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The 'righting's' on the wall
Okay, so now that the two political parties have sat down and come to some kind of consensus on how to tackle our worsening crime problem, we have to keep our fingers crossed that it amounts to more than just political rhetoric.
We are all more than aware that what politicians say they're going to do and what they actually do are often miles apart, but for some reason we continue to listen. Let's hope that this time what they say and do is convergent.
Prime Minister Bruce Golding said after yesterday's summit that Jamaicans need to get themselves involved if we are to overcome. It's something that I have been advocating for years now and it is something that I hope will finally begin to take root. The prime minister also suggested that law-abiding Jamaicans may have to give up some of their rights as the fight begins in earnest.
Opposition leader Portia Simpson Miller is backing the Government on this one.
Looking more like a distaff member of La Cosa Nostra with those shades she was wearing as she emerged from yesterday's meeting, she even warned criminals to give it up before it was too late. I wonder though why she was the only person wearing sun-glasses? It must have been very bright inside.
What concerns me surrounds what actually was agreed upon by the two parties. I guess we will know soon enough, but in the meantime I<span style="font-weight: bold"> can't help wondering if it was a case of 'you control your thugs and I will control mine or we will stop sending money to our dons if you stop sending money to yours'</span>. Or was it a case where both parties realised that the country's security was at stake and decided that it was time to put aside their differences and form a united front against the common enemy?
I really hope that the latter is what it was because most of us not blinded by political loyalties are tired of these grand declarations that amount to nothing more than having the police and the army on the streets for two weeks and then it's back to business as usual.
Mucking politicians
If that is the case then I would really have to start thinking about Canada or somewhere else, anywhere else except here to live out the remainder of my days. I mean, Jamaica is nice most of the time but I can't be living under the rule of these politicians who keep mucking about while the criminals run amok. Right now, we are averaging more murders a day than Iraq and that takes some doing.
There is only so much a person can take.
And I really don't mind giving up some of my civil liberties so that this country can become a better place. I don't care if it means house-to-house searches, curfews, regular spot checks, even the responsible tapping of phone calls if it means that we are going to break the back of the criminal element.
But I would only agree to such measures if they are not limited to just the regular man on the street. Those measures would have to be imposed on the more affluent as well. Because we know that laws that apply to the masses in this country do not always necessarily apply to some of this nation's bigwigs.
I mean just look at how the business community has reacted to Audley Shaw's statements last week about some elements in the private sector colluding with Customs to cheat the government of taxes.
No lies
Every man and child in this country knows that the minister is not lying but still all you can see in the papers is the backlash coming from a sector whose tax compliance rate is lower than the interest rate local banks pay on your savings.
Nabbing criminals is only a small step because there are many more where they come from. We need to find those that give the poor cause to break the law. We need to nab the masterminds who make their homes in upscale communities; we have to knock them off their high horses. Lord knows it's time.
Send comments to
[email protected]
Okay, so now that the two political parties have sat down and come to some kind of consensus on how to tackle our worsening crime problem, we have to keep our fingers crossed that it amounts to more than just political rhetoric.
We are all more than aware that what politicians say they're going to do and what they actually do are often miles apart, but for some reason we continue to listen. Let's hope that this time what they say and do is convergent.
Prime Minister Bruce Golding said after yesterday's summit that Jamaicans need to get themselves involved if we are to overcome. It's something that I have been advocating for years now and it is something that I hope will finally begin to take root. The prime minister also suggested that law-abiding Jamaicans may have to give up some of their rights as the fight begins in earnest.
Opposition leader Portia Simpson Miller is backing the Government on this one.
Looking more like a distaff member of La Cosa Nostra with those shades she was wearing as she emerged from yesterday's meeting, she even warned criminals to give it up before it was too late. I wonder though why she was the only person wearing sun-glasses? It must have been very bright inside.
What concerns me surrounds what actually was agreed upon by the two parties. I guess we will know soon enough, but in the meantime I<span style="font-weight: bold"> can't help wondering if it was a case of 'you control your thugs and I will control mine or we will stop sending money to our dons if you stop sending money to yours'</span>. Or was it a case where both parties realised that the country's security was at stake and decided that it was time to put aside their differences and form a united front against the common enemy?
I really hope that the latter is what it was because most of us not blinded by political loyalties are tired of these grand declarations that amount to nothing more than having the police and the army on the streets for two weeks and then it's back to business as usual.
Mucking politicians
If that is the case then I would really have to start thinking about Canada or somewhere else, anywhere else except here to live out the remainder of my days. I mean, Jamaica is nice most of the time but I can't be living under the rule of these politicians who keep mucking about while the criminals run amok. Right now, we are averaging more murders a day than Iraq and that takes some doing.
There is only so much a person can take.
And I really don't mind giving up some of my civil liberties so that this country can become a better place. I don't care if it means house-to-house searches, curfews, regular spot checks, even the responsible tapping of phone calls if it means that we are going to break the back of the criminal element.
But I would only agree to such measures if they are not limited to just the regular man on the street. Those measures would have to be imposed on the more affluent as well. Because we know that laws that apply to the masses in this country do not always necessarily apply to some of this nation's bigwigs.
I mean just look at how the business community has reacted to Audley Shaw's statements last week about some elements in the private sector colluding with Customs to cheat the government of taxes.
No lies
Every man and child in this country knows that the minister is not lying but still all you can see in the papers is the backlash coming from a sector whose tax compliance rate is lower than the interest rate local banks pay on your savings.
Nabbing criminals is only a small step because there are many more where they come from. We need to find those that give the poor cause to break the law. We need to nab the masterminds who make their homes in upscale communities; we have to knock them off their high horses. Lord knows it's time.
Send comments to
[email protected]
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