Dear Editor,

I am worried that this year Jamaicans will be asked to make sacrifices that will not benefit them in the long run. I have noticed that since Mr Bruce Golding became prime minister of Jamaica, his utterances and actions tend to create false hope. It seems as if had the IMF not made any stringent demands, he would just continue to crawl along. Why? Is it to save his political skin? What Mr Golding apparently wants is to win the next election P J style.

Mr Golding got an economy that was steeply fashioned in politics instead of prudent and intelligent considerations, and unfortunately he has not recognised this. Decisions that he should have made a year and a half ago are yet to be made.

The country is crying out for good leadership; to date we don’t know where we are, or where we are going. Every six months we hear that we are doing great and that we won’t suffer this or that, then for the next six months we hear the complete opposite. This has happened several times and is a case of extreme incompetence. Although I voted for Mr Golding, I have no confidence in him and what he has done so far.

When Mr Golding fired Mr Latibeaudiere, I thought it was because of the governor’s policies: high interest rates, high inflation rate, and high debt rate, which prevailed for so many years. I was very disappointed to learn that it was a simple matter of salary. In essence, we could be subjected to a more incompetent person, notwithstanding a reduced salary package.

Since Mr Golding came into office, very few public sector workers have lost their jobs. We have been told that the public sector wage bill has increased — even before the police, teachers and nurses were given their salary adjustments. How did this happen? If prudence was exercised earlier, we would not be under so much pressure from the IMF.

Mr Golding acted timidly over the last two years, and I believe he will continue to be so throughout the rest of his tenure. I have stopped wishing that he will finally take charge.

It’s so sad that the People’s National Party (PNP) was allowed to lead this country for 18 consecutive years, and that after two years they are so proud of their ‘achievements’ that they are crying tears over poor people under a two-year-old government. The PNP should be ashamed of themselves. Is it because the poor are high in numbers why they are seen as expendable? Shame on the PNP, and also the JLP. Poor us.

John Blake

johnny.blake45@yahoo.com