It might well be that the Factories Corporation of Jamaica will pay less in rent for larger offices it proposes to move to in New Kingston than for the one it now occupies in downtown Kingston.

So, Mr Karl Samuda, the commerce and industry minister, vindicates himself for sanctioning its flight from the old section of the city, whose redevelopment the prime minister has vowed to oversee and from where he ostensibly banned government departments and agencies from leaving.

Oh, Mr Samuda does plan for his agency to return downtown sometime in the future, perhaps when it is returned to its 'former glory'. Which, of course, won't happen if ministers can seemingly defy Mr Golding and set up shop wherever they please.

Hard to believe

It is hard to believe that in all of downtown Kingston, with its tens of thousands of square feet of empty office space, Mr Samuda's scouts couldn't find anything cheaper than the uptown rentals - even in government buildings.

If Mr Golding's policy on downtown and his directive to departments is to have any credibility, he must reverse Mr Samuda's decision forthwith.

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