Troubled about Jamaica's future
published: Tuesday | July 18, 2006

THE EDITOR, Sir:

IT HAS been over 100 days since Mrs. Portia Simpson Miller took the reins of government and like many Jamaicans, I was optimistic that a wind of change was about to blow across Jamaica. Unfortunately, Mrs. Miller has so comfortably embraced the status quo behaviour characteristic of all PNP-led governments since 1989, that as I pen this letter I do so as someone deeply troubled about the future of the country.

Ranging from the cement fiasco with Phillip Paulwell to the Whitehouse Hotel scandal, it seems to be business as usual in the PNP. What troubles me the most is that one of the Prime Minister's pledges was to weed out corruption, but there has been no evidence that she has even begun the process. The resignation of Dr. Karl Blythe speaks to the frustration that he feels, but is also reminiscent of my own frustration with the PNP. While the PNP candidates selection process has been cantankerous and acerbic in many instances, one could legitimately describe this as democracy at work. What we cannot and must not ignore, as a nation, is the fact that many of the candidates so far selected for political office leave much to be desired.

As we anticipate two elections in short order, now is the time to let our voices be heard. We must speak loudly and forcefully if we want to be taken seriously. We must say to Mrs. Simpson Miller that while we were excited to have her as the first woman Prime Minister, unless she also rises to the challenge which leadership of this country demands, it will not be long before she will become Jamaica's first woman opposition leader.

I am, etc.,

Mrs. MILLIENT EDWARDS

mala4321@yahoo.com

Miami, Florida

Via Go-Jamaica