Letter of the Day | Seaga deserving of having highway named after him

THE EDITOR, Sir:

A proud moment and one of tremendous significance in Jamaica's history. Yesterday, the North-South link of Highway 2000 was officially renamed after former Prime Minister Edward Seaga.

A moment of great pride for the man himself and for all well-thinking Jamaicans as Mr Seaga, apart from rescuing Jamaica after the disastrous Manley years, was instrumental in the building of this nation, conceptualising and constructing some of the most important institutions in this country.

And as Prime Minister Andrew Holness said in his speech, even in our highly competitive electoral system, there must be a time when we celebrate the contributions of those who have done so much to build this nation.

Mr Seaga, by all measures, is deserving of such an honour, and it is of great significance that it is his protegÈ, Andrew Holness, who has the honour of bestowing it on him. Seaga was the one who recruited and groomed him. It's of great significance to Labourites who, for the first time in decades are seeing an honour bestowed on one of the great men of the Labour Party who has contributed so much to this nation.

I am in total agreement with naming the highway in his honour. Many persons who have done significantly less towards the development of Jamaica have had honours bestowed upon them. It is a fitting tribute to a great man and a visionary.

Apart from political grandstanding and 'badmind', nobody can ever say that Mr Seaga is not worthy of having the honour bestowed upon him. He has done much more for this nation than many who are now opposing the move have ever done, and, I dare say, will ever do.

The People's National Party (PNP) ought to be ashamed of themselves and the way they have behaved. What it does show is that the PNP thinks they should be the ones who get to name every piece of infrastructure, or the like, after their people. As if it is only the PNP that will be paying back the loans used to build these highways. Those loans will be paid back by Jamaicans. Until the PNP can demonstrate that it will be only them who will pay back those loans, then they can complain about not renaming roads after Labourites.

I encourage Holness to move forward and rename some more roads in honour of Labourites such as renaming Mandela Highway after Hugh Shearer.

Fabian Lewis