Dear Editor,

I recently listened to one of the prime minister’s latest press conferences, which can best be categorised as an angry rant against the Jamaican people and those whom he has labelled “armchair” experts who are questioning him and “distracting” him from his work.

I hasten to remind our prime minister that, as a representative of the people and our chief public servant, responding to questions, concerns,‎ and, in this case, the genuine fear of the Jamaican people, is in large part what he was elected to do. Seeing those tasks as distractions suggests a level of disdain and disrespect for the Jamaican people that I would hate to think Prime Minister Andrew Holness could ever be guilty of.

No amount of ranting and raving will detract from the facts and where we currently stand:

1) After months of sacrifice to “flatten the curve” we are on the verge of opening our borders to one and all with no clear and practical protocols in place to safeguard us Jamaicans or to really mitigate the risks we will be facing.

2) The health minister is telling us to prepare for “exponential growth” in COVID-19 numbers and “community spread”, while the minister of tourism seems oblivious to that reality.

3) Returning Jamaicans will be subject to tracking and home quarantine at least up until June 14, but as of June 15 all visitors will be subject to none of the above. Why?

So that I am not misunderstood, I, for one, am not advocating our borders remain closed. I am so delighted at the tourism sector’s reopening as I recognise how much our economy and country depend on it. That said, the prime minister is yet to articulate why it is that we cannot tell tourists that, upon arrival, there will be non-negotiable protocols in place as the lives of Jamaicans are as important as any tourism dollar they may spend here. Instead of answering that, he chooses to dare question our right and, in fact, our duty, to ask pressing questions of our elected leaders.

At the peak of his tirade, the prime minister seems to chastise us with the admonition of “Get real!”

I now posit to the prime minister that it is he who ought to “get real” and understand that in a true democracy the real power lies with the people. As a proud armchair expert, I will not stop asking questions and holding the prime minister’s feet to the fire. He must never forget that he has been elected to serve and not to rule.

Leroy D

leroy.dixon651@gmail.com