The Editor, Sir:

Let me start by wishing you and all fellow Jamaicans all that's best for the coming year. Life is tough for us all and this is as a result of how high we set our goals, or hang our basket, but let us not lower them, especially when it has to do with the upliftment of our beloved country.

We have so many obstacles in our way, but let us create ladders, swings, bridges and tunnels to get over, under, below and through them.

In addressing crime and violence, which today stands as our greatest challenge, why not change our method from curing and fighting it, to preventing it?

Let us give reward and respect to the hard-working, honest people in our country and stop giving it to those who break the law to satisfy their greed.

Not encourage wrong

Let us arise on the first morning of the coming year and make a commitment that we will no longer encourage the few among us who are confused by giving them protection from the law and rewarding them for their failures with political positions and high offices. Let us for once be willing to say to them that what they are doing is wrong.

I hope our leaders will have visions that they are responsible by offering themselves to be elected by us for our entire well-being.

May they see future happiness for us by going solar, utilising the sun in creating energy for the nation and stop being afraid of what OPEC and the others who have enslaved us in the past may say.

May they see that using our sugar cane to make ethanol will do well in our transport industry. May those who are at home and benefiting from the remittance of those overseas realise that the senders have to work three times as hard doing jobs way below their capability in order to do so, and that they should give back something such as good news, not funerals, but vacations for them to come home to.

We are responsible

May we all remember that we are responsible for the future generation and so we should stop being selfish by destroying our tourist industry by milking our visitors with unreasonable prices for our services and goods.

May our investors realise that they have a responsibility also to stop putting up their prices for large end-of-year profits and making life harder for us. May they realise that it is ideas and talent that bring wealth, not price hiking.

To our churches, may they stand up and stop begging, start investing, create employment, education and hope for the nation.

Faith without work means nothing. Start working in order to attract more people to Christ instead of passing around the collection plate. Remember, you are God's children, you should be leaders and not followers, givers and not beggars.

I am, etc.,

WINSTON MATHISTON

wemathison@yahoo.co.uk

London, U.K.

Via Go-Jamaica