| The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is backing Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding as chairman of the 15-nation grouping despite his disgrace in failing to accept that his party tried to block a US request to have alleged drug kingpin Christopher “Dudus” Coke extradited.Golding is hosting CARICOM leaders at a time when Jamaica is reeling from a recent deadly stand-off between gunmen and security forces when Golding finally decided to get rid of the stain of Dudus.But the bloody fight that started with Dudus supporters is by no means over. On the streets of Kingston,NFL Jerseys Wholesale, Dudus is hailed as a hero and in fact Dudus buttons are now on sale. Dudus is a hero to some.“Ah our president and nothing cyaan change that,” one women seen selling the buttons on Princess Street for J$200 is quoted by the Jamaica Observer newspaper as saying.“That man is full of love for his people, you notice what him seh when they were taking him away? Well is that the buttons dem seh to. Cause we love Prezi! A Dudus for life! That we seh!”But perhaps Golding’s biggest challenge is the loss in tourism dollars from upheaval in Tivoli Gardens. The incident has scared away visitors, and this does not bode well for a country struggling to pay its bills.Tourism accounts for 27.7 per cent of the Island’s GDP, employing directly and indirectly 284,000 people or one in every four jobs. It is estimated that tourism makes US$3.7 billion a year for Jamaica.“One hotel lost a group and went down to zero per cent occupancy because of it (West Kingston upheaval) and was unable to recoup any business for that week,China Jerseys Cheap,” said Nicola Madden-Greig, vice president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA).“We saw hotels going from 90 per cent occupancy down to 10 per cent; we lost the international Test cricket matches and a lot of groups which were coming in that period,” she addedWhile he battles a huge debt,wholesale jerseys, and the fallout from the Dudus affair, Golding is hosting heads in Montego Bay, one of the island’s most important and expensive tourism destinations.Despite what has happened, Golding finds support from his CARICOM colleagues.“I believe all of us Heads of Government have no objection to Prime Minister Golding leading CARICOM. What he is doing in Jamaica is something that is supported in terms of fighting criminals and all of us, as citizens of the region must play our part, because crime is a societal problem and not a governmental problem,” Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister of Dominica said.The Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Baldwin Spencer, also added his support.“Jamaica is very much part of CARICOM, and to the extent that Jamaica is now spearheading whatever efforts that have to be undertaken over the next six months,Cheap NFL Jerseys, taking into consideration its own problems at home, is a positive development, and so we don’t have any concerns about that, because Jamaica will be helped by this process, and I am sure that CARICOM will equally benefit,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, from this situation,” said Spencer.Jamaica took over the Chairmanship of CARICOM as Haiti was unable to take up its turn, due to the January 12 earthquake,Wholesale NBA Jerseys, which devastated parts of that island.(Reporting by Neil Marks in Montego Bay, Jamaica) |
