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Sorry Prime Minister, but you walked into itI deeply and honestly have sympathy for Prime Minister Holness, maybe I'll even shed a tear or two with him, as he leads a Government against this missile of mass destruction called crime.It is not his fault that Jamaica has descended to the level of barbaric acts that we have been seeing for several years. The trouble though, is that he was the one who stepped forward early 2016 with a bold message to Jamaicans and other nationals living here, legally and illegally, that, rest assured, they would be able to sleep with windows and doors open, for he had the antidote to ease our perennial pain and suffering.Up to now the prime minister continues to defend that statement and it's not good. It is in his interest to say to his people: "Look, I said so and so six years ago. It was mere partisan gimmick. The job is far more difficult than I thought, and I apologise for misleading you. Fighting crime belongs to us all. Let me invite you to give suggestions in respect of how we may leave those windows and doors open."Will it be a long wait?When the prime minister addressed the outdated and irrelevant National Day of Prayer last Wednesday, and entered the zone of emotion by uttering "I go to my bed with these things on my conscience every night", reacting to the murder of two brothers in Westmoreland last week and the killing of a 10-year-old the week before, it's the least he could have done."I am so sorry about it," he said of the demise of the brothers, while speaking to a relative of theirs. "I know that I have tried. It's a minefield."To be fair to the prime minister, he has tried. But like "Motty" Perkins used to say on radio, "You don't want a man to try. You want a man to work." I am not convinced that the PM has approached fighting widescale crime, something he inherited, in the best way possible.For example, he continues to use people who are too loyal to him in key positions while their competence is brought into question. For emphasis, why did the top political representative of the people appoint an army man to head a constabulary force - the primary agency used to fight crime - to become commissioner of police? And then he had his contract extended even as the big one - murder - keeps running away faster than Usain Bolt can put on his spikes?Yet, he, the PM, still sees nothing wrong with it, and the situation is getting worse. The big man cannot accept, still, that the type of training that a soldier undergoes is dissimilar to that of a policeman's. A soldier is trained to kill; a policeman is taught to retain law and order...not to shoot first and ask questions after.Surely, there must be police personnel coming through the ranks who can design a workable crime plan and, at the end of that, one of them who climbed the ropes could sit in the commissioner's chair and do what is required of him, instead of attaining a senior rank in the constabulary only to be leapfrogged by an army man, thereby demoralising policemen and women who want to reach the top.The PM must realise that the philosophy of a soldier is different from that of a policeman. No useless state of emergency can change that.The issue of technology, too, to combat crime must be addressed. Yes, Jamaica Eye CCTV gets some results, but it requires longer steps. Jamaica must negotiate now with First World countries which have managed to keep crime at sober levels.It's good news that surveillance across the seas will be bolstered, through technology. That would be welcomed with every arm.The PM needs also to be repackaged, even retrofitted. He has to be more open with the media generally, not just a select few members of the profession who will ask him only soft questions, akin to bowling him full tosses and long hops in a cricket match. Thus, he would be advised to get a press secretary, not someone who just carries the nomenclature in a purse.As for the National Day of Prayer, that makes no sense again. Jamaica needs to use every day as one of prayer, nationally, for it is only divine intervention that can save this nation, it now appears.Australia, Djokovic and the vaccineTHE only thing I do not like about Australia is when victory is secured over the West Indies at cricket, and Jamaica in netball.But the land of kangaroo gave me a pleasant surprise last Wednesday when it decided to revoke the visitor's visa of global tennis star Novak Djokovic, who had before been given a medical exemption to participate in that continent's most prestigious tennis tournament as, apparently, he had not been vaccinated against the deadly COVID-19 disease.It is always a mystery why some of these stars in tennis, basketball, football, and other sports shy away from becoming vaccinated, at a time when millions of people around the world follow them 'till they die'. Their reluctance comes when the science is overwhelming in respect of the medical benefits, advantages, and protection that vaccines offer.And so, messages must be sent to people, particularly those who think that stardom is all there is to life, that if they are not vaccinated they will not be allowed to do some of the things that they are accustomed to. I am hoping that Jamaica can get to that point when foreigners are so dealt with, and citizens will also be choked in their ability to go wherever they please, and do all the other things as usual.In summary, Prime Minister Holness should revisit the issue of mandatory vaccination for everyone over age 12, unless there are compelling reasons in the case of some for them not to be confronted by health officials armed with needles.Lovely Desmond Haynes strokeFINALLY! Cricket West Indies has decided to stop fooling around with its feeble selectors and go for a man who not only has West Indies cricket at heart and understands the game, but whose legendary performances cannot be questioned.That Desmond Haynes has now been given the job of lead selector does not necessarily mean that all will be well henceforth with the choosing of teams to represent the region in international play, but the cowardice demonstrated before by the man he succeeded, Roger Harper, and others in the mix, should now be over - hopefully!I can imagine the talk all over Barbados now, but more in an area like St James (where he is from) that a legend has been given the tough task of leading the group that picks sensible teams. Some will even be saying 'God blind man, they shoulda do dat long time, because the other selectors were doing bare shi...'Dessie, as we often call him, had been given a raw deal by the then West Indies Cricket Board of Control, which he had to even take to court. He was overlooked for captain of the Test and One-Day team when the board went for Richie Richardson instead, a move that was unwise.Those in the know will remember that the great Viv Richards, then captain, had even verbally backed Richardson for the job over Haynes, while saying that when he stepped down after the tour of England in 1991 he would be available for the 50-over World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, won by Pakistan the following year. But in a move to insult Richards, although Richardson was named as captain, Viv's name was not even mentioned when the selectors, including Richardson, met to choose the World Cup squad.Haynes was also not preferred as team coach in recent years. But now, he has been appointed to an office of delicate authority. He must be revolutionary, and not allow those not in the know to pick players who are mediocre, overweight, and lacking a cultural history of the West Indies and its cricket.Haynes also needs to examine how the great teams of the world select their players, which means that many of the people who play the T20 version should also indulge in Test cricket, once they are capable.Let's see how the former Barbados senator opens this innings. For his sake, when his knock ends in June 2024 he should have placed more runs on the board than the region would have expected.Face-to-face must workCOVID-19 fears and concerns had put the brakes on real learning, particularly in the lower schools - basic, primary, and high. Now, the Government has come with a bold move to reopen them all, or most. That's good, although much more could have been done to convince parents of children over age 12 years to take the vaccine.Jamaican pupils and students, between April 2020 and now, have suffered from the absence of that classroom and schoolyard connection that is so important to their upbringing. Many have never met their classmates in person since the pandemic.Learning has not been the same. And it will still not be the same now, even with a bit of "freeing up". But by bringing back face-to-face, albeit in many cases just for a few days in the week, there could be renewed confidence in the way the children learn.And although they will not be totally out of the picture, the dependence on the lousy Internet service offered by big-profit companies will be lessened.If only Jamaica's leaders had the ability to manage the pandemic from the start, the schools would have been far better off.