Joseph Issa - What's Happening In Jamaica?

Today ushers a new era for brand Jamaica with the announcement that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a Jamaican cancer-treatment drug developed from ganja, says the founder of Cool Corporation Joe Issa in an interview.   Dr Henry Lowe Issa, who supported founder Dr Henry Lowe and the movement for a pharmaceutical ganja industry to be established in Jamaica, and backed the associated legislation, join the many well-wishers and the business community who are already calling for more exploits in others areas of ganja medicine. “It is a breakthrough for Dr Lowe and brand Jamaica, which is so linked to its music, culture and products that are distinctly local such as cancer and other drugs created from ganja. “To have any drug approved by the FDA is a great feat, and it takes added significance if it is a cancer drug, as every year thousands of Jamaicans and hundreds of millions from all over the world continue to die of cancer. “But ...

It is said that when she passed away in London, England last year at age 84, few Jamaicans knew the name Totlyn Jackson, let alone the fact that she is an iconic figure who had reached out to the second and third generation to remind them of their Jamaican heritage. Totlyn Jackson However, if civic leader Joe Issa has his way, the little known “First Lady of Jamaican Jazz” from Port Maria could become nationally recognised, even if posthumously. “I think she is an unsung hero; an outstanding Jamaican singer and entertainer who helped popularise Jamaica’s North Coast tourism among the rich and famous; people like comedian Bob Hope, Clark Gable and Paul Newman are some of the names I have read. “Yet, so few Jamaicans today know of her and the contribution she made in promoting the country’s culture and heritage,” says Issa, who once hosted Jackson and her family at his home in St. Mary, some distance from the small village of Port Maria where she was born. “She w...

Former commercial bank director Joe Issa has described as ‘doing the right thing right’ the government's commitment to stop banks charging predatory charges by making it easier for customers to switch their accounts to other banks where those charges are more reasonable. Issa, who is a known supporter of a free market system, said “it is all about encouraging competition among the banks to get them to reduce their charges, and not about meddling in the market by dictating what banks should charge. “As the Minister has said, and I agree, if the fees are too high at one bank, then it should be easy for customers to move their deposit accounts to the bank that is charging reasonable rates. “Therefore, the right thing to do is to force them to lower their fees through competition, and facilitating the process by making it easier for customers to switch banks,” Issa said, adding, “It is like doing the right thing, right.” Issa was commenting on a Jamaica Observer report...

Joe Issa, a recognized Ocho Rios civic leader and qualified conflict mediator with the requisite number of hours under his belt, has welcomed the introduction of a mobile legal aid unit to serve the country’s underserved inner-city and rural communities, stating it will assist in bringing closure more quickly and swiftly, which could spur higher acceptability of the justice system.' “I think the idea of a mobile legal aid clinic is a good one when you consider a large number of people who need legal assistance in how to proceed with solving their issues but can’t afford the costs. Moreover, the longer they wait, the more tempers flare and ‘justice delayed’ becomes ‘justice denied’. “Early attention to the needs of people, who are not able to hire a lawyer to advise them and take up their cases, will bring closure more quickly and swiftly, which could spur greater acceptability and confidence in the justice system,” says Issa, who is executive chairman of Cool Group. ...

The story of Joe Issa is often referred to as one of the most voguish rises to popularity in the history of Jamaica by a young man, who wowed everybody with his business innovations, philanthropy and socialisation, for which he was famously named one the country’s most recognisable faces. Moreover, today, even at 50, Joe Issa still retains that youthful candour, reflective of a life of contentment in what he has been able to achieve and share with the less fortunate, as well as the good people he has hosted including world luminaries. There are no scars of struggles and enmity in his boyish grin; just an expression of the joy of living, achieving and giving. T hroughout this seemingly seamless transition from boyhood to adulthood and from business to philanthropy, Issa, like everybody on the face of this earth has had moments of sadness, frustration and stress, perhaps even headaches. But not being one to complain, he manages...