Musicians, politicians could've plugged Alpha budget
Published:Wednesday | April 16, 2014 | 12:00 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
Nice, touchy-feely, nostalgic piece ('A crying shame! Old boys devastated by planned closure of dorm facilities at Alpha') published in The Sunday Gleaner of April 13, 2014, except you utterly omitted the WHY of the institution closing.
Why? Because the current pack of jackals we call 'Government' allowed it to happen, a consequence of decades and current IMF ginnalship and government bandooloo!
Just because Lisa Hanna was a beauty queen should not cause you to omit the fact that her party, The People's National Party, on her watch, CUT THE BUDGET of a proud, 135-year-old 'people's' tradition!
Shame on you for your obfuscatory, watered-down pablum doublespeak!
You need to revisit this article and at least tell us, your paying public, how much the actual budget shortfall was, and then possibly many of the wealthy and successful Jamaican musicians at home and abroad could plug the gap with donations, and, possibly, even make the institution non-profit and endowed permanently.
We must protect Jamaica's grand, global musical culture, heritage and traditions at all costs. As we all know, music is one of the few ways a poor boy in Jamaica can make a bag o' money without smuggling drugs.
Perhaps the mostly millionaire MPs could shave a meagre five per cent from their hefty salaries to save this proud musical tradition, starting with Ms Smooth-talkin' Hanna.
PAUL STEPHAN
Montego Bay