Now is the time

THE EDITOR, Sir:

THE DEPARTURE of Christopher Coke from west Kingston, where he reportedly ran a tight shop, will create an ominous void with attendant resentment, which must be filled and quickly.

It is the task of the Government to provide and impose firm, even-handed discipline, but the Government cannot afford the largesse. It therefore falls to civil society, at home and abroad, to provide that benevolence. The entire world echoed with the cries of horror that went up from the Jamaican diaspora over the recent events, that an uneasy calm has returned, we cannot and must not, allow ourselves to slip back into apathy.

As a trial lawyer, who has spent the vast majority of my years at the criminal Bar, I have seen this day coming and called for social intervention in the inner city 10 years ago. Well, Jamaica, that day has come - we are at a defining moment in our history and we ignore this opportunity at our peril. If we wish to preserve our 'island paradise', now is the time for all well-thinking Jamaicans to demonstrate their concern for the less privileged and at the same time restore our economy.

Worldwide fund

In December 2009 I proposed the launch of a worldwide fund geared towards the restoration of the city of Kingston. The plans are already on the drawing board, only awaiting funding. I see where Digicel has set the example, which will prove to be the catalyst. I would therefore invite all Jamaicans everywhere (even the windshield wipers) to donate US$5 or J$500 to a fund directed towards Kingston's restoration, to be collected in the manner perfected by President Obama; but because we are so politically tribalised this fund cannot be managed by any government agency, otherwise only half the population are likely to support same.

The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica is comprised of some of the best financial and business minds in the country - they have demonstrated the authority they can wield by the prime minister's reaction to the outcry they spearheaded recently. They should be persuaded to monitor the selection of a board of trustees (from here and abroad), as well as the collection of the donations, and finally identify and supervise the areas of expenditure.

For my part, I pledge to donate J$100,000, remembering always that unless the young men of our inner city can enjoy the dignity of earning an honest living and thereby provide for their children, we shall only be providing fodder on which future gangs will feed.

I am, etc.,

Howard Hamilton

Kingston