The Editor, Sir:

Having just completed reading Lee Kuan Yew's book From Third World To First, I firmly believe that it should be required reading for all our leaders who would like to see a clean and orderly society.

With Labour Day fast approaching, I firmly believe it offers us as a country a unique path towards reinventing the wheel. Lee Kuan Yew set about greening Singapore and the hundreds of Jamaicans who have visited will attest to this with envy.

Massive drive

How about a massive drive to clean up our surroundings and plant trees, (palms, bougainvillea, etc) in the upper-, middle- and working-class areas in all the town centres and streets in the 14 parishes throughout Jamaica? While this is being done, parish councils should enforce animal-control ordinances, to ensure that these plants would be safe from goats who are the prime destroyers.

Let us educate the children so they can take the lead while educating their parents in the process. Show them how to care for and not vandalise the plants. We could do this to coincide with the massive drive to plant food gardens in our schools.

Let us start in the rainy season so minimum water will be needed. We could start on Labour Day this year and work continuously throughout the year.

Shortly, we could be the greenest and the cleanest to the envy of the rest of the Caribbean. We could boost our morale, pride, tourism, investments. On to the greening of Jamaica!

I am, etc.,

ADA JARRETT

adaj22@hotmail.com

Kingston 5

Via Go-Jamaica