THE EDITOR, Sir:

Professor Trevor Monroe and others are recommending that political parties be funded by the state. They also claim that this would lead to transparency and the reduction of contributions from questionable sources.

I strenuously object to the Government once again dipping into my shallow pockets for this purpose, primarily because I ask myself, "How will we benefit from this?" Our politics, as practised at present, relies heavily on large pockets of ignorance and buffoonery for its success and survival. There are students in tertiary institutions who have never heard of the Trafigura matter. One spin on that issue which is gaining widespread acceptance is '... Dem jus doa like Portia 'cause she poor and black ...'

Disturbing discrepancies

Most of us are still unable to make the connection between governance and the condition of our lives. No one tries to give a clear, credible 'how and when' blueprint of plans and programmes to move the country forward and invite debate on these proposals. I have studied attractively-packaged manifestos presented over the past 20 years and compared their pronouncements with today's realities. The discrepancies are disturbing.

And what would this funding be used to do? If what has gone on in the past is anything to go by, thousands of persons will be given money, clothes and transportation to travel from all over the island to attend what usually turns out to be expensive orgies of food and liquor consumption.

I try to envisage legislation to prevent financing from questionable sources. The loopholes are myriad. What, for example, is to prevent someone from providing an invoice to supply 100,000 T-shirts to his favourite party and failing to collect? Or the owner of a bus company to decide to park his comfortable car and drive one of his buses to party meetings and pick up a few friends and their friends along the way.

All the countries I know which offer this type of financing have growth rates consistently exceeding five per cent with good roads, health care and education. Quite apart from the fact that we can't afford it, there is nothing going on now that it will prevent.

I am, etc.,

GLENN TUCKER

Stony Hill

Kingston 9