分类： society

During Tuesday’s 2026/27 Sectoral Debate in Jamaica’s House of Representatives, opposition education spokesperson Damion Crawford has issued a bold call to raise the country’s age of consent from 16 to 18, framing the policy shift as a critical response to an unaddressed teen pregnancy epidemic that is driving mass school dropout across the nation.

Crawford’s proposal comes amid a scathing broader critique of Jamaica’s public education system, which he argues is systematically failing the country’s youth. His argument centers on staggering official data: local institutions record an average of 6,000 school-aged girls becoming pregnant every year, and pregnancy accounts for 49% of all female secondary school dropouts. Most teen mothers do not return to formal education after giving birth, ending their academic trajectories prematurely. Extrapolating from annual pregnancy rates over the full 12-year compulsory schooling cycle for students aged 6 to 17, Crawford estimates that as many as 78,000 current students are children born to teen mothers still enrolled in school.

The push for an upward age adjustment comes at a pivotal legislative moment in Jamaica. The country last updated its age of consent in 1988, when lawmakers raised it from 14 to 16 via amendment to the Offences Against the Person Act, with the explicit goal of cutting teen pregnancy and protecting vulnerable girls in the 14 to 16 age bracket. Today, however, a parliamentary joint select committee reviewing the Child Diversion Act is currently considering a close-in-age exemption that would legalize consensual sexual relations between 15-year-old girls and 19-year-old men — a move Crawford implicitly pushes back against with his call for a higher baseline age of consent.

Beyond the teen pregnancy crisis, Crawford laid bare a cascade of overlapping failures plaguing Jamaica’s education sector, starting with chronic absenteeism. Defining chronic absenteeism as missing at least 10% of the school year (19 instructional days), he reported that every administrative region in the country records chronic absenteeism rates above the warning threshold. Rates range from a low of 17% in Region One and 18% in Kingston’s Region Two to 35% in Region Six, with some deep rural regions posting absenteeism as high as 55%. Citing World Bank analysis, Crawford noted that absenteeism directly drives dropout: the lower secondary dropout rate sits at 25%, while upper secondary stands at 15%. For male students, 41% leave school due to flagging interest in academics — a number that has risen sharply from 19% of dropouts in 2010 to 32% in 2017, a trend Crawford attributes to declining public perception of education’s value.

Crawford also pushed back against the Jamaican government’s recent claim that all schools have fully reopened following the passage of Hurricane Melissa in October last year. He argued the announcement ignores widespread “hidden absenteeism,” as many schools have adopted a staggered hybrid schedule that only brings students in-person for two days a week, leaving them learning remotely for three. This arrangement, he claimed, has resulted in catastrophic learning loss of between 40% and 60% for affected students.

The opposition spokesperson went on to criticize multiple government policy choices that he says exacerbate the system’s struggles. He called out a failed student bus transportation system that leaves many students unable to reliably attend classes, and the recent elimination of a 20% duty concession on motor vehicles purchased by educators. Crawford noted that school leaders and guidance counsellors regularly travel to track down truant students and reconnect them to learning, making personal transportation a critical tool for retention. He also added that the government has not increased funding for the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education, a key social safety net supporting low-income students.

The most pressing systemic threat, Crawford argued, is an accelerating exodus of teaching staff that the government has failed to address. He reported that annual teacher resignations have jumped fivefold over the past decade, from 350 resignations a decade ago to 1,800 resignations in 2026 alone. In 2022, 145 math teachers — 10% of the country’s total active math teaching workforce — left the profession. Crawford slammed the government for lacking any meaningful teacher retention strategy, and noted that the administration’s recent proposal of a 2% salary increase for educators amounts to an insult to the profession that drives more teachers away.

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Invasive species have triggered a public safety alert in Jamaica this week, after non-native monkeys were documented and captured in multiple communities across the parish of St Elizabeth, prompting the country’s National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) to call for extreme public caution.

Following confirmation of the sightings, NEPA released an official statement identifying the animals as white-faced capuchin monkeys, a species that is not indigenous to Jamaica’s ecosystems. The agency outlined a range of serious risks tied to the monkeys’ unauthorized presence: the primates can carry zoonotic pathogens capable of spreading to humans and domestic livestock, they disrupt local biodiversity by outcompeting native species for resources, and they pose a direct threat to agricultural crop production that supports local livelihoods.

To prevent accidental exposure or harm, NEPA has issued a clear directive: the public must not approach, handle, or attempt to capture any of the animals on their own. Early reports of sightings and captures have come from six St Elizabeth communities: Lacovia, Elgin, Mountainside, Newell, Hounslow, and Malvern. Viral clips circulating across Jamaican social media platforms show groups of up to three monkeys, with unconfirmed reports indicating at least one animal has already been captured by local residents and may still be held privately.

In response to the incident, NEPA has assembled a multi-agency response team that includes Jamaica’s Veterinary Services Division, the Jamaica Constabulary Force, and Hope Zoo. The partnership is working to locate all of the unregistered primates, secure them safely, and transfer the animals to quarantine facilities for mandatory veterinary health assessments. Agency representatives have also collaborated directly with local community leaders to coordinate response efforts and spread public safety messaging.

Beyond the risks posed by the monkeys themselves, NEPA has issued an additional warning about potential illicit activity linked to the sightings. The agency is urging residents to be wary of individuals who falsely claim to represent government authorities in order to gain access to the captured monkeys for illegal private trade. Under Jamaica’s existing wildlife regulations, the importation, private possession, and unlicensed trade of protected wildlife are criminal offenses, most often tied to transnational illicit wildlife trafficking networks. Violations of the Endangered Species (Protection, Conservation and Regulation of Trade) Act carry maximum fines of up to JMD $2 million for convicted offenders.

NEPA is asking any member of the public with information about the current location of the monkeys, or about how the animals entered Jamaica, to contact the agency directly, reach out to the Veterinary Services Division, or file a report with their local police station.

Starting May 1, Jamaican consumers will face a fresh wave of cost-of-living increases, as three of the nation’s largest food and beverage manufacturers have confirmed they will implement broad price adjustments, joining a rival firm that has already announced similar hikes. Wisynco Group Limited, Lasco Manufacturing Limited, and Seprod Limited confirmed the upcoming changes in interviews with Jamaica Observer, building on earlier announcements from GraceKennedy Limited and stoking widespread concerns that household budgets already stretched thin by rising expenses for rent, education and basic goods will face new strain.

The price adjustments are being driven by a combination of factors, industry leaders say, including newly implemented government tax hikes, rising global energy costs, and imported inflation fueled by ongoing geopolitical tensions around the world. Compounding this pressure on households, the Jamaican government has also moved to eliminate the existing $4.50 cap on weekly fuel price adjustments, leaving motorists and consumers fully exposed to volatile swings in global crude oil markets. That means families will face a simultaneous double squeeze: higher costs for everyday groceries and more expensive transportation costs, which in turn often push up prices for goods and services across the economy.

What makes this round of increases particularly impactful for Jamaican households is the massive market reach of the four manufacturers announcing changes. Combined, these firms produce or distribute hundreds of household staple brands found in nearly every kitchen, lunchbox, neighborhood convenience store and vending machine across the country. Their product portfolios cover everything from powdered drinks, bottled water, juices and carbonated soft drinks to pantry staples like oats, flour, canned fish and meat, biscuits, snacks, condiments and ready-to-drink beverages.

William Mahfood, executive chairman of Wisynco, which owns or distributes popular brands including Coca-Cola, Boom energy drink, Wata, Tru-Juice and CranWata, confirmed that price hikes will span nearly all of the company’s product categories. He cited three core drivers: fuel-linked inflation, the revised sugar tax, and the increased environmental levy.

“There’s a broad price increase coming,” Mahfood stated, noting that adjustments will vary widely by product. Some items will see only modest upticks, while high-sugar, low-priced beverages could face far steeper jumps. He confirmed that certain products could see increases as high as 20 to 25 percent, while essentials like bottled water will land on the lower end of the adjustment range. For context, a 20-ounce bottle of Coca-Cola currently priced at JMD $129.85 on the Loshusan Supermarket website would rise to roughly JMD $149.32 with a 15 percent increase, or hit JMD $162.30 with the maximum 25 percent adjustment. A 600ml Boom energy drink, currently retailing for JMD $139.67, would rise to approximately JMD $160.62 at 15 percent or JMD $174.59 at 25 percent.

At Lasco Manufacturing, whose portfolio extends far beyond beverages to include canned mackerel (a staple quick meal for many Jamaican households), food drink, oats, cereals, soups, pharmaceuticals and other everyday household goods, Managing Director James Rawle confirmed that targeted price adjustments will also take effect May 1. Products most heavily impacted are those hit by the new special consumption tax on sweetened beverages, he said. Rawle explained that the firm has absorbed rising raw material and operational costs since the end of 2023, but has now reached a point where those higher expenses can no longer be absorbed internally and must be passed on to consumers.

“There’s increase coming from the environmental levy, there’s increase coming from petroleum prices, then there is also on the sugary drink [tax], the deposit refund scheme and the special consumption tax. So it all adds up,” Rawle said. He placed the average increase across affected product lines at between 10 and 15 percent.

Seprod, which produces pantry staples including flour, edible oils, biscuits and snacks through brands like Gold Seal and distributes a wide range of local and imported consumer goods, is also implementing adjustments. CEO Richard Pandohie explained that the company must pass on higher government taxation, including the sugar tax and environmental levy, as well as rising costs for imported inputs tied to global geopolitical tensions.

“These include sugar tax and environmental levy. Compounding this is the impact of cost driven by geopolitical issues. Difficult days ahead as I have been warning the nation about,” Pandohie said. Seprod’s increases are expected to range between 3 and 8 percent, varying based on a product’s sugar content, packaging costs, and existing inventory already held by retailers.

Unlike the sugar tax, which is tied directly to the amount of added sugar in a product, the environmental levy is a broader charge applied to certain imported goods and raw materials, designed to fund national waste management and environmental protection programs. Manufacturers note that the levy increases costs for packaging and imported production inputs, spreading higher prices across nearly all product categories, not just sugary beverages.

None of the manufacturers have released a full product-by-product breakdown of upcoming increases, so the final impact will vary by item, retailer, and restocking timeline. The new tax changes that are driving much of the price adjustments are part of the Jamaican government’s broader revenue package to fund reconstruction and recovery efforts following Hurricane Melissa. Under the newly approved measures, the revised special consumption tax on sweetened beverages will take effect May 1, set at 22 cents per gram of added sugar to replace an earlier volume-based framework. The increased environmental protection levy will also go into effect on the same date.