Damion Mitchell
@DamionMitch • 9,403 subscribers
Jamaican 🇯🇲 Journalist | Communications Specialist | MC | Nature Lover | Staying above the clouds
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COMMENTARY: Still business as usual, PM? The revelation is staggering! Jamaica's Information Minister Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon says Prime Minister Andrew Holness learned "after the fact" about the controversial J$115 million a year rent for the downtown Kingston waterfront office space for the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA). It means that someone, somewhere committed Jamaica to half a billion dollars over five years to rent office spaces to direct reconstruction after Hurricane Melissa without the responsible minister having a say. And this is against the backdrop of a governance structure that does not provide for a traditional board of directors to oversee NaRRA. That the NaRRA lease was not required to go through public procurement or Cabinet approval means the ultimate overseer was the responsible minister, who happens to be the Prime Minister. This development is yet the most glaring example why the government can no longer scoff at calls for a proper, lawful oversight body. To its credit, following public outrage over the high rental cost, the government announced that it would scale back NaRRA's office space from two floors to one, which would potentially slash the rental amount by up to half. However, the Government says the downsizing will slow the rollout of reconstruction projects. That is a whole other story for another time. But in the meantime, what will now change in relation to the decision-making processes for NaRRA? In the absence of a board, it cannot be business as usual for the "responsible minister". With so much on his plate, the Prime Minister still has space for a slice of humble pie to correct this deficiency.
Damion Mitchell17,427 görüntüleme • 14 gün önce
📍Content, central Manchester WATCH: From one disaster to another About 30 people have evacuated their homes in the community of Content near Williamsfield because of rising underground water following the passage of #Melissa. Their belongings are being stored at a community centre, which is now also being used as a shelter. Some of the evacuees are staying with friends and relatives. Underground water surfaces when the water table rises above normal levels after periods of prolonged, heavy rain. The phenomenon last happened in Content in 2005 following hurricanes Dennis and Emily. However, councillor for the Bellefield Division in Manchester, Mario Mitchell says it's worse this time round with the water now covering parts of the main road. It's expected that vehicular access will soon be restricted until the water recedes. The rising water episode first happened in Content 1977, claiming two lives.
Damion Mitchell182,316 görüntüleme • 11 ay önce
📍Steerfield, near Golden Grove, St Ann (⚠️ WARNING: Expletives‼️) WATCH: Police confront protesting residents after cops fatally shot brothers Ramone and Davian Henry during in an early morning operation. ▫️The North Coast Times' NorthCoastTimesJa reports that a woman who was among those who first got to the house said the men were murdered. ▫️People in the area have been insisting that the men were not involved in any criminal activity. ▫️The police say residents blocked the pathway, preventing them from taking the wounded men to the hospital. - Contributed Video
Damion Mitchell95,077 görüntüleme • 6 ay önce
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⚠️SENSITIVE CONTENT ‼️ 🚨EXPLETIVES WATCH: An inmate at a Jamaican facility went live on TikTok earlier this evening puffing what appears to be a spliff while appealling for snacks for another inmate on remand. Cellphones and weed are barred in Jamaican lock-ups and correctional facilities. However, they are often smuggled into the facilities.
Damion Mitchell92,216 görüntüleme • 7 ay önce
(WARNING: Expletive) Everald Warmington, identifying himself as the Minister of Works, declares that no PNP councillor will spend his money after the Jamaica Labour Party incumbent Lloyd Grant was unseated by PNP Jamaica's Kurt Waul in the Old Harbour South Division in #LGE2024.
Damion Mitchell306,342 görüntüleme • 2 yıl önce
🔘 DEVELOPING: Brace for major fuel price increases Energy Minister Daryl Vaz is warning Jamaicans to brace for what could be significant fuel price increases amid the instability in the global petroleum industry because of the war in the Middle East. Speaking at this morning's post-Cabinet press briefing, Vaz announced that, effective today, Jamaica's sole oil refinery, Petrojam, will implement a new tiered pricing mechanism. 👨💻 As part of the fuel conservation strategy, the government will consider "COVID-type" measures including work from home arrangements. ⛽ In the past four weeks, Petrojam absorbed $1.3 billion in oil price hikes that were not passed on to consumers. 💵 If the price pressures persist up to June 2026, it would cost the government $11.8 billion to absorb the increases.
Damion Mitchell72,501 görüntüleme • 6 ay önce
DEVELOPING: The acting CEO of the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), Eric Hosin, has named the four companies that were found to have corruptly used the tax-exempt status of the institution to evade customs duties. 🔘They are: 1. Supreme Laundry Services 2. Willman Sales 3. Scientific Medical Services 4. Jacden Limited 🔘 The scheme deprived the Jamaica Customs Agency of about $20 million in revenue. 🔘 UHWI and Health Ministry officials appeared before Parliament's Public Accounts Committee to answer questions about the Auditor General's findings of procurement irregularities and other malpractices at the hospital.
Damion Mitchell59,649 görüntüleme • 6 ay önce
#UHWIscandal 🔘 Jacden reportedly pays evaded customs duties Chairman of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Julian Robinson says Jacden has reportedly paid the University Hospital of the West Indies the $10.1 million it evaded in customs duties when it benefitted from the misuse of the hospital's tax-exempt status. Julian Jay Robinson told Dionne JacksonMiller on RJR's #BeyondTheHeadlines that his was reported to him by Jacden's boss Dennis Gordon. Gordon, is also the Member of Parliament for St Andrew East Central and a member of the PAC. His firm is among four that benefitted from the misuse of the hospital's tax exemption to import goods. The breaches resulted in about $20 million in unpaid customs duties.
Damion Mitchell58,185 görüntüleme • 6 ay önce
WATCH: It's going to be war! Prime Minister Andrew Holness says the government will fight back against false information in the Melissa recovery. "Mi Nuh fraid a nobody," he said Friday during the opening of the new Little London Police Station in Westmoreland. The previous structure was destroyed by fire.
Damion Mitchell79,370 görüntüleme • 11 ay önce
🔘 MP Angela Brown Burke suspended from Parliamentary sitting after grabbing Mace Jamaica's Parliament decended into a near 30-minute protest late Tuesday evening after Opposition MP Angela Brown Burke was suspended from the sitting. ▫️House Speaker Juliet Holness named Brown Burke and ruled that the St Andrew South West MP be suspended for disorderly conduct after she grabbed the Mace during a committee vote on the controversial NaRRA Bill. ▫️Brown Burke was attempting to speak but was not allowed. Fellow Opposition MPs flanked Brown Burke as the Marshal prepared to escort her from the chamber. ▫️The Mace is the symbol of authority taken into the House by the Marshal at the start of each session of Parliament and removed by him when the session ends. ▫️The Andrew South West MP, eventually left the chamber after Holness announced a five-minute recess. Her failure to comply with the Speaker's ruling could have resulted in her suspension from the House. ▫️In 1969, Keble Munn of the People's National Party was suspended from the House for six months for removing the Mace.
Damion Mitchell44,341 görüntüleme • 6 ay önce
#UHWIscandal 🔘 Who approved the use of the UHWI's tax-exempt status to import goods for private entities? Permanent Secretary in the Health Ministry Errol Greene says a signature purported to be that of a former UHWI CEO appears on one of the approval documents. That CEO separated from the UHWI more than two years before the date of the "approval". Another approval document bears what appears to be the signature of the current CEO who is now on leave. The acting CEO, Eric Hosin, says in both instances, Jacden was the benefiting company.
Damion Mitchell40,796 görüntüleme • 6 ay önce
JUST IN: Jamaica's Prime Minister Andrew Holness has used the platform of the #CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting now under way in St Kitts & Nevis to call attention to the crisis in Cuba. The Spanish-speaking Caribbean country has been facing tightening economic pressures because of actions by the United States. Tomorrow, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will attend the CARICOM meeting. Here's Holness' take: 🇨🇺 The situation in Cuba must be addressed with clarity and courage. 🇺🇸 Jamaica supports constructive dialogue between Cuba and the United States aimed at de-escalation, reform and stability. 💵 A prolonged crisis in Cuba will affect the Caribbean in respect of migration, security and economic development.
Damion Mitchell28,298 görüntüleme • 8 ay önce
📍 Gordon Town Road, St Andrew 🌀 The Hope River is in spate
Damion Mitchell38,041 görüntüleme • 1 yıl önce
WATCH: Prime Minister Andrew Holness has announced that over the next "few" years in a third term, the national minimum wage will be increased to $32,000 a week, up from the current $16,000. He said this is part of the intention of the Jamaica Labour Party to move Jamaica to a liveable wage system. The JLP Leader was speaking at the party's mass meeting in Spanish Town, St Catherine.
Damion Mitchell42,182 görüntüleme • 1 yıl önce
🔘 Burchell begins advocacy for Jamaican language in House Opposition spokesperson on Culture #NekeishaBurchell wants Parliament's Standing Orders to be changed to allow legislators to make presentations in the Jamaican language patois (patwa). Her attempt to use the language on Tuesday in her first contribution to the Sectoral Debate was halted when House Speaker Juliet Holness cited the rules governing the sitting. ▫️Burchell told Dionne JacksonMiller on Radio Jamaica 94 FM's #BeyondTheHeadlines that, already, she has consulted with Opposition Leader Mark Golding and Leader of Opposition Business in the House Phillip Paulwell about the need to amend the Standing Orders which require parliamentary presentations to be made in standard English. ▫️The legislator says at the next sitting of parliament's Standing Order Review Committee, the Opposition will raise the matter of the restriction on the use of patois in parliamentary presentations. ▫️If the review committee, chaired by the House Speaker, does not not accept the recommendation to lift the patois ban, Burchell says she will bring the matter to Parliament through a Private Member's Motion often used by Opposition lawmakers to raise issues.
Damion Mitchell19,842 görüntüleme • 5 ay önce
#UWHIscandal 🔘 UHWI owes $40 billion in taxes and penalties Acting CEO of the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) Eric Hosin has revealed that the institution is now owing $40 billion in taxes, interest and penalties. Appearing before Parliament's Public Accounts Committee this morning, Hosin said the figure comprises $18 billion in taxes and $22 billion in interest and penalties dating back several years. ▫️Hosin said employees' National Insurance Scheme and National Housing Trust deductions are now current but there is not enough money to pay other tax obligations. ▫️For years, the delinquency has restricted the ability of the UHWI to obtain a tax compliance certificate necessary for importation and other businesses. ▫️UHWI had been undertaking imports through its private wing and the Health Ministry before it recently received a temporary tax compliance certificate. The certificate expires in May. ▫️The hospital will be engaging the Health Ministry with a view to approaching the Finance Ministry about a potential tax write-off.
Damion Mitchell20,761 görüntüleme • 6 ay önce
📍Sav-la-mar, Westmoreland 🔊 FULL AUDIO: Medical crisis looming There is an urgent appeal for medical support in Westmoreland, the parish where the category 5 #HurricaneMelissa made landfall on Tuesday. General Surgeon at the Sav-la-mar Hospital Dr Lincoln Cox says the situation is grave: ‼️Sterile medical supplies have runout 🩸Blood supply is critically low 🍃No air conditioning in the operating theatre for emergency surgeries ⚰️ Police report six bodies in one community which cannot be removed as the area is cut off 📶 Communication at the hospital is extremely poor to non-existent 🥣 Hospital staff has not been relieved since the storm and are now low on food and water 🦶 Diabetic patients unable to access the hospital to get dressing are now at risk of losing life and limbs
Damion Mitchell27,249 görüntüleme • 1 yıl önce