Dear Editor,

Now it is £1 million or $140 million for five of our government ministers and others to attend the London Olympics! Additionally, how many millions was it to "celebrate" our 50th birthday? Sure, celebrate - but to that extent?

Where are the priorities? Surely, the glaring and outstanding needs of Jamaica's education, health, security and infrastructure systems should be considered ahead of "feel good" missions and celebrations.

A case in point is infrastructure. Has the NWA abandoned the six-kilometre section of the Chalky Hill, St Ann, roadway between Golden Grove via Steerfield to Thickets (Trafalgar)? This corridor is the major trucking and passenger transportation roadway between north and south Jamaica. For the past 18 months, the road surface has been in a deplorable and unsafe condition.

Thank God for the Knutsford Express which provided some marl-patching relief in June 2012, but regrettably the marl has now been washed away by the recent rains. Despite the resulting daily delays and the costly damage to heavy transport equipment and passenger vehicles, the pleas for help over months and months go unanswered!

Surely, Finance Minister Phillips and Minister Lisa Hanna, MP for South-East St Ann, would appreciate that the Chalky Hill roadway is typical of the outstanding priorities that exist throughout the country and should take precedence over the amount of government expenditure at Independence and in London.

Robert GF Clarke

Managing Director

Worthy Park Estate Ltd

St Catherine

r.clarke@worthyparkestate.com