Newsmaker of the Year | Other contenders

While the tale of Kevin Smith grabbed and held on to national attention, spawning dozens of copies, hours of broadcast and endless social media chatter, there were other major talking points that were in contention for newsmaker for 2021.

1. George Wright

The Westmoreland Central member of parliament (MP) triggered weeks of national conversation after he was widely believed to be the man captured on tape viciously using a stool and his fists to batter a woman in April 2021. He has never denied or confirmed that he was the person carrying out the violent act.

The police initially sought Wright as a person of interest in the matter, but he was allowed to walk after they had difficulties identifying the man in the footage.

Wright and his common-law partner, Tannisha Singh, had also filed separately complaints against each other, but ultimately abandoned them and, in the process, killed any police investigation.

The strong public backlash forced Wright to resign from the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and take a seat on Opposition benches as an independent MP with professed support for the JLP’s policies and programmes.

Despite calls from over three dozen civil groups, including powerful private sector interests, for his resignation as MP, Wright weathered the storm and remains in the House of Representatives.

In the wake of the events, the opposition leader has tabled an impeachment bill that the Government has so far ignored.

Gordon House fights over the issue resulted in Senate Leader and Foreign Minister Kamina Johnson Smith revealing she had reported former Opposition Senator A.J. Nicholson to the police for alleged harassment. Those revelations have ultimately led to a stand-off where Johnson Smith now no longer sits in the Senate when her Opposition counterpart Lambert Brown speaks.

2. COVID-19

The pandemic that has claimed over 2,000 Jamaican lives and infected thousands more continued throughout 2021. It exposed more systemic weaknesses in the local health system, punctuated by two oxygen crises that were believed to have led to the deaths of close to a dozen persons.

The Government has resisted calls for an independent probe of what happened in August 2021 that crippled operations at several of the major hospitals such as Cornwall Regional, Savanna-la-Mar Hospital in Westmoreland, and the Kingston Public Hospital.

Two major COVID surges also occurred that saw public hospitals running out of beds to treat COVID-19 patients and resulted in the burnout of dozens of healthcare workers.

Jamaica’s vaccination drive also started in 2021, but it, too, suffered from several hiccups as supplies ran out, forcing delays. The Government has also been battling a persistent vaccine hesitancy among the general population.

The first case against the constitutionality of vaccine mandates imposed by businesses was also filed in the courts but ultimately dismissed. Two cases are going ahead as claims against breach of contract.

3. Floyd Green

The second-term St Elizabeth South Western MP was forced to resign in September as agriculture and fisheries minister after a video surfaced showing him toasting to no-movement day at a birthday party day at a hotel in Kingston.

Labelling it an “error of judgment”, Green said he “should never have participated in any engagement that could indicate a lack of appreciation of the difficult and serious realities that now face the entire country. My actions have demonstrated a lack of sensitivity for the difficult realities that all of us are facing currently”.

No charges have been brought against him or other participants. That has prompted questions about the application of the law, given the police arrest of people, even pulling people from under their beds to face the courts for breaches.

4. Andrew Holness

Just 15 months into his Jamaica Labour Party’s historic 49-14 victory at the polls, Prime Minister Andrew Holness confirmed in December that, early in the new year, he would undertake a Cabinet reshuffle. It signalled for analysts a dissatisfaction with the performance of the current slate and recognition of declining public confidence, shaken by surging murders and allegations of corruption.

Murders increased by 10 per cent in 2021 over 2020, despite continued high spending on national security and use of states of public emergency (SOE). A late-year SOE was short-lived after the Opposition voted against extending the measure.

Allegations of corruption have also plagued the administration, prompting the firing of several public boards. The illegal Airports Authority of Jamaica’s investment of more than US$3 million in start-up company FirstRock Capital Holdings was brought to light in June 2021 and took almost five months of public and Opposition pressure before the transport minister announced in Parliament that the board was resigning. The governance issues prompted the administration to push for the passage of new regulations to limit the placement of political appointees on public boards. The regulations were approved after two previous attempts failed, as some members of the Government feared losing influence.

It also emerged that the Speaker of the House of Representative, Marisa Dalrymple Philibert is the subject of a disciplinary hearing by the General Legal Council. The Speaker; her son Giovanni Philibert, 30; and her gardener, Simon Sanchez, were also charged with illegal dumping after they were allegedly caught disposing of garbage at the side of the road near Salem in St Ann on August 15.

5. Elaine Thompson Herah

This Jamaican cemented herself as a global sprinting legend, and the fastest woman alive, following her exploits at the spectator-less Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

The sprinter followed up her Rio 2016 Olympic success with gold medals in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m at the Tokyo Olympics this summer, and lowered her personal best times to 10.54 seconds in the 100m and 21.53 in the 200m, making her the fastest woman alive.

Only Florence Griffith-Joyner’s 10.49 and 21.34 seconds times are better.

News later came that she had parted ways with long-time coach Stephen Francis.