The Editor, Sir:
Alas, the 'the silly season' of electioneering is upon us and pray God on this occasion it will not be a drawn out one. I do hope that all Jamaicans will show all politicians that we are not stupid and that we can think for ourselves and that we can analyse all the promises and will know which ones can be accomplished and which ones are 'pies in the sky'.
The first thing we must do is to write down all the promises and already we have quite a few as the Opposition is "on the road". Here are some of the promises I have heard:
Nurses salaries will be doubled, and how is this going to be done, by "corruption money?"
"The Whitehouse Sandal Scandal" - but do tell is there going to be a scandal each year so that the funds will come in to continue to pay the increases.
Doubling salaries
If you are going to double the salaries of the nurses what about the police, the junior doctors, the teachers and other government workers. Certainly the increase granted to parliamentarians will not be enough to pick up these increases. John Public should surely be told how this is going to be achieved.
To date, we have not heard any promises from the Government. They keep telling us though how well they have done and how much they love us with special emphasis on the poor. Could we please have your promises so that we can compare them with those of the Opposition in order to enable us to make up our minds.
What I think that we as citizens should do is to forget that we are born JLP or PNP. We should leave our minds free to really sit down and objectively look at all that is being placed onto the table.
We should send a clear message to the politicians that we certainly do not think it is right to have the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition preside over garrison communities and indeed we do not want garrison communities. It is our country and each of us should be able to go anywhere in the land without fear of being labelled PNP or JLP and run the risk of being killed.
Agreeing on policies
We need both parties to sit at a table and agree on policies to be taken re crime, education and health. There must be one common purpose to solve our problems in these areas. All politicians must try not to copy the rules of our colonisers of dividing and ruling. We need to work together for the common good.
Above all, we beg of you cut out the "tracing matches," speak to our problems and provide solutions. Be careful on your motorcades. Please ensure that all our laws are obeyed,and that there will be no protruding bodies, and above all, that there will be no fights.
Both parties owe it to the people of this country
to come together as one so as to solve our many
problems.
I am, etc.,
BARBARA COVER
Kingston 6
