Dear Editor,
The public consultation meeting on the controversial Negril breakwater project was held on Tuesday, July 29, 2014 at the Negril Community Centre. This meeting was covered by several media entities, including the Governmentrun Jamaica Information Service.
After reading the coverage of this meeting on the JIS website, I felt compelled to respond in an effort to make some corrections.
The two NGOs referred to in the article, Negril Environmental Protection Trust (NEPT) and the Negril Coral Reef Preservation Society (NCRPS), and the persons who spoke on their behalf, have no authority to represent the Negril community. The NGOs have had no annual general meetings in over five years and have no audited accounts. Hence, in the eyes of many, they are no longer legal entities or relevant to environmental issues in Negril. Therefore, stakeholders in the community got together on their own initiative to contest this project.
That the reporter should dwell on what these two had to say, when the majority there were vociferous and obviously against this project, shows the bias in the reporting.
Most unfortunate for us who expect this agency to be professional and report factual and valuable information to “enhance public awareness and increase knowledge of the policies and programmes of the Government of Jamaica” as per its mandate.
Mary Veira
negrilgirl@gmail.com
The public consultation meeting on the controversial Negril breakwater project was held on Tuesday, July 29, 2014 at the Negril Community Centre. This meeting was covered by several media entities, including the Governmentrun Jamaica Information Service.
After reading the coverage of this meeting on the JIS website, I felt compelled to respond in an effort to make some corrections.
The two NGOs referred to in the article, Negril Environmental Protection Trust (NEPT) and the Negril Coral Reef Preservation Society (NCRPS), and the persons who spoke on their behalf, have no authority to represent the Negril community. The NGOs have had no annual general meetings in over five years and have no audited accounts. Hence, in the eyes of many, they are no longer legal entities or relevant to environmental issues in Negril. Therefore, stakeholders in the community got together on their own initiative to contest this project.
That the reporter should dwell on what these two had to say, when the majority there were vociferous and obviously against this project, shows the bias in the reporting.
Most unfortunate for us who expect this agency to be professional and report factual and valuable information to “enhance public awareness and increase knowledge of the policies and programmes of the Government of Jamaica” as per its mandate.
Mary Veira
negrilgirl@gmail.com