Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer
The Trelawny multi-purpose stadium photographed from atop the south stand showing the playing area, and the north stand, with the Caribbean sea in the background. - PHOTO BY ADRIAN FRATER
WESTERN BUREAU:
THE BUSINESS of serious development is not the same as 'peaka peow' or 'drop pan', games that are associated with immediate returns in the minds of some persons, said former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson.
"Development of a nation involves investment not just today, but for tomorrow and years to come," he told a large gathering of supporters who turned out at the North Trelawny People's National Party (PNP) awards ceremony and banquet at the Starfish Resort in Trelawny, last Saturday night.
The event was held in honour of the former prime minister; former government minister, Desmond Leaky; and former mayor of Falmouth, Joseph Wright.
The former prime minister was responding to recent criticisms that the new stadium being constructed in Trelawny may become a white elephant after Cricket World Cup 2007, and whether the country will recover from the mammoth investment.
RAY OF ENTREPRENEURIAL INITIATIVES
Noting that the sporting arena was currently enjoying the most dramatic and exponential development currently taking place in Jamaica, Mr. Patterson said the central idea behind the construction of the stadium was to release a ray of entrepreneurial initiatives and enable Trelawny the opportunity to have a place where the best of its sports, culture and entertainment can be reflected.
Accordingly, he hopes the spin-off from the sporting arena will attract more people to Jamaica and garner visibility on television stations as far away as Europe.
Making reference to what is currently happening in Germany, in terms of football World Cup, Mr. Patterson said, "That is what I want to see happening at Greenfield, gospel concerts and matches."
Complementing the Greenfield development, he said, was the 18th Century commercial capital, Falmouth, which will be developed as the point of arrival of our ancestors, who came from the continent of Africa.
He announced that next year the bicentennial of the abolition of the British slave trade in the West Indies will be commemorated with Hampden Wharf, in Falmouth, being the focal point of the 'Abolition of the Slave Trade Act'.
