In our quest to tackle our problem of crime, there are some additional critical steps that may have to be looked at, at the political level.

It is no secret that the prime minister and the opposition leader are representatives of two of the main garrison constituencies in Jamaica. Those constituencies account for a major portion of the crimes committed in the country.

We have to be realistic and realise that the garrison constituencies of West Kingston and South St Andrew are the power bases of these two fine leaders.

I am proposing today that we seriously look at suspending our Constitution and having a power-sharing arrangement set up in the parliament and a Cabinet comprised of the present prime minister, who would retain his position for three more years, and the opposition leader as the deputy prime minister.

Number of ministers

There should be an equal number of Cabinet ministers serving from both sides of the aisle. The roles of the prime minister and the deputy prime minister would be reversed after those three years and the Cabinet roles would remain the same. (Non-performing ministers would be removed and replaced with a party member). The prime minister and opposition leader would no longer represent those garrison constituencies as MPs.

There would be no election in the next eight years and the remaining constituency representatives would retain their seats, unless the MP is older than 70 years old, in which case that person would relinquish his/her position as MP, and, with the consultation of the party, appoint a successor.

Extricate ourselves

What the country needs now is some breathing room so we can extricate ourselves from the corrosive politics that has engulfed us over the past 40 years.

If those suggestions are taken on board, we could then tackle the crime problem, along with the social and economic difficulties in a bi-partisan or non-partisan manner. We could invite civil society and the entire country to participate in deliberations and forge a consensus that would quickly allow us to emerge once again as the jewel of the Caribbean and ultimately, to attain first-world status.

I am, etc.,

Shawn Johnson

Chairman

National Gun Rights

Association

ngraJamaica@yahoo.com