Honour Edward Seaga by issuing new banknote
Published:Monday | December 28, 2020 | 12:08 AM
THE EDITOR, Madam:
It is high time that Jamaica’s fifth prime minister, the late Most Honourable Edward Phillip George Seaga, be honoured with a Jamaican banknote bearing his image.
This prestigious honour has been bestowed, via Jamaican coins or on Jamaican paper currency, on Jamaica’s first premier, the late Rt Excellent Norman Washington Manley; on the first prime minister of independent Jamaica, the late Rt Excellent Sir Alexander Bustamante; and on Jamaica’s second, third and fourth prime ministers, Donald Sangster, Hugh Lawson Shearer and Michael Manley, respectively.
LONG OVERDUE
Why, then, has the late Edward Seaga not been bestowed with, like his prime ministerial peers, the aforementioned national honour, especially in light of the fact that he led Jamaica through and out of the aftermath of the economic destruction, devastation and despair that took place under Michael Manley’s leadership in the 1970s?
Honouring Seaga, by placing his image on a newly created Jamaican currency, say, a $2,500 bill, is one that is long overdue. In addition to the significant and substantial economic, educational, social, and cultural improvements that took place under Seaga’s watch, he has, to date, been Jamaica’s leading prime minister, in so far as the creation of some of Jamaica’s most important national agencies and institutions are concerned. The Human Employment and Resource Training (HEART) programme, the National Gallery of Jamaica, and the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission all emerged as a result of the visionary, bold and decisive leadership of Edward Seaga.
Please honour this late, great Jamaican national treasure, nation-builder and prime minister extraordinaire, Edward Seaga, with his own Jamaican banknote.
PATRICK GALLIMORE