Dear Editor,

I am outraged by the Government’s plans for Emancipation and Independence week. That’s putting it lightly.

Why? Because I do not understand how the Government cannot find money for essential things, like assisting the poorly equipped fire department, fixing roads and, of course, salaries for the teachers and police officers, but can find money for trivial stuff like this.

Don’t get me wrong. We ought to remember our struggles for Emancipation and Independence, but expensive galas are not the way to do it, especially when we have so many misplaced priorities. The country is heading downhill. If we do not pull ourselves together, all those struggles will be for nothing.

Jamaicans, I urge you, don’t support these things. Don’t attend these events. Send a message to the Government that they need to get their priorities right. We need to stop majoring in the minors. We have way too many issues at hand. Remember that the Government has spent around $400 million in the past three years on these events, while they cannot pay the salaries of teachers and policemen. There are better ways of spending all that money. And remember, galas are not the only things our taxes are wasted on.

Hal Lewis

mobiusraptor7@gmail.com