EDITORIAL - UTech and Papine

We are pleased that our recent comments on Papine, in east St Andrew, would merit the attention of L. Mark Taylor, the deputy dean of the Faculty of the Built Environment at the University of the Technology (UTech), even if Mr Taylor may have misapprehended our argument.

Indeed, it is of great interest, and value, to know that Mr Taylor's faculty "has on the table proposals for the improvement" of Papine, for the consideration of the Government, the community and local political representatives, including St Andrew Eastern Member of Parliament Andre Hylton and local government councillor for the Papine division, Venesha Phillips.

What is not clear is whether the stakeholders have been brought to the table and are satisfied with, and are partaking of, the fare prepared by Mr Taylor's team.

If they have, our suggestion that Papine's stakeholders look to UTech - and the other tertiary and technical-education institutions in the area - for help in the physical transformation of the town becomes moot.

Indeed, there was neither actual nor implied criticism of UTech by this newspaper. Rather, what we see in UTech is a repository of skills that any perceptive political representative would be easier to engage.

But while Mr Taylor's programme to "elevate the district to that of a university town" - the same thing we proposed - continues to gestate, there remains a simple fact: Papine continues to be a dump.

A town, in proximity to a teaching hospital, two university campuses, a vocational training facility and a premier high school, is strewn with garbage and overrun by vermin. There are sporadic bursts of energy to clean the place, followed by much chest-thumping over the expended energy.

We want the big ideas. We insist upon them.

In the meantime, we can get on with the small things, which are inexpensive to do and don't need the glare of television lights to be accomplished.

These include collecting garbage, cleaning drains and enforcing public-health laws - much of which is in the realm of minimum-wage labour.

The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.