Show Ms Lagarde the ‘bitter medicine’ Ja
Dear Editor,
The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde will be visiting Jamaica from June 27-28. She is here to offer ‘moral support’ for Jamaica’s economic successes while sticking to the programme.
When dignitaries of such high importance visit our country we usually take them on a tour which masks the raw underbelly of our society. Ms Lagarde recently said at an international forum that for countries undergoing recession it will take up to 10 years for them to re-emerge. Her visit, though short, should provide an opportunity to reveal a dose of our reality. Jamaica is not only about sand, sea and sun, it is also about gangs, guns, gays, and ganja. Therefore, while we dine on fancy hors d’ oeuvres and sip Margaux and Romanee Conti, let us spare a thought for those of us who can only afford chicken back and sugar and water.
Let us take Ms Lagarde on a tour of Member of Parliament Luther Buchanan’s Whitehouse to Belmont Road area. Let her see Majesty Gardens, Tivoli Gardens, Greenwich Farm, Arnett Gardens, Riverton Landfill, etc. Let us have a departure from protocol and I can assure you that we will get help for that 381-megawatt power plant and, at last, a waste-to-energy project. If we are lucky she may also implore our creditors to throw in some debt forgiveness.
Please, don’t let her visit be only about “outreach activities” and areas of development, give her a dose of reality, interject some “bitter medicine”. The IMF programme may be succeeding in eliminating fiscal deficit and achieving the primary surplus target, but many of us are failing, no matter how much we sacrifice. Perhaps it is our fault for electing corrupt leaders who only pretend to care.
Mark Clarke
Siloah, St Elizabeth
mark_clarke9@yahoo.com