THE EDITOR, Sir:
I WONDER if ordinary Jamaicans are aware that postal rates imposed by the Jamaican Postal Service for outgoing overseas mail are actually higher than those charged in England by the Royal Mail and in the U.S. by the United States Postal Service.
The British/Jamaican ex-change rate is now approximately J$100 = 1 pound sterling. Therefore the Jamaican dollar currently has the same value as the British penny (p.) I can send a letter to my wife in Jamaica for 45p (or 68p for a fat letter) but she has to struggle to pay J$70 to write back to me - even if her letter consists of a single sheet of paper.
I feel that the Jamaican government is neglecting its responsibility to Jamaican citizens in terms of protecting them from profiteering. I see no justification for the recent excessive increase in postal rates. Jamaica is not a rich country and many of its citizens live in conditions that mean it is a struggle simply to survive. Why should they be expected to pay higher prices for goods and services?
I am soon returning home to Jamaica from a period of five years away in England. I made a list of ordinary everyday items and sent it to my wife so that she could check prices and return the list to me. Price increases appear to be far in excess of the rate of deterioration of the Jamaican dollar.
J$200 for a pack of 20 Matterhorn (J$65 in 1999) and I smoke a carton (10 packs) of cigarettes per week. J$140 for the smallest jar of coffee (I drink gallons of coffee), J$150 for a bottle of mouthwash, J$90 for toothpaste. So many prices in Jamaica are far in excess of those charged for identical items in England and in the United States.
The Government seems to have its priorities wrong. The priority should be to provide ALL citizens with an acceptable standard of life AND legislation to ensure that prices are controlled on basic items that people need to use in their homes items that people in other countries take for granted.
It is NOT a Caribbean-wide problem. People in St. Lucia pay only EC95 cents to mail a letter to England. The England/EC$ exchange rate is approximately EC$4.50 = 1 pound - therefore EC95 cents is equivalent to 22p (British) and Jamaica's J$70 for a letter to England is equivalent to 70p. Why the immense difference?
I am, etc.,
JIM OBASA
Eastchurch, Kent. UK
