The Editor, Sir:

It seems to me that Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller made an unforgivable blunder in her presentation at the 68th PNP conference. It could have been over-exuberance; it could have been a clear lack of understanding of the pertinent issue, but her unfortunate statements about the level of hotel development in Jamaica forces me to wonder about whether or not the goodly PM really has her eye on the ball. Does she truly understand the intricacies of sustainable development?

It was under her watch as Minister of Tourism that we first learnt about the Government's Ten-Year Master Plan for Sustainable Tourism Develop-ment, but it seems to me that she clearly had very little to do with the shaping of the document, since she is failing miserably to link the obvious concerns raised by communities and environmentalists regarding this issue.

Perhaps it would have augured well for the PM to have read The Sunday Gleaner's opinion piece presented by Garth Manning, 'Tourism and Development - Red Flags being Ignored' before taking the podium Sunday afternoon and unleashing that unfortunate position in her speech. Her scant and disdainful reproach of those who are raising concerns about the issue is not to be taken lightly - certainly not by those who claim to be staunch supporters of a woman with vision.

Isn't it ironic that one issue can so swiftly change one's opinion of what was, for the most part, a riveting speech? Minus this issue, I think the Prime Minister was well on her way to being graded an eight out of 10 for her presentation. At the end of it, she's down to a mere five points in my lowly estimation.

I am, etc.,

J.N. FRANCIS

10 Calypso Crescent

Kingston