Robert Hart, Parliamentary Reporter
Members of staff of the National Commercial Bank in Baywest, Montego Bay, affix a notice to a door on the second floor of the building indicating that the branch would have been closed early at 1:00 p.m. Wednesday. The closure was in support of the private sector-led shutdown of businesses to protest against rising crime levels in Jamaica. - PHOTO BY CLAUDINE HOUSEN
OPPOSITION spokesman on National Security Derrick Smith on Wednesday threw his support behind the private sector-led protest against the upsurge in crime and violence across the nation.
Mr. Smith, making his contribution to the 2005/2006 Sectoral Debate in Parliament, said he was happy to have lived long enough to see the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) take such a step.
However, he stressed that there was only one entity that could and must ensure crime is brought under control.
GOV'T'S RESPONSIBILITY
"I would like to also place on record and let it be clearly understood that the responsibility ... where the buck stops ... cannot be with the people in the community. It cannot be with the Opposition. It cannot be with the PSOJ. It must be with the Government of the day," Mr. Smith said to desk thumping from the Opposition bench.
During his contribution, Mr. Smith highlighted the government's failure to bring crime under control over 16 years in office, resulting in a murder rate which has surged from 542 in 1990 to 1,471 in 2004.
With more than 600 already murdered this year, the murder rate is set to reach a record 1,700 Mr. Smith lamented.
SPECIAL CASE
He again told the Government that the increase of police salaries should be treated as a special case despite the Memorandum of Understanding which prohibits increases above three per cent.
"The men and women of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) are too important to the current efforts to reduce crime and violence for any conflict between them and the Government to continue," Mr. Smith said.
He also reiterated that the police need more resources and that he would be monitoring government's commitments to provide a new ballistics machine and other essential equipment to the JCF.
He urged Minister of National Security, Dr. Peter Phillips, to take another look at reducing to 40 hours, the work week for policemen and women to combat the stress of their jobs.
