“The fire department put out the fire and washed down the house and in the interim, we have since deployed members of the Community Safety and Security Branch to Comfort Hall as many residents there are distraught, so we can assist them to cope with this ordeal,” Superintendent Ellis concluded.

MBBGC in crucial clash

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Rogwayne Thompson of Lilliput Rovers is collared by his Catherine Hall opponent but maintains hold of the ball near the corner flag during their lacklustre match on Thursday, April 25, in the St. James FA Sandals Resorts International Major League. Rovers won the encounter 1-0. Noelita Lawrence photo

Noelita Lawrence – Staff Reporter

It will be a crucial and must-win showdown for Montego Bay Boys’ and Girls’ Club (MBBGC) today, Monday, April 29, when they come face-to-face with out of contention Marl Road in a vital clash in the St. James FA Sandals Resorts International Major League encounter at the UDC field beginning at 3:30 p.m.

MBBGC, occupying third spot in Zone Two, must win what will be their final contest, and improve their goals tally if they are to keep alive their hopes of progress to the semi-finals.

Marl Road occupy bottom spot and have no hopes of making the playoffs, however, having been one of the free-scoring teams in the League, fireworks are expected as they know how to put the ball in the back of the net and will be against a defense that has at times proved vulnerable.

Should MBBGC manage a win, it would move them to 15 points and into second position with Heights, for at least 24 hours, before last year’s beaten finalist contest their final preliminary round match.

They would also be required to win by at least a four-goal margin to nudge ahead on goal difference.

Meanwhile Heights, seeded second in the zone entering the final game, will be required only to avoid defeat to punch their ticket to the semis for the third straight year.

PLAYING FOR PRIDE

In the meantime, Lilliput Rovers and Catherine Hall ended their preliminary round with the former warming up for the last four action with a less-than-impressive 1-0 win in a lone game on Thursday afternoon, April 25.

Substitute Terrick Dixon provided the all important strike in the 58th minute, mere five minutes after entering the field.

After a very late start due to the lack of available players for the Catherine Hall team, Rovers, already assured of a semi-final slot after winning Zone One, started slow in the encounter and was pinned on the back foot with Catherine Hall’s eight outfield players calling all the shots in the attacking half.

Dixon entered the field 10 minutes into the resumption and quickly got on the scoresheet when he pressed a defender to turn at the top of his own penalty area, before robbing him of possession and rifling into the back of the net.

The victory was a League-high 8 for Rovers and pushed them to an improbable 24 points.

Former Premier League champions Violet Kickers, Irwin and perennial semi-finalists Melbourne Mind Games, are also among those hunting a semi-final berth.

Development woes

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Royal Caribbean photo

Barrington Flemming – Staff Reporter

Despite a raft of development projects in Falmouth in recent months, Delroy Christie, President of the Trelawny Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is calling on the authorities to move quickly to address what he says are serious deficiencies in the growing town.

Christie says there are serious and chronic problems affecting the town including an urgent need for a central sewage system, regularized garbage collection and disposal, need for parking, major traffic congestion and lack of adequate drains.

He outlined the problems while speaking in an interview with the Western Mirror, arguing that the town is reeling from a chronic lack of supporting infrastructure to complement the development projects. .

“We have a chronic need for a central sewage system; it is urgent. The problem is that the water table rises everyday in that part of the parish and everything is old pits and those things don’t function anymore. So as soon as we have heavy rains, there is raw sewage on the road. It’s as bad as that,” he said.

Christie explained that Falmouth is a very flat town that is just a few feet above sea level and with the new developments taking place; the drains have become overwhelmed with the volume of water now flowing in them, so drainage is a major problem.

FLOODING

“Development is now outpacing the infrastructure, which affects the drains which are no longer able to manage the volume of water now flowing in the town, especially when it rains heavily,” Christie explained.  “So flooding remains a perennial problem”.

The Chamber president said another pressing issue is a lack of proper parking and congestion in the town.

“Falmouth is an old English town, which was constructed with very narrow roads for horse and buggy and things have not changed,  so you can’t have vehicles parking on the streets and people walking on the same strip back and forth. It simply cannot happen; the streets are too narrow, so we are having a problem”.

 He says based on that, many persons only eye shop in Falmouth, but do real shopping in Montego Bay. 

Efforts to contact Mayor of Falmouth, Colin Gager, for a comment, proved futile.

Montego Bay Chamber challenged to defend local businesses

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Chamber

By O. Dave Allen

Editor’s Note: Except for our editorials on these pages, the views expressed in this correspondence to us do not necessarily reflect our view and way of thinking.

There was a time when the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce was the most respected and the most powerful voice of civil society in Western Jamaica. It was a mover and shaker and a force to be reckoned with in influencing public policy. In those days, the Chamber spoke for and on behalf of business, in the interest of business, with membership drawn from the business class. The Chamber was respected as an equal partner with the State in setting out and advancing the development agenda of Montego Bay.


Let us suspend our middle class pretenses and the romantic notion that in those days, the Chamber spoke for the ordinary Montegonian. The benefits derived by the masses from their undertaking were incidental. Also, we shouldn’t be pretentious or hypocritical as to think they spoke for or on behalf of the working class, or the micro business sector of Montego Bay. Nevertheless, through a coalition of the business class, led by the Chamber and the political directorate, Montego Bay prospered.
We can well recall the days when the late Dr. Herbert Eldemire was the Member of Parliament for North West St. James, at which time his brother, Dr. Arthur Eldemire, was President of the Chamber and Tony Hart, as well as Clifford Delisser, were Councillors in the St. James Parish Council. This coalition was able to leverage influence in the halls of power to the extent that the parish was dubbed the Republic of St. James.
The Montego Bay waterfront was developed; Freeport was conceptualized and Cornwall Regional Hospital was built. During those days, the first industrial parks were created at Bogue and Lower Bevin Avenue.


STRONG LEADERS


The Chamber continued to provide strong leaders under Gordon Marzouca, and later by Presidents Lee Bailey and Val Lo Bianca, who championed the lobby to establish the headquarters for the United Nations Seabed Authority in Montego Bay. President Ripton McPherson pioneered the Greater Montego Bay Redevelopment Company in coalition with the Chamber, the Custos and Mayor Arthur Gilchrist. They crafted the first participatory, people-centred sustainable development plan for Montego Bay along with urban-planner, Arlene Dixon.


Today, the Chamber is neither fish nor fowl, pale and insignificant like characters in search of an author, a glorified service club, weak and ineffective, a poor and spurious replica of its former self. It has been reduced to a sycophant and a mouthpiece to assuage and stroke the ego of the ruling party.


The Montego Bay business elite no longer need the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce as a platform to advance their agenda, for while they maintain membership through their surrogates and proxies, they wield power from the board room through their well-paid stooges in Parliament and their local intermediaries. The new Chinese business community, with their wrecking ball, has little or no interest in civil society, yet they remain a growing powerhouse group that dominates and controls the commercial activities in the urban centre.


NEW BREED OF ENTREPRENEURS


It could be fortuitous that the current leadership of the Chamber is dominated by the sons and daughters of the working class. They have the power and opportunity to act in the interest of their class or betray it. They have the option to repurpose the Chamber of Commerce by addressing the long held inequities and to protect native industry and the emerging breed of new entrepreneurs. Some Chinese commercial interests have decimated the local commercial activities and have posed a serious threat to the survival of what is left of locally owned businesses. The new Chamber of Commerce could inherit a powerful platform that could be used to advance a decent work agenda and to give support to the nascent manufacturing sector, particularly the artisans and the furniture and the manufacturing sector, along with the small and micro enterprises.


For if Crichton Brothers, once the dominant players in the hardware business, are shuttered, can Discount Lumber be far behind? The autoparts businesses located on Jarrett, Tate, McCatty and Thompson Streets cannot be comfortable with the ever-expanding Asian tsunami as it spreads its tentacles, intent on engulfing local enterprises. Now more than ever, Montego Bay needs strong and uncompromising leadership in the Chamber to protect and defend the interests of local businesses.


Former Chamber President, Gloria Henry, in 2015, was the first casualty for confronting the 80-pound gorilla in the room, when she called for a boycott of Chinese businesses for not contributing to the social development of Montego Bay. She was viciously attacked by the then Opposition Member of Parliament, Dr. Horace Chang, for targeting an ethnic group.
That took place in September and by April the following year, she was unceremoniously removed from office.


BOGUE LANDS – POLITICAL VENDETTA


Of interest, there is an advertisement published in the local newspaper announcing the Annual General Meeting of the Montego Bay Chamber, scheduled to take place on April 25, 2019. On the said page contiguous to the advertisement is a notice by the St. James Municipal Corporation with a veiled threat to 26 occupants of Bogue lands for them to pay over 71 million dollars for back rent for the property they have occupied since 1998. This is an issue of serious concern that a progressive Chamber of Commerce should use its considerable leverage to protect the interests of these small and medium sized operators who are doing what they ought to be doing – providing goods and services, creating jobs and paying their taxes.
This is an urgent undertaking that the Chamber needs to address to justify their existence as a legitimate organization committed to the advancement of commerce and industry. The Chamber needs to demand an affirmative action on the part of government, for the local businesses are not operating on a level playing field.


The St. James Municipal Corporation is not a realtor, neither are they in the rent-collecting business. Their task in the neo-liberal capitalist system is to transfer economic factors under their control to the private sector. Their role is regulatory and the provision of municipal services to create an environment that is conducive for businesses to grow and flourish.
The underlying issue at Bogue lands is a political vendetta, an old score that the Council wishes to settle. We must never allow ourselves to be blinded by our partisan political allegiance.

odamaxef@yahoo.com

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