THE EDITOR, Sir:
I REFER to a letter published on October 15, 2004, in which Councillor Carrol Jackson, Ocho Rios division, is criticising Bruce Golding and Member of Parliament, Shahine Robinson, for touring an informal settlement in Roaring River, a crucial watershed area in NE St. Ann.
She said they should be preserving these areas that are so vital to our existence, instead of trying to obtain political favours.
Should they not be advising these persons on the ills of squatting, even to themselves, and the negative impact on the environment? Yet Councillor Jackson's People's National Party has been in power for 15 years and has done nothing about the matter.
Neglect has turned Ocho Rios into an ugly place of coke-heads and dirty, mad people walking around like they own the place. There is growing tourist harassment, crime and degradation of the environment.
Last year, I started the Ocho Rios Beautification Campaign to clean-up the town, its Clock Square, One Love Park, etc.
I sought assistance from the secretary-manager of the St. Ann's Parish Council but she refused to see me. So, I used my own money towards this, until one night when I was attacked and beaten by a mob, because I was preventing them from urinating in the park.
I am sending a copy of this letter to the United States Embassy as I am an American citizen, a businessman from Atlanta, Georgia, and also a representative for the Nation of Islam.
My people in Atlanta would love to come to visit Ocho Rios, but first the town needs to be cleaned up.
It is essential that corrupt officials be swiftly punished. The Jamaican Government must show results in penalising the beneficiaries of bribes, graft and kick-backs. They should be punished as a deterrent to others.
The Corruption Prevention Commission must perform....because action speaks louder than words.
I am, etc,
KARIM AZIZ ALLAH,
Ocho Rios P.O., St. Ann
