Now that the barriers have been broken down in West Kingston, it is plain to see what we have long suspected, that the vast majority of people there have been enjoying the great life without having ever to pay a cent for light or water and just a "smalls" for cable. Who do you think has been picking up the bills? We of course, for as Peter Phillips boasted some years ago while he was part of the cabinet running this country, if you play by the rules in this country, you shall surely be shafted.
Also, the government is planning to rehabilitate the homes damaged during the recent incursion. The million dollar question however is, who owns these homes? Have the residents every paid a cent to live in them? For most the houses in garrisons were built by successive governments and given free of cost to the supporters of whoever happened to be in power at the time. As a result, very few if any have ever made any contribution to the purchase or rental of these premises.....while the rest of us pay through our noses to subsidise their lifestyles and that of their dons.
This is not only prevalent in west Kingston but in the other eleven garrisons, nine of which are operated by the opposition party. This is now an opportune time for every single citizen in this country to be required to start contributing to their upkeep, unless they are destitute. We cannot continue this system where despicable politicians sit in Parliament looking holier than thou when the only work they have every done to become a legislator there is to ensure that the dons who control the garrisons remain strong , untouchable and capable of keeping free loaders happy so that they in return can carry on their bandoolo including stuffing ballot boxes on election day.
A full twenty percent of our so called legislators have no moral authority to be in the parliament. We all know who they are and it is about time we stop the hypocrisy of treating them as honourable until they clean up their act.
What a life indeed! However I totally understand why the State would now be seeking to rehabilitate Tivoli. Its the Prime Minister's constitutency and he is obviously not very popular down there right now. So in an effort to pander to their whims and placate their anger and sense of betrayal the party in power is pulling out all stops to try and seek favour with the community. I am hearing all sorts of damned rubbish going on from free hamburgers being distributed, free weekends at North Coast Hotels being given away and up to scheduled visits from some cartoon characters for the children. Take about rewarding people for bad behaviour. However the real irony is the infrastructure contracts and the make work initiatives that will be pursued. They are going to be community based. Hence I do suspect that they will be given to the usual suspects or their satellites and at the end of the day the garrison and the attendant criminal enterprise will be even stronger and the role of the don (new or old) will be even more entrenched. I suppose I should take heart from the fact that nothing in Jamaica really changes. I guarantee you this, persons in Tivoli and other garrison pockets will continue to live rent free, pay no utility bills, continue to profiteer off extortion while the politician in trying to remain relevant in an ever deepening drug empire will continue to ply those in control with huge State contracts. However if our utility bills are past due by a week the service is disconnected. For most of us law abiding citizens our mortgage insurance is higher than the mortgage and for those who own their homes they opt for self insurance as they can't afford the premiums and nowadays if you don't or can't pay the property tax the Govt wants to seize your property and sell it as long as you dont live in a garrison. Because if you own a piece of land in or near a garrison the same Govt is going to pressure you to give it to the squatters that are likely to overtake it and you have no realistic recourse. So in Jamaica if you abide by the law, your life become an embodiment of the phrase "hardships there are" but if you live in a garrison you live free and are rewarded. Can you imagine all these people running air conditioning 24 hours per day (for some it is now a requirement to facilitate the maintenance of the bleached skin) for free while for those of us who actually pay for the service we have to settle for an electric fan if we are lucky. The hypocrisy in this country is just stunning!
ReplyDeletecouldn't agree more.
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