Crime now more than public enemy No.1
Published:Thursday | May 23, 2019 | 12:15 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
If humans were loving, expressed, among other ways, in our tolerance of and respect for each other, there would be more justice and equity on the land. Just look at the many ills of our society; wanton mayhem on the streets by motorists and motorcyclists; unprecedented corruption among politicians and civil servants; the refusal of our leaders to channel the nation’s wealth into areas that would make life tolerable for all (like water distribution, healthcare and education); the untrustworthiness of many public officers, leaving the police, politicians and civil servants with little or no credibility. The nation has lost it. Crime, instead of being public enemy number one, is instead big business, and the underprivileged have been in that state for so long that they think their condition is normal.
I agree with the governor general (GG) when he said that “there is nothing wrong with Jamaica that cannot be fixed by what is right with Jamaica”. The GG needs to lead the way in legally taking the proverbial bulls by the horns; vehicles and driver’s licences can be confiscated for a number of months that is equal to the number of excess passengers; prisoners must not be just there getting fat at our expense, they should all be held to the hard labour of breaking stones to fix Portland, St Mary and St Thomas roadways; the profits realised by companies such as Petrojam and National Housing Trust can be used to pipe water from the north to the south coast and to manufacture value-added products from agricultural excesses; our security servicemen and women, along with politicians and civil servants, can be polygraphed prior to engagement and every six months thereafter. And there are several other things that can be done to make Jamaica a place of choice to work, raise families and retire. We can. Let’s do this!
Ainsworth D.M. Forsythe