Copyright jamaica-gleaner
Jamaicans are being encouraged to place greater emphasis on service to country as a vital part of nation-building. The call comes from Lloyd Carney, who was one of more than 140 Jamaicans honoured yesterday during the annual National Honours and Awards Investiture Ceremony for outstanding contribution to the country in various fields. Carney, who received membership in the Order of Distinction in the rank of Commander (CD) for his contribution to academia and philanthropy, said dedicated service is integral in shaping Jamaica’s future. “The government can’t do it alone,” he said. “The government has a 10-pound bag with about 200 pounds of need.” Membership in the CD is the fifth-highest order in Jamaica’s national honours and is awarded to citizens who render outstanding service to the country. The Jamaica-born information technology engineer and United States-based venture capitalist said he has been giving back to Jamaica through a charitable foundation for more than 30 years, with a special focus on health and education. “The first cranial imaging equipment that was given to UHWI (the University Hospital of the West Indies), I gave it to UHWI. It was the first time you could do a microscopic vein surgery,” he said. Carney, who is a St Elizabeth native, said his foundation has also “adopted” the Black River Hospital, and has donated electrocardiogram machines, blood-testing machines, X-ray machines, rebuilt the men’s ward, and also rebuilt one of the operating theatres. Noting that he has “been fortunate in life that I have the resource to give back”, the chancellor of the University of Technology said more well-off Jamaicans should do the same. “You see a lot of people driving around in fancy cars and Mercedes and BMWs and living in big houses. That is all good, but there is more to it than driving a flashy car; what have you done for your community? What have you done for your country?” he quizzed. He stressed that there are many ways to make a difference, including giving of one’s time. For the last 40 years, Desmond McKenzie, minister of local government and community development, has given his life to public service. Yesterday, he was rewarded with a place in the the Order of Jamaica (OJ). Membership in the OJ is the fourth-highest of Jamaica’s national honours. It was the highest of the 141 honours conferred on Jamaicans yesterday. McKenzie was one of three Jamaicans to join the rank of OJ, and he dedicated the award to the people of the West Kingston constituency whom he has served as member of parliament (MP) for the last 14 years, to his deceased mother and mother-in-law, and late former Prime Minister Edward Seaga. “The importance of the honour is that there are many Jamaicans who have worked with me over the years,” he told The Gleaner. “From my days as a councillor, to mayor, to senator, MP, now to minister, who have helped me in achieving a lot of what I have accomplished.” He said his proudest achievements over the years include the work he has been doing to build transitional centres for the homeless across the island, where “the poor and the destitute can turn to”. “I see it as a part of my journey because I used to live in a tenement yard, and I know what it was then, growing up. And I have an opportunity to make a difference and I think I have used that,” he said. McKenzie, who is 73 years old, said he remains committed to service, while looking ahead to what’s next. Businessman Keith Duncan, a leading voice in the monitoring and management of both the economic and social development of Jamaica, was also conferred with the honour of membership in the OJ yesterday for exceptional service in the field of finance, business, and social development. The JMMB Group CEO, who is also one of the creators of social development initiative Project STAR and, until its end last year, chaired the Economic Programme Oversight Committee, said the award is an acknowledgement of the effort to make Jamaica a better country for everyone. “We are now fiscally strong and prudent as a country. Now, we need to work on our people. We need to get education right, and I’m happy to see [the work of] the Education Transformation Oversight Committee,” he said. “We need education to be right, so that we can ensure that we build the skills in our people so they can have more value-added jobs and they can earn more.” Dr Marlene Street-Forrest, managing director of the Jamaica Stock Exchange, also joins the OJ in recognition of her exceptional work in the field of capital market development. Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton, who was conferred with membership in the CD, said he hopes the honour will encourage others to serve. “There’s no greater service than service to humanity, to mankind, to your country,” he said. Tufton highlighted the work done to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, improve primary healthcare, increase the subsidies on prescription drugs by the National Health Fund, and the capital investment in hospital infrastructure as major achievements of a committed team at the Ministry of Health and Wellness that he leads. Dr Karen Ruth Webster-Kerr, who recalled also being at the forefront during the COVID-19 pandemic, also received membership in the CD for service in the field of public health and epidemiology. Webster-Kerr was also integral to the eradication of malaria after an outbreak in 2006, and told The Gleaner that in both public health crises, she, too, was leading a dedicated team. “It just made me realise the courage and the heroism of our public health team. COVID was the first time the world was seeing epidemiologists on show, but we’ve been there and we were able to re-eliminate malaria, something that was never done before,” she said. Meanwhile, veteran broadcaster Emily Shields, who joined the CD for her contribution to journalism and legal advocacy, said while she has never thought about getting an award, she accepted the honour as “recognition of independent thought that is not always sensitive in terms of time”. “As far as I’m concerned, there are so many areas nationally for a voice like mine to continue to give critical analysis and to teach as necessary, not only for Jamaica, but for the world,” she said. For labour specialist and Gleaner columnist Dr Orville Taylor, who also received membership in the CD, the award is for the people he will continue to serve. “It’s for the people who gave me the opportunity to be this thing that I am, and the other persons who are not recognised and have maybe been mistreated by the system. There’s a responsibility that comes whenever you turn into something special or something different,” he said. sashana.small@gleanerjm.com
