THE EDITOR, Sir:
I CANNOT say whether the brother of the minister used his sister's position to win a lucrative contract in the very sector that his sister oversees, but Mr. Shaw was correct in bringing it to the attention of the public.
The failure here is the minister (Assamba) who should have disclosed at a very early stage in her ministerial appointment that her brother ('in a closely knit family') is a major supplier to local hoteliers.
She should have followed up such a statement with a another statement making it clear that she would excuse herself from any deals, contracts etc... that involves her brother or his company.
If that had been done, Mr. Shaw would not have had the response from the public that he's getting today, not unless he could clearly point to the minister's involvement. Our leaders lead with a certain level of carelessness and 'dun ka' (don't care) attitude; it is no wonder that nothing seems to be going right.
Did Mrs. Assamba need someone to tell her to reveal the relationship between her brother and the local tourism sector? How prudent are you if you could not see from day one that such a relationship would have led to integrity questions in the future?
I am, etc.,
GIBBO GIBSON
itnuhmattah@yahoo.com
Cambria Heights, NY
Via Go-Jamaica
