Tyrone Reid, Staff Reporter
THE PRIVATE Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) has announced plans to shut down commercial activities islandwide next Wednesday as a show of protest against the country's staggering murder rate.
Additionally, the PSOJ is proposing to have a meeting with Government and Opposition officials on Friday "to insist that they do their duty to protect the nation".
The lockdown and meeting request are segments of a three-day private sector initiative, slated to run from next Wednesday, May 25 to Friday, May 27, 2005.
RATE UNACCEPTABLE
"The entire private sector finds this (murder rate) unacceptable. We can no longer pretend that these are ordinary times. There is a declared war between law-abiding Jamaicans and the gun toting criminals among us," PSOJ president Beverley Lopez said yesterday.
"We must decide now whether we want to live in a civilised country or a nation filled with fear and uncertainty."
Ms. Lopez argued that it is of necessity that the Government place crime reduction atop its priority list.
However, she acknowledged that taming the crime monster would prove to be a formidable feat. "The private sector is under no illusion that there are any quick fixes to our crime problems. We fully understand that these problems are multi-faceted," she said.
Ms. Lopez, in response to queries regarding the private sector's willingness to support the fight against crime financially, asserted that the bulk of private sector donations happen under the radar.
"I don't think a lot of us recognise how much different companies give to work in the inner-city, people don't understand...a lot of businesses are supportive of initiatives that the police undertake," she said.
However, she stressed that "all the needs of the police" cannot be placed "at the foot of the private sector".
"There is a role for the government. We pay our taxes, so let's not forget that," she said.
The business leaders are requesting that all concerned citizens drive with their head lights on as well as join a scheduled gathering at the Emancipation Park on Wednesday, preferably decked in the 'national' yellow.
Others involved in the initiative includes the Jamaica Exporters Association (JEA), Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC), Jamaica Manufacturers Association (JMA) and the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA).
