ALBERT

A calm yet stern Monsignor Richard Albert yesterday chastised Government for failing to implement proper measures geared towards alleviating the scourge of poverty from inner-city areas.

Monsignor Albert made the disclosure while speaking during the Rotary Club of Kingston's luncheon at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston.

Arguing that the deplorable living conditions of inner-city residents "make a mockery of what the Government calls independence," Monsignor Albert charged members of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica to be active in the field of job expansion for these citizens.

"We all must rededicate ourselves to the task of nation building with the point of emphasis being the uneducated and poor," he said. "Most of us have made our money from the backs of the poor and it is only right to aid in giving back by providing them with jobs (as) they are our untapped resources."

A major impact

He added: "If we can reach out to them in developmental ways, it would make a major impact on poverty alleviation."

Monsignor Albert also lamented what he described as the continuation of slavery in contemporary Jamaica as, he said, was evident through the experience of inner-city residents. He said their experience was characterised by political tribalism, hopelessness and a lack of education.