THE EDITOR, Sir:
FOR QUITE some time I have been echoing similar sentiments as your columnist, Mr. Delroy Chuck, about the deplorable state of Kingston, Jamaica's capital, to no avail.
I would like to commend him for his thoughts and insights on the matter. At last someone with some political influence is now addressing the subject and maybe his articles will help to convince the various leadership bodies to get together and urgently tackle this matter. What also concerns me is that not too many people seem concerned about this issue.
Kingston is my hometown. I visit the island quite frequently because I have family and many friends still residing there. It pains me to see the ugliness and disgraceful state it's in. I, too, share similar memories and aspirations of what it used to be and what it could become.
As a youngster, like Mr. Chuck, I remember Spanish Town Road being a mecca for all kinds of businesses - from West Parade and West Queen Street going west past the Queen's Theatre and beyond.
I lived on Bond Street and spent a lot of time with my late paternal grandmother who lived on Duke Street, below East Queen Street. I too used to go for walks with friends on a Sunday evening down King Street to Victoria Pier.
NO GARBAGE PILE-UPS
There were no mounds of garbage piled up all over the city. Markets were cleaned, streets were swept, cleaned and repaved when necessary.
As I see it, Kingston in its entirety, and not just downtown, needs to be revamped, restructured, revitalised, remodelled and rebuilt, and that includes Port Royal too. It should be a crime to have a country's capital in a state of disrepair, of which no one seems to care, let alone do anything about it.
In spite of all this, Kingston still remains naturally beautiful. I, too, visualise art galleries, museums, outdoor cafes, fine restaurants, hotels and yes, an open-air theatre with Kingston being the tourism and financial centre of the region.
But before any of this can be accomplished, law and order will have to be enforced and maintained. That is the difference between Jamaica and Cayman.
Garrison communities would have to be dismantled so that people could move freely from one area to the other without any problem, just like it used to be.
Kingston, in my view, should be transformed into a world-class capital, and Jamaica on a whole should be the jewel and envy of the Caribbean.
If I were the Prime Minister, renewal and rebirth of the capital would be what I would want my legacy to be.
I am, etc.,
N. MITCHELL
Nlmworld@yahoo.com
Westchester, New York
Via Go-Jamaica
