Appalling situation
published: Tuesday | October 4, 2005

THE EDITOR, Sir:

THE RECENT letters to the editor from the Honourable Roy Barrett, Custos of Trelawny, and the response from Dr. Holness (September 26 and September 30, respectively) must be appalling to all who read them.

Where else in the English-speaking world of former British colonies can it take a citizen over one-and-a-half years to obtain an official death certificate from the Government? And I would surmise this satisfying conclusion is only happening as a result of Mr. Barrett's letter to The Gleaner combined with his public position as Custos. Think about the enormous difficulties faced by the citizens and ex-citizens of Jamaica living abroad in the diaspora. I know from personal experience how trying the effort can be to obtain personal records without having a knowledgeable agent (aka side man) on the ground in Kingston/ Spanish Town with sufficient funds to 'grease the palms' of the appropriate workers in the agency.

Ms. Holness states that the fact that there were 57 interactions by staff members with his application is an "indication that efforts were being made to satisfy him". I beg to differ. The 57 interactions is an indication of near chaos and inefficiency in this agency. And I do not mean to pick on the RGD ... our experience with other agencies has been very similar with the added frustration of doing this from abroad without the ability to use the mail system (notoriously unreliable).

I am, etc.,

WILLIAM PALMER

bpalmer_ca@hotmail.com

Pasadena CA

Via Go-Jamaica