Mahogany CoConut Blog

One Caribbean Nation.    by Professor Sir Errol R.Walrond  Some 50 years ago there was an informal forum where politicians from both parties and others would gather, relax and candidly discuss issues of the day. I recall a new minister stating that their first priority was to get the streets clean “for the tourists”. He was met with the retort from someone at the table that they should “get the streets clean for us first, then they would be clean for the tourists”. The echoes of this type of thinking persist to this day as with the tax relief for repairs/improvement on villas but none for “ordinary” house owners, or the recent Holetown redevelopment plan. Satisfying tourists.  On that occasion 50 years ago, the conversation shifted to other topics of development and it was posited that Jamaica had gone the way of satisfying the “tourists” need for a marijuana fix and the accompanying gun enforcement of the trade had evolved into corruption o...

One Caribbean Nation. No one should wait this long — especially not the most vulnerable Today’s Editorial Maurine Catlyn's story should trouble the conscience of every Barbadian. For 18 long years, this visually impaired single mother of four has waited, as reported by this media house last week, for the government to honour a promise of housing assistance. Her home, if it can even be called that, is a fragile and crumbling plywood structure precariously balanced on four concrete blocks. There is no running water, no electricity, no bathroom. Her five-year-old daughter must walk to her grandmother's nearby home just to bathe. Rainwater seeps through broken panes and holes in the walls. This is not a temporary hardship caused by natural disasters or unforeseen circumstances; it is a harsh, ongoing reality that Maurine and her children endure daily. No Barbadian — and certainly no mother raising four children while living with a disability — should be forced to survive in conditi...

One Caribbean Nation. Beyond funding The digital blueprint for road tennis’ global rise I don't usually do follow-ups, but last week's article sparked spirited feedback from the road tennis community. What truly prompted this part two, though, was one comment: "All road tennis needs is money." Yes, money matters—but it's not everything. Plenty of well-funded projects still fail due to bad timing, poor planning, or weak management. Funding helps, but it doesn't fix systemic flaws. One issue I raised last week was governance—what leadership does in managing the affairs of a sport or any organisation. Over the years, road tennis has had many passionate stakeholders who believed in its global potential. But they've leaned too heavily on government support for the sport's survival. That mindset edges dangerously close to nationalisation, not nationhood. If road tennis is going to have its moment in the sun and earn the recognition it deserves, it can'...