THE EDITOR, Sir:

I had a dream last night that the prime minister, in her backing of Damion Crawford, as she must if she has any sense of the future of Jamaica, also said that the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) is at an end. Long live, the new CDF (Children's Development Fund).

In my dream, the PM said that the old CDF cash will be put into education - every cent of it. The PM also said that the much-disagreed auxiliary fees will now be properly funded to an agreed level. By that I mean a standard of auxiliary subjects set out by parents, teachers and the Ministry of Education.

I said to the PM that I do not have any children at school, but I don't mind my tax dollar going to education. However, I suspect that some of the auxiliary payments are going to subjects that are not worthy of the costs, like the one I saw on a list a few years ago $2,000 to a monthly school magazine!

NO CURRY GOAT

The PM said to me, if we stop the current CDF, the voter turnout would drop by 30 per cent at elections, as there will be no curry goat and contracts for so-called road repairs, etc., will have to be taken on by the National Works Agency (NWA), and many of us will never be elected again.

So I said to the PM, I agree in the short term, but look at the bigger picture: We would have a much larger selection of thinking voters, and anyway, I never feel happy with the NWA, but we are where we are, so why not make the NWA more productive by having simple jobs like inspectors, and stop this foolishness about council road and NWA road.

I am glad you are backing young Damion, though, because he is absolutely correct in putting money into education. I am sure you know that a lot of Jamaicans do not really understand what the job of an MP is. Come to think of it, I am not sure many MPs do either. You see, what these voters expect is, for want of a better word, a 'sugar-daddy', but they must learn everyone can learn.

Then some moron came around with loud music in a car and woke me up, but what a dream!

PHIL FOSTER

croc@cwjamaica.com

St Elizabeth