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PM Andrew Holness visits the Maroons in St Elizabeth — a moment of solidarity and a promise of rebuilding

In the aftermath of the devastating Hurricane Melissa — which struck Jamaica in late October 2025 — Prime Minister Andrew Holness made a significant visit to the Maroon community in Accompong, St Elizabeth. The tour, undertaken on behalf of the government, underscored a pledge: no community, regardless of its heritage or location, will be left behind in the national recovery effort.  

A community deeply impacted

Accompong is home to hundreds of Maroons — descendants of Jamaica’s historical Maroon communities, known for preserving their ancestral heritage and culture.   According to the Prime Minister’s team, around 80 % of homes in Accompong sustained damage during Hurricane Melissa.   The parish capital, Black River, was described as “ground zero” by Holness, with estimates that 80–90 % of roofs were destroyed and a large number of buildings — including hospitals, historic buildings, churches, and heritage sites — damaged or destroyed.  

Government commitment: relief and rebuilding

During his visit, Holness pledged active government support for the Maroon community. He announced that members of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) will be assigned to assist with home repairs in Accompong ahead of the community’s annual Maroon festival on January 6, 2026.  

More broadly, the government — under Holness — is rolling out a multi-phase recovery plan for all parishes affected by the hurricane, including St Elizabeth. This plan includes immediate relief, emergency support, stabilization, and long-term reconstruction.  

Financially, relief efforts are being backed by international support: the government has welcomed new aid packages from foreign partners, including additional humanitarian assistance from the United States, and engaged with the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) to provide technical support and coordinate reconstruction.  

Context: history, tension — and a potential turning point

The relationship between Holness’s government and the Maroon communities — especially those in Accompong — has not always been smooth. In previous years, there has been disagreement over issues of sovereignty, land ownership, and consultation, particularly in relation to development plans in areas like the Cockpit Country.  

Yet, the recent visit — prompted by a natural disaster rather than political grandstanding — may represent a turning moment. Holness has emphasized that the government sees the Maroon communities as integral to Jamaica’s future development. During earlier engagements, he said the government had “a strategy… to work with you in building up your community so that you can take advantage of the heritage assets that you have and build your local economy.” 

What this means — and why it matters

• Solidarity and inclusion: The visit signals that even historically marginalized or semi-autonomous communities — like the Maroons — are being explicitly included in national recovery efforts.

• Preservation of heritage under reconstruction: Given the heavy damage to historic buildings and heritage sites in St Elizabeth (especially Black River), government commitment may help protect cultural landmarks for future generations.

• Potential for renewed government–community relations: The tangible assistance offered could rebuild trust between the Maroons and central government, especially if follow-through is consistent and inclusive.

• A test of resilience and justice: How effectively the rebuilding and reparations work — not only in Accompong but across St Elizabeth — will be closely watched, especially by communities with distinct cultural identities and histories.

If you like, I can draft a full-length op-ed article (circa 800–1000 words) on this topic: reflecting on the significance of the visit, balancing history and politics, and considering what it means for Jamaica’s future as a multi-ethnic nation.

Attached is a news article regarding Jamaica PM visits the maroons in st Elizabeth 

https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20230124/update-pm-accused-ego-trip-freezing-relations-accompong

Article written and configured by Christopher Stanley 

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Ofcom fines Virgin Media £23.8 million after landline switchover puts vulnerable customers at risk

The UK telecoms firm Virgin Media has been hit with a £23.8 million fine by Ofcom, after the regulator found the company had put thousands of vulnerable customers — including those relying on telecare emergency-alarm services — “at direct risk of harm.” 

What happened

• Between August 2022 and December 2023, Virgin Media was migrating customers from traditional analogue landlines (over copper wires) to digital landline services.  

• As part of this migration, those using telecare devices — alarm systems intended to summon help in emergencies (e.g. for older or disabled people) — required special care to ensure their connection remained uninterrupted.  

• However, Ofcom’s investigation found “serious systemic failures” in how Virgin Media handled the process. The company failed to properly identify and record which customers were telecare users.  

• As a result, many such customers did not receive the tailored support they needed. In some cases, their telecare devices failed to connect to alarm-monitoring centres during or shortly after the migration, leaving them unable to call for help — with potentially life-threatening consequences.  

• The incidents primarily occurred during an upgrade that began in November and December 2023, when Virgin itself reported a number of “serious incidents” to Ofcom.  

Ofcom’s findings and verdict

Ofcom’s formal findings detailed two integrated failures by Virgin Media:

1. It did not properly identify and record which customers were reliant on telecare services — a critical oversight in a migration process where such users require special handling. 

2. It proceeded to disconnect some telecare customers who had not engaged in the migration process — even though Virgin was aware of the risks involved. That decision left affected individuals without any working alarm-monitoring connectivity while their lines were disconnected.  

Because of these failures, Ofcom concluded that Virgin Media breached its consumer-protection obligations under its own policies and regulatory conditions.  

In setting the fine, Ofcom took into account several aggravating factors: the seriousness of the breach, the prolonged duration (over a year), the severity of potential harm, and the vulnerability of the customers affected.  

The £23.8 million penalty will be passed on to the Treasury. Virgin has four weeks to pay.  

Ofcom’s Director of Enforcement, Ian Strawhorne, said:

“It’s unacceptable that vulnerable customers were put at direct risk of harm and left without appropriate support by Virgin Media during what should have been a safe and straightforward upgrade to their landline services.”  

Virgin Media’s reaction and remedial steps

Virgin Media acknowledged that, while most migrations had completed without issue, it “didn’t get everything right.”  

Since the incidents, the company says it has overhauled its procedures around migrating users, especially telecare customers. Among the new measures:

• Manual review of customer records to better identify telecare users.  

• Contacting nearly 43,000 identified telecare customers to support and guide them through the migration.  

• Implementing a new engagement plan whereby telecare customers who do not initially engage are kept on a continuous outreach loop — rather than being disconnected.  

• Working with local authorities and other stakeholders to ensure there is a safe “end of process” for any telecare customers still unengaged when the analogue network is decommissioned.  

Virgin also pledged better communications, additional in-home support, and post-migration checks for vulnerable users.  

The company argued that moving from analogue to digital landlines is “essential” for future reliability, but admitted it failed to handle the transition properly for a subset of vulnerable customers.  

Why the case matters

The fine is a strong signal not just about this instance — it underscores a broader principle: when telecom companies undertake wide-scale technical transitions, they must take full account of vulnerable customers who depend on potentially life-saving infrastructure (like telecare alarms).

• For individuals reliant on telecare, a failure to maintain connectivity during a migration can mean being unable to summon help in an emergency — a risk that goes far beyond nuisance or inconvenience.

• For regulators and policymakers, the case demonstrates that upgrades to “modernise” networks cannot come at the expense of fundamental consumer safety and protection.

• For other providers in the UK undertaking similar migrations from old copper networks to digital lines, the penalty highlights the need for rigorous, documented safeguards when serving at-risk populations.

In short: digital upgrades may be inevitable and broadly beneficial — but transitions of this kind must be handled with care, oversight, and compassion for those most vulnerable.

Attached is a news article regarding virgin being sued by ofcom for £23.8 million over vulnerable customers 

https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/37492876/virgin-media-fined-disconnecting-vulnerable-customers-risk-harm/

Article written and configured by Christopher Stanley 

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