THE EDITOR, Sir:
THANKS TO your help Mr. Editor, some semblance of law and order has been restored to the entrance of the Kingston Parish Church. I hope that Mr. Vinton Telfer will be upstanding, law-abiding, and civil-minded enough to maintain the decency that has been restored to the entrance of the church and the churchyard and not give in to Mr. Dunstan Whittingham or the undisciplined vendors.
The attitude of the vendors has come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the downtown area. Their constant lack of respect for the laws of the land and their continued threat to "burn down the place" show just how little respect they have for the rule of law and the authorities of this land.
The duty of the police is to uphold the laws of the land. However, they continue to take a hands-off approach. They con-tinue to blame the politicians without naming any and as such I consider the police to be using the politicians as a scapegoat for their inexcusable lack of professionalism in restoring law and order to Jamaica.
If the politicians are really to be blamed for interfering with the police and preventing the police from carrying out their duties, then they (the police) must be willing to name the politicians. If not, they should shut up and continue to be unprofessional.
The Prime Minister for the first time seemed to be embarrassed by the inefficiency of one of his Cabinet members and as such personally got involved to order his Minister of Local Government to act decisively. The Minister, Mr. Arnold Bertram, the Mayor, Her Worship Marie Atkins and the Town Clerk, Mr. Errol Greene should all be ashamed of themselves, and they should offer their resignation.
The Cabinet itself has no interest in good governance for the country; if they did, the problem of the lawlessness of the street vendors would not have gotten to this level.
The dons continue to prey upon the legal businesses, the illegal vendors, the legal vendors, the taxis, and all who venture to make a living in that area. What a way to run a country, who is really in charge? No one dares to talk about this issue, as it is a matter of life or death.
An elected government should run a country in the interest of all its citizens. The police force should maintain law and order in the country without fear or favour. The objective of the Ministry of Local Government and the KSAC must be to restore and maintain law and order to vending in Jamaica, in particular to downtown Kingston. The complete removal of the street vendors to the designated legal vending areas should be their immediate priority.
I am etc.,
"A CONCERNED CITIZEN"
Seaview Gardens
Kingston
