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People's Report

Published: Saturday | January 7, 2012 Comments 0
The Green Island Library. - File
The Green Island Library. - File
Commuters prepare to board a JUTC bus at the Half-Way Tree Transport Centre.- Anthony Minott
Commuters prepare to board a JUTC bus at the Half-Way Tree Transport Centre.- Anthony Minott

Fix Green Island Branch Library

Craig Ghunta Dixon,
Youth and Peace Activist
Patrick City, Kingston

I discovered last week, with utter dismay, that the Green Island Branch Library in Hanover has been closed since June 2011. As is customary when I visit my family in Kendal, I rounded up the little ones to decipher who has been heeding my advice to regularise their visits to the library. I was flatly told, "There is no library to go to."

With the Green Island Branch Library closed, my 12-year-old cousins have to travel to the parish libraries in Savanna-la-Mar and Lucea, which are many miles away from Kendal and quite unfeasible financially.

Subsequent to this rather unfavourable disclosure, I visited the Hanover Parish Library to make inquiries and was informed that the physical structure of the branch library is in danger of falling apart. It would not be astute to argue against its closure on this score.

What has perturbed me, though, coming from my conversations with residents and librarians that are on the periphery of management, is how dismally the Jamaica Library Service (JLS), the regional director, the school library network, and the Hanover Parish Library network have communicated its closure.

Even worse is the dishonourable nonchalance with which schools like Green Island High, Rusea's High, Kendal Primary, Pell River Primary, Cove Primary, Cave Valley All-Age and other beneficiaries have accepted the library's fate. Literally thousands of students, from kindergarten to university, have been displaced.

I wish to add, without descending into histrionics, that this is an indictment on the institutions, the educators, and communities that have benefited from the library's services for years. I hope that their indifference is not a philosophical equivalent to the real value they place on educating young Hanoverians.

I also wish to use this platform to encourage the stakeholders, especially civil-society organisations in the surrounding area, to work with the JLS and schools to rectify the problem at haste, so that my cousins and their classmates may move on ahead with their education.

craig.dixon11@gmail.com
__________________________________


Deliberate abuse of human rights by cops

SANDRA C. JOHNSON (Rev)
Pastor, STEP Ministries International

I note with interest the action of a squad of policemen and soldiers who detained a number of young men from Waterhouse in Anthony Hylton's West St Andrew constituency which adjoins the constituency of the outgoing prime minister, Andrew Holness, in the late evening of December 30, 2011.

The males, who included a 14-year-old, were taken to the Hunts Bay Police Station for questioning. All attempts to get into the station that evening proved futile, as we were told that the men were being processed and all relatives and friends were barred from entering the main gate at Hunts Bay by armed policemen and soldiers.

The actions of the police in detaining the men on the weekend of a long holiday were calculated and deliberate, meant to punish, as there was no way they could be brought before the courts should they be charged until the morning of Tuesday, January 3, 2012.

It is high time for some sort of code of conduct regulating the actions of the policemen to be established.

Provided that the offence is not a serious one and that the men are not a flight risk, the police ought to be made to act reasonably to prevent the abrogation of citizens' human rights.

Station bail ought, in reasonable circumstances, to be the norm.

The message being sent on the day following the People's National Party's landslide victory in the general election is sublimely that it's business as usual, without any risk of being brought to book.

Well, to the powers that be, we are tired of being treated as if we are subhumans who have no rights, or if we do, they can be breached and abrogated at the whim and fancy of the security forces.

As my grandmother used to say, take sleep and mark death as we begin to awake from dreaming of a 'new Jamaica, a land of peace and love', where there are equal rights and justice for all, to a situation where, as the songwriter says, "We come yah fe tek it and we naw go weh left it, we come fe tek it by force."

stepministries11@yahoo.com
___________________________________


Speeding, overcrowding on JUTC buses concern commuter

Darius Harvey

Recent accidents involving the JUTC buses are very unfortunate, especially the one that led to the death of a driver.

Earlier this week, it was reported in the media that the said company was experiencing problems regarding the roll-out of a number of the company's buses because of vandalism allegedly by young, school-age passengers. There have been a number of things that go unpunished by the operators of these buses, as it seems as if the white-collar employees of this company do not routinely take a ride to monitor the speeds at which these buses are operated.

Speeding takes place not just on the road but also in the Half-Way Tree Transport Centre. If they were taking more trips on the buses, they would definitely be able to root out some of the drivers who operate the buses without any regard for the ability of the passengers to firmly hold on to the rails inside the bus.

Furthermore, there is an issue of overcrowding on the buses which the JUTC needs to address. This comes against the background that the buses are specified to carry a certain number of passengers, but that is hardly adhered to on many of the buses.

This leads us to our next issue, which concerns the alleged destruction of the internal fixtures of the buses by younger passengers. This has to be addressed, as there have been many cases where I have been on buses and not been able to see the driver or his/her central mirror inside the bus, and I am more than six feet tall. That says something about the driver's ability to properly monitor, at intervals, what is taking place inside the bus, especially at the back.

Second, the overcrowding of buses (premium and regular) exposes passengers to pickpockets who take advantage of the sardine can-type packing that exists on buses. My suggestion to the JUTC is to try to get buses specifically for students that are outfitted with just the basic fixtures that are less likely to be destroyed.

However, we do have a responsibility, as Jamaicans, to take care of the things which are there to make us feel more comfortable as we think twice about destroying that which is in the United States or Canada!

dariushrvy@yahoo.com

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Bigger does not mean better

ADVOCATE FOR BETTER CUSTOMER SERVICE

Following the removal of the Avon franchise from the Trade Centre on Red Hills Road to a larger, more spacious facility off Constant Spring Road, it is evident that the operators did not take with them a passionate desire to improve the quality of customer-service delivery.

The issue is that, unfortunately, the simple things get overlooked for the sake of the almighty dollar and customers grow dissatisfied and frustrated. Despite that occurrence, they - the customers - have rendered suggestions and complaints that have obviously fallen on deaf ears or a nonchalant attitude to improvements.

Listed below are the simple customer-service delivery issues that need to be addressed immediately:

1) There needs to be a number or ticket system in place inside the cashier area. I have been a witness to many a 'polite' disagreement and argument on who was in front of who and who left the line to pick up something and came back, etc. Shame on you, Avon! Exactly how much does it cost to add some structure to your operations in the cashier area?

2) There needs to be instruction signs in the cashier area as well, like 'Customers do not need to join the line when purchasing campaign books', 'The cost of campaign books', 'How to become an Avon representative' and other general information, so precious time is not wasted.

3) Suggestion boxes should be placed at strategic areas in the warehouse or cashier area to keep apace with the needs of your customer base. Or is it that suggestions from customers are not deemed important? To add, in this day and age when information technology is king, there should be an email address to process feedback, opinions, complaints, etc. If one is already in place, it is not being promoted properly.

4) One restroom for both males and females that is not properly maintained. This is certainly not acceptable, since ample space is there to rectify this issue. This occurrence of a unisex bathroom is just unacceptable, especially when it is known that much better can be done.

It is sad that unless competition is rife, customer service suffers extensively in Jamaica. Someone needs to explain to me why when the operations of companies expand, there is little or no regard for the importance of customer-relationship management? Is it because we are categorised as a Third World country and better is not expected?

Avon Jamaica, you need to step up to the plate and find ways to delight and excite your customers. I have faith in you that the above issues will be addressed expeditiously for the sake of your growing customer base.

If not, I hope another franchise comes to Jamaica, observes your operations and makes these simple and straightforward alterations to win over your customers. That is exactly what Digicel did to LIME. The ball is now in your court.

_______________________________________


Make traffic courts more user-friendly

Joseph M. Cornwall (Sr), JP

I attended the Kingston Traffic Court on 36 South Camp Road on Thursday, January 5.

The location has outgrown its usefulness and the building is woefully inadequate to accommodate the number of persons attending the court.

When you arrive at the court, you are not allowed to enter the building until your name is called and, therefore, you are required to stand in the broiling sun, or rain if it is falling, with the only shelter being the lignum vitae tree.

The minister of justice should take a look at traffic courts across the island with a view to making them user-friendly. As a start, I would suggest that temporary tents be erected and chairs provided as is done by the Registrar General's Department, an executive agency. The sanitary convenience outside the court needs to be addressed.

It is noteworthy that our traffic courts are seen as revenue-collection agencies, as in the majority of cases where defendants plead guilty to an offence with explanation they are fined.

The accused is not given the benefit of the doubt and the prosecuting officer is not required to be in court to be cross-examined, and in most cases, the police story is accepted.

The impression is given that the judge is on the Bench to collect as much as he can on any given court day.

I would like to inform members of the public with medical conditions which prevent them from wearing a seat belt at all times, or some times, to visit the Ministry of Justice in order to ascertain the names of the doctor(s) who are approved by the ministry to issue letters of exemption. I learned of this when I tendered a letter in court, only to be told by the judge that she could not accept same. I think she was gracious by allowing me to seek same from the empanelled doctor and return to the court. I hope the Jamaica Constabulary Force will be so informed, as I was told by the policeman who issued me with the ticket that I should obtain a letter from my doctor.

I also observed that offenders who failed to pay traffic tickets on time at the collectorate were turning up at court to face a judge to plead guilty in order to pay the fine. In other jurisdictions, you attend the court and a clerk collects the fine and issues you with a receipt. If this procedure were to be implemented, it would reduce the number of cases a judge has to hear on any day.

To the traffic offenders, I say, if you are in receipt of a ticket which you do not intend to contest in the traffic court, pay the fine on time at the collectorate, as the judge is going to fine you the maximum, as he/she cannot mitigate.

The new minister of justice should look at accommodation in our courts across the island when he takes office with a view to making them user-friendly.

The mission statement of the court is 'Timely Delivery of a High Standard of Justice for All'.

tranquillityfh@yahoo.com


Tell us about the positives and negatives affecting your community, school or any other social space. Email submissions to letters@gleanerjm.com.







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