Letter of the Day | Get gov't out of commerce

THE EDITOR, Sir:

I must confess to being a regular listener of Nationwide News, and am writing to commend the station on reaching out to have more informed dialogue with the future of Jamaica. In particular, the outside broadcast from the Moneague College. It is very interesting to hear the views of the young people, and hopefully, it can propel more positive dialogue among those who can make a difference to result in action, addressing their concerns about wages and crime. They are not alone in their concerns.

Mark Wignall's commentary in today's Gleaner pointed to issues faced by National Security Minister Robert Montague, which he noted were created by conditions preceding the minister by several generations. He also noted that this is not unique to the national security ministry. I hope his declaration will help to refocus national discourse on education of the people on the matters that face us and their genesis. So far, our political and national leaders have not been able to address these problems in order to dismantle the colonial/imperial apparatus now generations old, in order to identify and correct the current challenges that make life today difficult.

The solutions to Jamaica's situation need a multi-pronged approach with persons of demonstrated abilities to manage the process of development in Jamaica, and the political participants must try to extricate themselves from the business of commerce, industry, etc. and focus on the establishment of standards and enforcement of regulations to enable all Jamaicans to fulfil their potential. Current political dogma is tied to the colonial/imperial government approach, where government is in business competing with its citizens, or the citizens are only working for the benefit of 'government'.

HOUSINGDEVELOPMENT

A case in point is housing development. The Government is in the business of design and construction of housing on land they already own, while most architects graduating from our university cannot find jobs.

I am hopeful that even as the future for Jamaica appears to grow dimmer by the day, that our young people from all over the country, once educated about the history of their challenges, will approach the hurdles to their development with their innate creativity, energy and positive outlook. They are an energy, eager to burst into their own, creating the future they want for themselves, their children and fellow Jamaicans. Those of us who know need to make the information available to them so that they can avoid the traps and mistakes of the past. This is true, especially in politics.

Hugh M. Dunbar

Architect