THE EDITOR, Sir:

There are many categories of people in this world who like to think that they are very much more important than they really are.

One such category is parliamentarians, and in Jamaica, this misguided assumption is more prevalent than anywhere I know.

It is my understanding that the job of an MP is to take advice from his/her constituents, then go to Parliament and make representation on their behalf to the Government of the day. It is easy!

We have government ministries to cover all that is necessary for the proper running of the country. In the event of any of these ministries failing to do their jobs, the MP should step in and remind the minister in charge of what he/she and people who work in these ministries are being paid to do. That, too, is easy!

In an intelligently led country, it is not the job of MPs to provide handouts to bury the dead, send children to school, to fix roads, to supply water, etc.

The Constituency Development Fund (CDF), or Constituency Dependent Fund, as I see it, is simply a vehicle to buy votes. It should be discontinued in the name of free and fair elections. Have I really got it wrong?

PHIL FOSTER

croc@cwjamaica.com

St Elizabeth