A senior member of the clergy is calling for an end to the social ills plaguing Jamaica if the country is to move forward.

Bishop Conrad Pitkin – who delivered the keynote address at the National Leadership Prayer Breakfast in Kingston on Thursday (Jan 16) – said Jamaica can position itself as a leading country in the region if this is done.

Pitkin singled out

corruption and other forms of crime as societal ills that have been preventing

the country from realising its full potential.

“Corruption and

crime are twin brothers destroying our nation and stifling the economic welfare

and well-being. We have to address these challenges and overcome them if we are

to achieve our 2030 national goals of empowerment, social security economic

prosperity and the health and well-being of all Jamaicans,” Pitkin said.

“Only then, Jamaica will be a place of choice to live, to work, to raise families and to do business,” he said to applause from attendants, including Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

Corruption and various other forms of crimes—including murder—have been a recurring problem for various administrations which have struggled to arrest the issue.

A number of Jamaicans don’t believe that politicians have done enough to effectively battle corruption and fight crime. Various corruption scandals over the years involving both Jamaica Labour Party and the People’s National members only serve to bolster the assumption that politicians do not have the will to battle corruption.