THE EDITOR, Sir:
I AM concerned that the integrity of the debate regarding corruption in Jamaica, occasioned by the current crises facing the embattled National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSW-MA), has been compromised. Like most of the well-thinking, law-abiding and tax-paying citizens of Jamaica, I am, inter alia, deeply distressed by misappropriation of government funds; the alarming levels of crime and violence in the society, and police excesses. I am staunchly convinced that there is an urgent need to address these problems which continue to plague the health of Jamaica's democracy and which, more importantly, continue to foster a grave sense of mistrust between the government and the governed.
Claiming that Mrs. Simpson Miller is to be excused for the apparent failings of the NSWMA is not good enough. Her much publicised dissatisfaction with the financial allocation to the fire services is duly noted. However, there can be no doubt as to who has ultimate responsibility for the Community and Local Government ministry under which the NSMWA falls. Whether Mrs. Simpson Miller was given a limited supply of resources to work with or not, there is no doubt she is the main character in the piece. Uneasy, in other words, lieth the head that wears the crown! She has to stand and face the music!
However, when we unabashedly reduce very serious debates to issues of gender and class we are, indeed, threatening to bring the discussion into disrepute and undermine the legitimacy of claims that we are interested in a meaningful resolution to this matter.
There is an urgent need for due process in this investigation and, more importantly, to accord respect to all the parties involved. Ultimately, what matters is whether we can get the work done, or not. Let us all see the stuff of which the Minister is made!
I am, etc.,
AGOSTINHO PINNOCK
apinnock@nepa.gov.jm
Public Relations Officer
Public Education and Corporate Communication Branch
National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA)
