Reggae great Marcia Griffiths and Member of Parliament for Manchester North Eastern, Audley Shaw, will be conferred with the Order of Jamaica (OJ), the country’s fourth-highest honour, when the awards are handed out on National Heroes Day, Monday, October 16.
The two head a list of 125 Jamaicans who will be conferred with national honours this year. The list, as is customary, was made public today, August 6, which is being observed as Independence Day.
Griffiths is being recognised for her significant contribution to the reggae industry, locally and internationally, while Shaw is being honoured for his sterling contribution to political administration.
Two other Jamaicans will be conferred with the OJ this year; they are the Reverend Howard Gregory, Anglican Archbishop of the West Indies, for service in the field of religion, and Charles Johnston, past president of the Shipping Association of Jamaica, for his contribution to Jamaica’s shipping and logistics industry.
Griffiths, whose career spans 60 years, gained international fame in the 1970s as a member of the I-Three, the trio of back-up singers for reggae icon Bob Marley and the Wailers. The group included Marley’s widow, Rita Marley, and Judy Mowatt.
Griffiths started singing professionally in 1964 with Byron Lee and the Dragonaires before forming a duet with Bob Andy, which lasted roughly four years. She then became a member of the I-Three and, following Marley’s death in 1981, gained worldwide recognition as a solo artiste with her smash hit, ‘Electric Boogie’ in 1982.
Shaw has served as MP for Manchester North Eastern for 30 years on the Jamaica Labour Party ticket. He has held several Cabinet posts, including Minister of Finance, Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, and Minister of Transport.
Meanwhile, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Colette Roberts Risden, is among 27 people who will be conferred with the Order of Distinction (Commander Class), for outstanding contribution to the public service.
Others who will be similarly honoured include: Professor Newton Duncan for his long and distinguished service in the field of medicine, specifically paediatric surgery; Justices Marcia Dunbar Green, Vivene Harris, Martin Gayle, and Bruce Rattray, for outstanding service to the judiciary; Yohan ‘Yoni’ Epstein, for contribution to the business processing outsourcing sector; Patrick Foster and M Georgia Gibson Henlin, for contribution to the public service and law; Garth Gayle, for sports; Andrew John Mahfood, for contribution to the manufacturing and distribution sectors; Mico President Dr Asburn Pinnock, for contribution to academia; and Professor Lloyd Waller, for his contribution to global tourism resilience and governance.There are 36 people down to receive Order of Distinction (Officer Class). They include entertainers Omar ‘Tarrus’ Riley and Wayne ‘Marshall’ Mitchell.
Also included in this category are: entrepreneur and philanthropist Michelle Chong; Jamaica Civil Service Association President O’Neil Grant, for service to the trade union movement and the public service; Earl Moxam and Arthur Hall for service in the field of journalism, and Justine Henzell, for contribution to the film and television industry and to the literary arts.
Two Jamaicans–Ruel Grant and Keith Nugent–will receive the Badge of Honour for Gallantry this year for rescuing four women from a burning vehicle, which exploded minutes later.
Twenty-eight Jamaicans are to receive the Badge of Honour for Meritorious Service, including former Cornwall College vice-principal Lorna Rampasard, who is being recognised for service to education, youth and community development.
