Dear Editor,

Between the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC) and the National Works Agency lies responsibility for clearing the Corporate Area gullies. Quite frankly, I do not care who is charged with the work. I just want them to do it, and do it fast. They are more than an eyesore, they are a source of health and hygiene problems. There are rats and other vermin running unchecked. Why does the city have to have these as constant features? Is it because the Government, at all levels, has failed? The proximate cause, as with many things in Jamaica, is likely to be “lack of funds”. That’s what I have read in a series of articles stretching over the past 15 years.

When heavy rains come, of course, we get excessive flooding in Kingston. I suspect that, like the recent floods in rural areas like St Mary, we’ll hear a lot of foot-shuffling as the finger of blame searches for a target. In the city, we get the additional bonus of seeing lots of debris floating down the streets as it searches for the quickest route to the sea. Yes, it will go there and cause another environmental problem, but let’s leave the salubrity of the harbour out of it for the moment.

KSAC has been pursuing other issues with great vigour in recent times, notably, clearing the sidewalks of illegal vendors. However, I have clearly missed the similarly vigorous campaign to clear gullies. I wonder if the vision that KSAC has is for these to be the basis of a bizarre perverse form of tourism-based environmental degradation. Brand Jamaica has many features, not all of them sweet-smelling and beautiful, but all are part of the lasting image people have of this country. But, maybe, we have a new form of eco-tourism waiting to blossom. I wonder how many visitors from the USA, Canada, Great Britain, or Germany would pay top dollar to take a tour of the gullies of Kingston.

Of course, the truly entrepreneurial people would see the enormous potential in this new venture. We could have tours of garbage dumps, official and unofficial. But, all of that is for the future. I do not love the visual art that is their array of food boxes, plastic bags, used diapers, rotting fruit and vegetables, tree cuttings, old fridges and washing machines, car parts, and a few persons who have not figured out better accommodation. The goats have given up on trying to cope with the flow of rubbish being piled into the gullies. That tells you something.

When Royals visit Kingston next month I hope that they are taken on a tour of some of these sights of the city. Prince Edward would be thrilled. Let him see all that we have to offer.

Dennis Jones

Economist

dennisgjones@gmail.com