'Contribute to the Save Kingston Fund'

Attorney-at-law Howard Hamilton has appealed to members of the shipping industry to support the Save Kingston Fund, a programme he plans to launch in partnership with members of the private sector.

The fund is aimed at filling the shortfall in the restoration cost for sections of the Coronation Market which was damaged by fire. Sections of the usually bustling market were burnt during the recent unrest in west Kingston. The Government recently announced that the cost to rebuild the market is $1 billion. Digicel Jamaica has already pledged $100 million towards the rebuilding of the market.

Hamilton, who was speaking at the Shipping Association of Jamaica's (SAJ) discussion on the recent security initiatives and the plans to tackle the crime situation, said that he hopes to target every Jamaican both locally and overseas to contribute. The session was chaired by SAJ President Roger Hinds.

Jamaicans living in the diaspora, he said, will each be asked to donate the equivalent of US$5 to the fund, while Jamaicans who reside locally will be asked to donate J$500.

"We need a trustee from the inner city and this is where you can make your contribution," Hamilton told shipping industry members. Already, 27 members of the private sector have been asked to contribute to the fund.

He noted that he plans to employ the same tactics that were used by United States President Barack Obama in his presidential election campaign. "What that will do, is generate a feeling of nationalism just as when the Reggae Boyz qualify or when Usain Bolt electrifies the world," he said.

"If it is done successfully, it will garner all the money that we need. But it is not the garnering of the money that is the important point here, it is the call for national response," Hamilton added.

He was among three guests who addressed shipping industry stakeholders recently. Two members of the security forces - Major Ricardo Blackwood of the Jamaica Defence Force and Karl Angell, director of communications at the Jamaica Constabulary Force - were also in attendance. Both Blackwood and Angell spoke on the efforts to date, of the security forces to rid the country of illegal firearms and criminal activities.