THE EDITOR, Sir:
YOUR LETTER of the day for Friday, July 11, 2003, entitled 'Road Deaths Warrant Realistic Coverage', written by attorney-at-law Bert Samuels, should, I hope, make some impact on our Parliamentarians even as the deaths of young Anna-Kay Roberts and her two brothers, Carlton and Devonte, have put a community in mourning.
Will our legislators heed the call and do what is right "to make compensation, be so far as money can, reflect our recognition of the value we ought to place, on the lives of our people". If as a nation we value the lives of our children, in particular, and our citizens in general, then like Mr. Samuels, we must all unite and demand that our Parliamentarians do something to address this anomaly in our civil law.
I would also take this opportunity to commend three civic groups, on their petition to have the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions give account of its stewardship to Parliament at least once per year. I find it an incongruity that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) can hand down a ruling but is not constrained to give reasons for such ruling. Surely this section of our law is in need of urgent reform.
Mr. Ian Boyne wrote an excellent piece entitled 'Economic Growth is no Magic Elixir' in The Sunday Gleaner of July 13, 2003, in which he makes the point that for developing countries to raise living standards and reduce poverty, there has to be a combination of sound internal policies and a conducive international environment.
On the matter of sound internal policies, I would like to interpret that to mean a mix of policies involving governance trying to correct most, if not all of the social ills in the society including the call by Mr. Samuels so that grieving and aggrieved individuals can find some solace in the loss of a loved one(s); correcting the anomaly whereby the holder of the office of the DPP is not compelled to give reasons for his rulings the case of Mr. Patrick Genus comes to mind; see if the Police can be encouraged to do what is expected of them especially in the Traffic Department to increase patrols on our roads and thoroughfares and generally to make their presence felt on the roads to reduce mayhem and destruction of property; address the arbitrariness with which persons can be removed from their employment without a proper avenue for recourse or recompense.
If we can begin to address some of these concerns, then maybe there could be the rebuilding of confidence in our institutions and the nexus with economic growth may be realised.
A society in which its members feel that governance is being done in the interest of the community as a whole, with policies that tend to have some measure of equity, will be better able to focus their minds to actively participate in the economic development of the community because they feel satisfied in the knowledge that the state will act in their best interest at all times.
I am, etc.,
C.A. JOHNSON
P.O. Box 392
Spanish Town
St. Catherine
