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Holness should take a vacationIf there was any doubt about the need for Prime Minister Andrew Holness to take a rest and recharge for further work ahead, that evaporated last Monday after he addressed the nation.For it seems that the prime minister ought to get his batteries in shape again, following his revelation that 'powerful interests' virtually pressured him into making the decision recently to open up the country to more activities than normal, which is now being blamed for the rapid rise in novel coronavirus ailments and deaths.I wonder who those 'powerful interests' are, and how deep they managed to push the prime minister in this matter, and others before? You can wager a 'smalls' that those powerful ones do not sell in Coronation Market, do not drive taxis, or do not plant banana and plantain on any one-acre property in St Mary or Portland. Of course not!Maybe those people of influence are members of the group of movers and shakers who political parties and their leaders believe they cannot do without as they place a firm grip on the management of the island's scarce resources.The prime minister said, for the record: "When the consequences come you can't find anybody. It wasn't their fault. They didn't ask for it. They didn't play any role in it."But why should anyone come forward and admit that they jerked the prime minister into action?By telling the people of this nation, and others, that he bowed to powerful subjects, Holness has confirmed a weakness that a leader cannot afford to have. Any individual who puts himself forward to serve as prime minister must be anything but a weakling.Strangely, the man who we all believe he fashioned his political style after, one Edward Phillip George Seaga, would not have allowed the powerful or influential to do as they liked, at the expense of the majority. Had Seaga been in Holness' position, no one would have dared propose to him that he should relax COVID-19 measures at a time when only three per cent of the population was vaccinated, and a shortage of vaccines existed. No way. Not Seaga!There have been too many blunders by the Holness-led Administration in respect of the management of the pandemic. As the man in charge, he should back off and go into a period of reflection, perhaps for 30 days, initially.It would then facilitate the stepping up of the deputy prime minister, Dr Horace Chang, to lead. Dr Chang is a veteran medical practitioner whose skills are needed, now more than at any other time, to steady the vessel on choppy waters.Some things are not as complicated as they appear to be. So I do not see what could be going through the prime minister's mind that he cannot remove Dr Chris Tufton as minister of health. But wait, could influential forces be at work here too to keep Dr Tufton in the job? Maybe Holness can address that one also.So the best advice that one can give at this time is for Holness to use the month to go and chill, take off to Treasure Beach, Boston, or Robin's Bay. Should he decide that one month can provide him with enough rest, he might want to make adjustments to his Cabinet, by confirming Dr Chang as minister of health, the young and bright Matthew Samuda to be fully in charge of public safety (or national security as it is termed), and return Dr Andrew Wheatley to the Cabinet to be head of a science and technology programme which could enhance the work of the health ministry.As for Dr Tufton, well, he is capable of functioning in other areas, among them education (perhaps the best man for the job), information, water, or works, replacing Aubyn Hill, who is full of talk, and Everald Warmington whose bullying approach to politics cannot last forever.Give 25% pay rise to health workersThe time has come for health-care workers to be duly compensated for the yeoman service that they have provided to this 'pop down' system that prevails in Jamaica.Of those involved in health care, only doctors have a real alternative of earning money that will keep them afloat, and put themselves in a zone of comfort following a declining standard of living caused over the years by mismanagement of the economy.Now, as Jamaicans and others grapple to meet their financial demands month to month - the rise in consumer items, due mainly to the vicious dive in the value of the Jamaica dollar, and in the interim, the expected jump in domestic foods caused by weather systems - health-care workers in particular are hurting.I know several of them; more doctors than nurses. And while the doctors can juggle, the poor nurses have to depend on 'sessions' to make up their salaries. Yet, it is they who run things at hospitals and health centres and have to soak up much of the stress when managing COVID-19 patients on hospital wards that are bursting at the seams with infected individuals.I have seen the payslips that nurses get and at first glance I had to look carefully to see if the money quoted was in US dollars. It is a disgrace and needs to be addressed with urgency.It is true that there are nurses in the public health care system who address patients in less than ideal language. No excuse can be made for that, but sometimes we have to wonder if it is a direct result of what Government pays them. Mind you, every nurse knows what he or she is getting before the work begins, so there should be no compromise here.There are other health-care workers too, like porters, ambulance drivers, ward assistants, community health aides, ancillary staff members, who find themselves at the deep end of the COVID-19 swimming pool.With all the stress brought on by the pandemic, there is just reason for workers involved in public health care to be better compensated, preferably by 100 per cent, but realistically by at least 25 per cent. They deserve it, and the money must be found to pay them.This is something that Prime Minister Holness should work on speedily, by making the right call to provide a breather to the already stressed out health-care workers.The State, IGL, and oxygen dependencyWhat transpired last weekend when there was a shortage of medical oxygen has started the argument for such a matter to be handled differently in the future.That private sector company Industrial Gases Ltd (IGL), the sole importer of the product, and the Ministry of Health and Wellness had a short tracing match should not have been, for it was careless of the State to have left everything up to a company to which it had no obligation.Now, we are hearing of diversification of the oxygen import market, with more players now ready to give IGL some competition. Again, this is a case of shutting the gate when the horse has jumped.It is not the best thing for the Government to be completely dependent on private players, or in this case, a private concern, particularly when you consider how crucial the health-care system is.Last time I checked, there was a State organisation called the National Health Fund whose functions could be broadened to undertake such a venture of importing oxygen into the island. That would reduce the dependency on a private company and allow for more breathing room for the health system.IGL has been one of the great companies serving this country over the years. Clearly, the demand for medical oxygen would have increased with the growth of the pandemic and political leaders heaping more pressure on the system by relaxing restrictions at a time when the collective belt should have been tightened.Seeking to blame the company for the short-sightedness of the State though, is disingenuous at worst.Remember Renford Pinnock tooLast week, the case of cricketer Lawrence Rowe and his name and image being left off the mural at Sabina Park came up.Others were mentioned too, as deserving of being there. But wicketkeeper/batsman Renford Pinnock, who not only served Jamaica as a cricketer, but as an umpire, coach, administrator, radio commentator, and importantly, comedian, should also be considered."Pinnie" died closer to two years ago, on November 1, 2019. In his heyday he played 44 first-class matches for Jamaica over a 12-year period (1963 to 1975), scoring 2,662 runs at a healthy average of 40 per innings. He will be best remembered for a stroke-filled 175 against Barbados in that country in 1969, the year Jamaica won the regional four-day title for the first time. He topped that then highest knock with 176 a year later against Sussex at Hove, when a Jamaica team led by Easton McMorris toured England. Altogether, Pinnie stroked four centuries for Jamaica.One of the most eccentric men to have entered this life, Pinnie must have been the only one I know to have scored a century in a limited overs match soon after he stopped playing first class cricket and not hit one boundary. It was an event sponsored by Shell and Air Florida at Sabina Park.Like Rowe, for Pinnock not to be on the Sabina Park wall highlighting outstanding Jamaican cricketers amounts to a crime against humanity.