Dear Editor,

Ken Chaplin in his December 29 column announced his selection of Tourism Minister Ed Bartlett as Man of the Year. Let us agree that it is Mr Chaplin’s privilege to do so. From my vantage point, that Jamaican tourism grew and continues to grow may very well be in spite of Minister Bartlett’s sterling leadership, and more so because of the investments made in the industry by the previous administration. In part, Mr Chaplin predicates his view on the fact that this year’s growth in the industry, when measured against competing Caribbean nations, and the backdrop of a worldwide financial meltdown is remarkable and speaks volumes to effective leadership on the part of the minister. He may very well be correct in his assessment.

What concerns me is that the effective leadership to which Mr Chaplin speaks does not extend to the constituent level. Regarding the majority of the people Mr Bartlett was elected to represent, would Mr Chaplin care to ask them about their feeling of discontent, disconnect, under-representation and dismay? First, Mr Bartlett’s main job is to represent the constituents of St James Northeast in the House of Representatives. The tourism ministry, a most important post, is a secondary job.

How could one state the above, given the significant role tourism plays in the sustenance of the nation? Easily! The majority of Minister Bartlett’s constituents are not directly affected by tourism, they are peasant farmers. What affects them most is access to good roads so they can take their produce to market. The Johns Hall Main Road breakaway in Earluck is but one case in point. Where is the minister’s leadership on this? Further up the road, the Black Shop main road bridge, with rails damaged in 1967, remains unrepaired through successive JLP and PNP administrations. Structurally, by all appearances, that bridge seems unsafe for vehicular and human traffic. It is nothing short of miraculous that some unsuspecting child has not fallen into the river. The Black Shop to Latium parochial road is impassable, even to goats. The residents of Larsen Land, Breezy Hill, and Latium Hill have had to abandon houses and properties damaged during Hurricane Gilbert. Today these once-thriving farming communities exist only in the memories of their former inhabitants.

The irony is, when you visit the area today, you see electricity wires on poles with transformers through what is now forest. The late Edgar Watson gave evidence to diligent and effective representation when he fought for and secure rural electrification for these communities which, it appears, denied him the opportunity to become their elected representative to the St James Parish Council and the House of Representatives.

These are but a few examples of benign neglect, but we need not stop there. Examples of ineffectual leadership are littered throughout the length and breadth of the minister’s constituency. Go to Sunderland, Burnt Ground, Latium, Paisley, Adelphi, Zion, Lottery, to name a few, the examples are mind-boggling. With that said, I cannot fathom Mr Chaplin’s endorsement of Minister Bartlett as Man of the Year, or any other person’s. Committed political leadership is what the Jamaican people need – the kind of leadership that strives diligently to make a difference in the well-being of the average citizen. Minister Bartlett, in my humble opinion, does not meet the most rudimentary standard.

George McKenzie

mckenzieg@comcast.net