Dear Editor,

I did not find the basket of groceries hoisted by Opposition Leader Mark Golding in Parliament recently funny.

I don’t believe Parliament is the place for props or gimmicks. Parliament is where serious business affecting Jamaicans ought to be discussed, where laws are debated and passed, and where Administrations are held accountable.

Indeed, $10,000 offered by the Government as aid to the unemployed who have been suffering due to the pandemic is almost nothing, but why make a joke about it?

Golding wasted valuable time, I thought, detailing each item purchased with $10,000. I don’t think anyone currently suffering would refuse $10,000, regardless of what it can buy.

I would’ve preferred if Golding had spent more of his time rebuking the Government and providing insight on how a Government under his able leadership would deal with the current challenges and find opportunities to offer more funds in aid at a time when many businesses and Government have seen sharp decline in revenues.

Rather than telling us what is, and how devaluation and rising prices are affecting most Jamaicans, it would’ve been more engaging to hear about Golding’s economic rescue plan. And, more specifically, how he would curb devaluation and rising prices, while telling us how he would fund economic aid to the unemployed. This is what the electorate wants to hear.

Assuming that the role of the Opposition is not to oppose, but to find meaningful solutions and to work in tandem with Government for the betterment of Jamaica, we expect much more from the Opposition than showing up in Parliament with a basket of groceries worth $10,000.

P Chin

chin_p@yahoo.com