Dear Editor,

In this our 50th year of Independence, I am deeply saddened to know that something as simple as a song could bring about so much controversy. The problem over the song has been taking up a lot of air time while there is so much work to be done. I am not suggesting that the song is of no importance, but rather that it is an issue that should have been dealt with already - not so close to the actual month of our celebration.

The previous administration had a theme song which was scrapped, apparently because there is a new administration. If this is so, it is unfortunate as it is a Jamaican celebration and not a political one.

This incident drives me to suggest that our constitution should mandate that certain projects cannot be undertaken late in a party's administration - that is, leading up to an election - unless the party is sure they can see to its completion. This should only be allowed to happen in a case of extreme necessity (like after a natural disaster). Too often, we see cases where one administration starts a project just before an election - as if to gain political points - loses the election and with it the chance to see the project through. Very often, what follows is either a sudden halt to the project, or an unnecessary investigation and changes to the project. Whenever this happens, we the people lose precious money and time.

Imagine, even in this case, how much money and time we could have saved if the JLP, which initially started the planning for our celebration, was seeing to its completion.

Patricia Clarke

Claremont, St Ann

nardia.dixon@yahoo.com