As a pragmatist I am not one to celebrate announcements, I’ve inclined to asses hard evidence of action. It is with that mindset that I am reluctant to take comfort in the words of minister of national security Robert Montague in his address to the parlaiment that the Government “will not shirk” in the war against lawlessness.
“Let me be very clear, this minister and the ministry he leads are not afraid of the forces of lawlessness and the criminal kingpins in this country,” Montague told the House of Representatives in his presentation in the current Sectoral Debate. “We will not shirk in this war against those who would challenge the authority of the State and bring untold terror to the people. We have a duty to protect all citizens of this country and every visitor or investor who steps on our shores,”
This is not the extent of Minister Montague’s statements but I will abstain from dwelling in, or elevating blah blah .…
What I find interesting is that as crime and violence increases the Political opposition is deafeningly silent.
Do I understand the potential mileage that the opposition can leverage if the administration fails in this or any other area?
Of course!
Yet I am appalled that politics could trump a cohesive coming together of both political parties on this critical issue. I believe both Laborites and Comrades are dying, on that alone I question at what stage will the leader of the political opposition or anyone on that side of the isle speak out against the pervasive crime and violence which is tearing the Island apart.
After going through the blah blah blah pronouncements the minister made I found something with which I could associate myself .
The Government will seek to have all gun murders classified as capital murder, but will reduce or eliminate sentences in cases where plea bargaining leads to credible information to retrieve guns or disrupt the trade in the weapon. He said that the Government will be purchasing tracking dogs from Cuba to help in the search for drugs and weapons, and increased technology will be used in all aspects of policing; a national CCTV system is coming; more non-lethal weapons will be deployed;”
(1) This Government understands the situation; we acknowledge the critical role of security to the growth agenda, and we know the fear of our people. We cannot continue this way,”.
(2) While there is no “magic wand, quick fix, or silver bullet”, the nation has to join hand in hand, “united and committed” to take back the country from criminals.
(3) “Our overseas brothers and sisters are thinking twice before they come home”.
(4)The country did not get to this state overnight, and the solution will not be overnight.
(5) We cannot bury our heads in the sand.
(6) Crime accounts for seven per cent of Jamaica’s gross domestic product, he said: “If we reduce crime we can grow the economy without investing an extra dollar. Crime not only affects everybody, it’s very costly to everyone.”
(7) Mandatory minimum sentences for gun crimes, trafficking and possession, based on the type of weapon involved.
This medium and this humble blogger has consistently made these points for years. Unfortunately my calls have fallen on the willful deaf ears of the past administration.
Thankfully this administration has allowed itself the common sense to listen to voices which are not only coming from the political talking heads on the Island or the self-aggrandizing elites who wishes to impose their ill-informed way of thinking on an entire nation.
With that said, recognizing these points we have raised here this medium will now expect concrete and substantive action in making them a reality.….
We will now await both the howls of condemnation on these critical pointers, as well as the diarrhea of objections from the Monday morning quarterbacks and the village lawyers.