Dear Editor,
No one knows where the funds came from all of a sudden to make over the city of Kingston. Regardless, the quick clean-up did not change who we are and shouldn't be considered a facade or a bad thing. Anyone hosting an important guest from overseas goes all out to fix up and clean up their surroundings.
What we saw in Kingston over the past few weeks showed we have the will, management skills, and labour to do things quickly in Jamaica. It is a mindset that we need to encourage. We must strive to maintain this and encourage more of this cleaning up all over the city and country. A clean city will inspire clean healthy living and a better quality of life, greater productivity; even criminals could be deterred. A dirty filthy city inspires nothing but negativity.
Even the removal of homeless people, although seemingly rushed and insensitive, was not as bad as it seems, if the homeless are now provided with shelter, food, and support services which help to keep them off the streets. This is what effective governments do. I am sure the private sector would support a cleaner city also, even if it means part sponsorship.
The crab vendors at Heroes Park, we understand, will be relocated, but wouldn't it be nice if the Government compensated them by erecting a more stable structure with a designated area such as exists in Faith's Pen, where vendors can book cubicles and continue to make a living in a clean, visually appealing space? The vendors themselves are harmless -- what they do is part of who we are, part of our unique culture. All they need is a little help to structure and organise themselves and their activities better.
I, therefore, appeal to the Government and the appropriate ministries and agencies to work together to maintain the recent Kingston clean-up. They should fix more roads routinely and beautify the city. It obviously can be done, and done quickly. Focus on specific areas and gradually spread to other parts of the city until much of the city looks smashing, so that visitors and residents alike can experience a renewed, revitalised Jamrock. Trust me, the effects will be felt immediately!
Plus, a Government that can beautify, even with all the other problems of the country, will be a Government that's remembered and considered functional.
P Chin
chin_p@yahoo.com
Let's maintain city cleaning after Obama's visit
-->
No one knows where the funds came from all of a sudden to make over the city of Kingston. Regardless, the quick clean-up did not change who we are and shouldn't be considered a facade or a bad thing. Anyone hosting an important guest from overseas goes all out to fix up and clean up their surroundings.
What we saw in Kingston over the past few weeks showed we have the will, management skills, and labour to do things quickly in Jamaica. It is a mindset that we need to encourage. We must strive to maintain this and encourage more of this cleaning up all over the city and country. A clean city will inspire clean healthy living and a better quality of life, greater productivity; even criminals could be deterred. A dirty filthy city inspires nothing but negativity.
Even the removal of homeless people, although seemingly rushed and insensitive, was not as bad as it seems, if the homeless are now provided with shelter, food, and support services which help to keep them off the streets. This is what effective governments do. I am sure the private sector would support a cleaner city also, even if it means part sponsorship.
The crab vendors at Heroes Park, we understand, will be relocated, but wouldn't it be nice if the Government compensated them by erecting a more stable structure with a designated area such as exists in Faith's Pen, where vendors can book cubicles and continue to make a living in a clean, visually appealing space? The vendors themselves are harmless -- what they do is part of who we are, part of our unique culture. All they need is a little help to structure and organise themselves and their activities better.
I, therefore, appeal to the Government and the appropriate ministries and agencies to work together to maintain the recent Kingston clean-up. They should fix more roads routinely and beautify the city. It obviously can be done, and done quickly. Focus on specific areas and gradually spread to other parts of the city until much of the city looks smashing, so that visitors and residents alike can experience a renewed, revitalised Jamrock. Trust me, the effects will be felt immediately!
Plus, a Government that can beautify, even with all the other problems of the country, will be a Government that's remembered and considered functional.
P Chin
chin_p@yahoo.com
Let's maintain city cleaning after Obama's visit
-->