Dear Editor,

The government and the society as a whole must be reminded that Jamaica is a very small, poor, third-world country which is heavily in debt. Therefore, I must agree that the £1 million spent in London on promoting Jamaica during the recent Olympics could have been better spent.

First, all the Jamaican officials who wished to see the Olympic Games live and the country's performance and could afford it, should have paid their way or watched it at home on television like the rest of the population. No amount of paid advertisement on CNN or on any other network could provide the public relations, marketing or exposure that the athletes provided, and which should benefit immensely the tourism sector and the country as a whole.

The £1 million should have been invested carefully in agriculture, for example, to help create jobs and produce crops to revitalise, stimulate and directly benefit the country's economy.

On another matter,, why did the limit for cars for ministries increase? Where is the oversight or accountability? Besides, why have some policemen been given gas-guzzling SUVs to drive around in? In London, do you see their police officers driving around in SUVs? Yet we see our government running to the IMF asking for more loans. Why couldn't the government of the day negotiate with the car companies to provide a fleet of hybrid cars for distribution to the various ministries and the police?

In conclusion, why couldn't the Jamaica 50 celebrations have been more moderate and less expensive? To fully understand my argument, you have to visit any section of the inner cities in the Corporate Area and you would witness first-hand the abject poverty in this country - people with no jobs, no hope and certainly no future.

Noel Mitchell

nlmworld@yahoo.com