THE PRIVATE sector, which has been involved in talks with Government representatives on ways to tame the crime monster stalking the island, has expressed a willingness to provide financial backing for the crime-fighting efforts."There are different avenues that we are looking at in how we can assist the Ministry of Security to meet their needs. We are looking at various avenues where we can help, financially and otherwise," Beverly Lopez, president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) told The Sunday Gleaner.
Although she was somewhat tight-lipped about the details of the discussions with the Ministry of National Security, Mrs Lopez, who is a key
member of the private sector contingent engaged in cyclic meetings with the Government, expressed confidence in the success of 'Operation Kingfish'.
HEARTENED BY THE INITIATIVE
"The fact that Kingfish is backed by two of our very close allies the British and the Americans we feel that clearly there is some amount of assistance being afforded from our allies and we are heartened by this initiative."
Despite scepticism regarding 'Operation Kingfish', the PSOJ president was adamant that the private sector would back any initiative geared towards taming crime. "Any effort to stem the flow of crime would have our backing," she said.
On the other hand, Sameer Younis, chairman of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce's Inner-City Development Committee, told The Sunday Gleaner that unless the crime problem was tackled at the root, all crime initiatives would continue to have a band-aid effect. "We are working with the police to see how best we can solve this and we have found that the main problem is the family unit, the lack of family values," said Mr. Younis
"We continue to have discussions with the minister... we met with him at his press conference and we have had another meeting since then. It's a continuing process," Mrs. Lopez said.
