Letter of the Day - Neutralise all the cocaine dons

THE EDITOR, Sir:

I READ with great interest Professor Robotham's letter to you in your 17th July 2001 publication titled "The Cocaine Connection" and agree with his conclusion, that the tail is now wagging the dog and in fact the tail has significantly outgrown the dog.

The drug "dons" are a formidable force in this country and like all "parasites" are sucking the life's blood out of this nation. They have indeed been encouraged by the politicians on both sides of the fence in their quest for power and are now a true menace to society.

If we are to regain control of this nation these forces must be neutralised and the glamour be taken out of crime by catching and severely punishing these "dons" and their cronies. Only this will discourage youths, in particular, from pursuing a life on the "Cocaine Highway" and restore a sound work ethic back in this nation. Furthermore, we must also remove the financial influence these "dons" apparently have on our politicians through campaign and other donations. The question is how do we do this?

I humbly submit the following actions to assist in achieving the above:

1. The Government must vigilantly use the Inland Revenue Service to pursue the "dons" for tax evasion, as they did with Al Capone in the USA, and imprison them for extended periods along with seizing all their assets, which they are empowered to do under the Forfeiture of Assets Act.

2. The Constitution must be amended to recognise the legitimate political parties thereby allowing the Government to fund, through the national budget, the political campaigns of all the parties once every five years. Furthermore, it would also be necessary to make all private campaign contributions illegal and punishable by both the donor and recipient receiving (mandatory) extended prison terms. This would remove one of the avenues through which the "dons" and other undesirables have lasting influence on the lawmakers of this land.

3. All public sector employees including politicians must be audited, whether by the Auditor-General or otherwise, once a year at which time they must declare all their assets both foreign and local. This will promote transparency and expose any irregularities in income streams and net worth allowing for quick prosecution and punishment.

4. Finally the private and public sector must unite to enact these reforms as drugs and the culture it produces is a nation killer. Colombia is a prime example.

Nothing mentioned here should be new to the lawmakers of this nation. However, unfortunately they either do not have the will, commitment and/or the courage to act decisively. But there are still many Jamaicans who sincerely love this country and want a vibrant and bright future for their children, here in their homeland, and if the "powers that be" will not act it is incumbent on the private sector, which is the watchdog of this nation, to demand performance and accountability from both National and Local Government.

Private agendas, fears, egos, alliances and apathy must be put aside and we the people of this country must resolve that by the grace of God and much hard work we will not turn this country over to our children in the same or worse condition than we received it.

I am etc.,

MARK KERR-JARRETT

Managing Director

Barnett Limited

Montego Bay

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