Dear Editor,

While watching the local news broadcast recently I was quite disheartened to hear our dear prime minister’s remarks at a political rally about hunger. Surely, I must have heard wrong so I searched online and was able to play back the video clip which confirmed what I had heard.

She stated: “I feel the pain and suffering of my people, I feel it, I know what it is, because I know what it is. Despite the fact that you may look at me and say ‘prime minister can’t be hungry,’ there are days when I go hungry because when I am at work and have no time to eat I forget everything about eating because there is so much work to be done to get it right, and we have to get it right, and this Administration must get it right in the interest of all of you, in the interest of all Jamaicans.”

I have heard it all! How is it that one can compare the hunger someone experiences from choosing to skip a meal to the pain and suffering being endured by those that are hungry because they are not able to afford a meal? There is definitely a grave difference between the two. We need to be hungry for common sense to prevail amongst our leaders and we must hold our leaders accountable for their frivolous remarks.

It is time that our Government and its leaders to face the reality that too many people living in Jamaica are seriously suffering from the harsh economic times. We have to put in place all the measures necessary to ensure that poverty is alleviated and all the best efforts are made to make life better for the average Jamaican.

I will not hesitate to also agree with the remarks of the prime minister that “this Administration must get it right…in the interest of all Jamaicans.”

C P Carby

cp_carby@hotmail.com