As athletes lauded, Reece hopes for Kgn's return to glory

With Kingston celebrating its 140th anniversary as the country's capital, president of the Jamaica Council of Churches, the Reverend Donald Reece, has labelled as "negligent" the will of the

Addressing a thanksgiving ceremony yesterday to celebrate the anniversary as well as the achievements of the country's Olympians and Paralympians in London, Reece said the capital city is "begging for development".

"There is negligence in this country when we are talking about the transformation of the city of Kingston. Many age-old structures in the city are in a state of ruin. They need to be restored as the storyteller of our time," Reece told the gathering at the East Queen Street Baptist Church yesterday.

Restore reputation

Reece, who is also a former Archbishop of Kingston, said as the capital city and the country on a whole beg for restoration, there is even greater need for the country to restore its reputation across the world.

"Even as we thank God for the treasures of this blessed land, we must also lament certain developments that are not all that commendable," he said.

"If we are honest in ourselves, all of us are in breach of what is expected of us. Parents are negligent in their responsibility to raise their children in the knowledge of God; politicians too quickly forget their campaign promises to their constituents; those in the legal profession are not as diligent as they ought to be in executing justice expeditiously, therefore, justice delayed is justice denied," Reece said.

Against this background, Reece said there is a need for an "interior transformation and internal repairing" before there can be any lasting structural restoration.

"This, I propose, is the paradigm that we as a nation and a city must embrace in order that the desired lasting restoration can be realised," Reece said.

Among persons present at yesterday's ceremony were Olympians Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, and Paralympian Alphanso Cunningham.

nedburn.thaffe@gleanerjm.com