Mark Wignall | Big success in rural school bus system

According to Daryl Vaz, minister of energy, telecommunications and transport, “Jamaica, irrespective of our differences in thought, this is something that we must build upon. Numbers don’t lie, and I am encouraged by the early successes of the Rural School Bus System.”

The 2004 edition of the Economic and Social Survey states: ‘Rural transit and bus-routing interventions were scaled up to alleviate commuting hurdles and lift financial burdens on rural households.’

The minister continues, ‘The 2025 edition of the Economic and Social Survey of Jamaica, done by the PIOJ, found that there has been an 80 per cent improvement in attendance and a 90 per cent improvement in punctuality since the launch of the Rural School Bus System.

‘This does not yet speak to the financial burden lifted from rural families. Approximately 13,000 students have been recorded from over 514 schools across Jamaica.

Most importantly, the no-nonsense minister points out, “We are able to track the buses, provide data on usage and ridership, and show the benefit to taxpayers.”

For those all too anxious to see bad news politics in just about anything from the Holness administration, Minister Vaz states plainly and emphatically: “This was never a buy-vote policy. It was an investment in our future and the implementation of a long-overdue system for rural Jamaica.”

Based on what the transport minister has said, those are just some of the benefits. There have also been significant reductions in accidents and deaths involving students commuting to and from school.

He may be at the top of a super ministry, and at times the words coming from his mouth may come across as pure bombast, but on top of that, he has gained a reputation for saying what he means and meaning what he says. Therefore, when he stresses that “if we believe that every child can learn, then we must continue to champion that every child gets to school in a safe and secure manner”.

BIG TROUBLE WITH HIV/AIDS

The primary US government programme to assist low-income countries (like Jamaica) with HIV/AIDS used to be the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Established in 2003 under George W. Bush, it stands as the largest commitment by any single nation to combat a single disease globally, saving tens of millions of lives primarily across Africa, the Caribbean, and other heavily impacted regions.

So much for that brief, glorious history. Since that time, the US Agency for International Development has deliberately crashed and burned under the presidency of Donald Trump, working closely with the richest man in the world, Elon Musk.

The intention was to break apart the important agency as not being important in present Republican policy, where social and welfare matters must remain buried as Trump’s cruelty rears its ugly head.

Online information gives an estimated 26,000 to 28,000 Jamaicans living with HIV in Jamaica. Around 15,000 are receiving antiretroviral therapy. In reality, though, many of those may have been told by the clinicians treating them that many of the antiretroviral drugs are caught up in the maze known as the Strait of Hormuz because of the widespread war launched by the violent duo of US President Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu.

If they haven’t yet been told, considering the overheated war in the Middle East involving the blockage in the Strait of Hormuz, it is quite likely that sometime in the near future, when they go back to refill their monthly prescription, one item may not be ‘on or over the counter’, and they will have to make do with what is available, a reality that local dealers cannot control or remedy.

Some people may have to travel outside of their comfort zones to source items that are unavailable to them. For example, if someone would easily and normally get a certain formula at an uptown location and it is currently not available, a trip to, say, an outlet downtown may be the solution.

The war visited upon us by those with malicious intentions and weapons of death will not last forever. No war lasts forever, but it seems that the warmongers are here to stay.

NEVER A GOOD RESULT FROM SQUATTING

My attorney friend states: “I believe in the rule of law. I am mindful that individuals were squatting on land in Coopers Pen, and squatting is not legal. It is wrong. But the matter is not straightforward. There has been litigation surrounding the squatting in Coopers Pen for years, with a Court of Appeal ruling in 2016 upholding the lower court ruling against the squatters.

“I am mindful that land ownership in Jamaica has a complicated history.

“Historically, the white ‘rulers’ owned all the land, and the poor black citizens of Jamaica have been denied land ownership in legal and illegal ways. Even today, in 2026, it is hard for a poor, humble, black Jamaican to own land. I am mindful that there must be laws regarding land ownership. But those laws must be fair, just, and equitable for all Jamaicans.

“I have some questions. If the Court of Appeal in Jamaica upheld the lower court ruling in 2016 and an appeal was not taken, why did it take some 10 years for the landowner to resume control over the land? Why did he/she wait 10 years? In those 10 years, the squatters were living on the land in an open and notorious way. They built homes, some made of concrete, others made of wood and less-strong materials. Why did the landowner not enforce his/her ownership rights and court orders for some ten years?”

The answers will come in another column.

Mark Wignall is a political and public affairs analyst. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and mawigsr@gmail.com.