Dear Editor,

There was a headline that said Beenie Man has come under flak by Prime Minister Andrew Holness for criticising the management of the disaster relief for St Elizabeth and beach access. Buju Banton came to Beenie Man’s defence, saying that it takes more than waving a flag to be an artiste in response to Holness saying, “It is a lie that was told on Jamaica by someone who benefits from Brand Jamaica, and we must call them out because they go and wave our flag and get people to attend their shows while they are out there tearing down the country. It is not going to help one more person get one more grant, and these things need to be said. Unfortunately, I am the only one willing to say it.”

If I may add to Buju Banton’s defence, it seems as if Holness has forgotten that loyalty to a country does not mean that we can’t criticise the country’s leadership where it falls short. He forgets that everyone who doesn’t point out a valid concern about the country is not an Opposition supporter or someone “unpatriotic”. Rather, if someone unquestionably follows a leader, even if he’s leading a country to ruin, they deserve neither the country nor leadership over it.

The 20th century is full of examples of this it becomes cliché. Last time I checked this is still a democratic country — even though we have two parties in Gordon House elected by 30.41 per cent of eligible voters. We can tell either the prime minister or the Opposition leader when he’s wrong.

Most people in Jamaica have listened to a radio or watched
YouTube and know that the majority of artistes, at some point in their career, from the Marleys to Vybz Kartel, have sung at least one song about what is wrong with Jamaica, and even the global social order. From a long time ago artistes have sung about the injustices happening on this island that touched many of the people listening to it, but they still contribute to Jamaican culture and have stuck with Jamaica. Some even engaged in charity events.

There are legitimate issues with the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA). And, the funds donated to help those impacted by Hurricane Melissa should not go into other projects not related to disaster relief, such as the National Stadium redevelopment, which should be planned out of the budget.

As for the beaches, the commoditisation of beachfront property for profit at the expense of the public is a serious issue. While the Government may say that 21 per cent are public-owned beaches and 17 per cent are free to access, what is to say that will not be drastically reduced by divestments to incoming hotel corporations? However, this is a smaller issue to a wider one that affects the entire tourism industry.

It is also a very peculiar thing to see the prime minister and his wider Administration frequently go into squabbles with artistes in the entertainment industry and then turn around and ask for them to do dub plates during election season.

Marcus White

whitemarc918@gmail.com