Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
The absence of the Jamaican flag at the 44th Anniversary Independence Civic Ceremony on Monday has caused concern among civic and community leaders in Montego Bay, St. James.
The Gleaner has learnt that the ceremony, organised by the St. James Parish Council's Civic and Community Affairs Committee and the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission at the Montego Bay Civic Centre, was not only poorly attended, but the Jamaican pennant, which should be elevated at all official ceremonies, was noticeably absent.
"At all public national functions the flag should be flown," said Calvin G. Brown, projects and programmes manager in the Office of the Prime Minister.
An oversight?
Although the Office of the Prime Minister was not invited to participate in the organising of the civic ceremony, Mr. Brown said it must have been an oversight by the persons who were responsible for the logistics.
Accordingly, he said he could not understand why the organisers did not ensure that the flag was hoisted. "The flag is the embodiment of the nation and our culture. It is the symbol that brings us together. To have a civic function in which it is absent is beyond me," he added.
Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Noel Donaldson; Member of Parliament for North West St. James, Dr. Horace Chang; and President of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Pauline Reid, were among the civic leaders in attendance.
Miss Reid told The Gleaner that she questioned why the flag was not there and that the rationale she was given was inexcusable.
Lack of leadership
"I was informed that the person who usually organises the event fell ill, but there should have been no excuse, this was a national event," she said.
Comparing the second city's ceremony to what took place in Kingston, the Chamber president said the interest that was put into the capital city has shown up the lack of quality leadership in Montego Bay.
"Leadership in Montego Bay leaves much to be desired; we are not standing up for our fair share," she stated.
Apart from the absence of the flag, the stage where the Independence Day concert was being held reportedly collapsed during a performance by the Trelawny Song and Dance Group later that night.
Efforts to reach Councillor Barry Solomon, chairman of the Parish Council's Civic and Community Affairs Committee, who was charged with responsibility for the ceremony, proved futile.
