The Editor, Sir:

I have read with some amount of amusement, as well as concern, the speed at which the new Prime Minister has been racking up frequent-flyer miles at the expense of the Jamaican taxpayers, so early in his tenure.

I find it amusing because Mr. Golding has readily acknowledged the nightmarish spectre of the national debt which he claims is approaching trillions of dollars; yet, he does not seem to mind adding to it in his zeal to go gallivanting overseas at the expense of the already overburdened taxpayers he claims to empathise with.

He first hopped on a plane to Trinidad and Tobago on September 15, accompanied by two of his ministers. He can be given a pass on this since he was no doubt anxious to meet with his CARICOM/Caribbean counterparts and familiarise himself with matters pertinent to Jamaica.

Now he is off to St. Lucia to attend Sir John Compton's funeral. He could have sent a representative, or better yet, a beautiful message.

Surely, Mr. Golding's time would have been better spent staying home and huddling with his Minister of Finance to help formulate and implement ways and means to get the country back on a sound economic footing.

Let us not forget that, while in Opposition, Mr. Golding never missed an opportunity to criticise former Prime Ministers Patterson and Simpson Miller each time they travelled overseas on official business, going so far as to demand that they pay for their travels.

Mr. Golding is acting like a child let loose in a candy store.

I am, etc;

MARGARET E. LAIDLEY

evaleahlai@yahoo.com

Brooklyn

NY, USA