I read in your newspaper that the National Transformation Programme is calling for a ceasefire for the month of January. I almost fell off my chair while reading the article.

Who will be the parties to this so-called ceasefire? What will happen in February? What will happen when some party decided they no longer want to be part of the set-up?

Further, one group, The Police Officers Association, said they welcomed the initiative. I could have cried when I read this.

Who is in control?

Who is in control of the nation's security? Is it the elected government or the criminal gunmen? From all indication it would seem to be the latter.

It appears to me that the powers that be have abdicated their responsibilities and delegated them to men of the cloth. There is the Rev Al Miller at NTP and the Rev Herro Blair at PMI just to name two.

For far too long we have put the affairs of the nation in the hands of preachers. What do these people do? Pray? We have been trying to pray away Jamaica's problems for the past 25 years and things have only got worse.

We have to tackle the problems head on with practical measures.

There must be clear attempts at apprehending criminals - all criminals, from the person who spits on the street to the most notorious gunmen. There should be a zero tolerance for all crimes in the society.

Social, economic overhaul needed

Second, there must be a comprehensive overhaul of the social and economic infrastructure of the nation. This includes altering obvious inequalities in the society, by providing easy access to funding so that people can start small businesses. This money should be outside the scope of the wealthy. This way a vibrant middle class could be developed.

Part of Jamaica's problem over its recent history has been its private sector. They cry every day for handouts from the government and what do they do in return? They will not employ anybody with certain addresses and will not contribute financially to other endeavours in the nation.

It is also well known that some of their members are involved in high-level crime.

I am, etc.,

CLIVE JACKSON

clive9513@bellsouth.net

Lauderdale Lakes

Florida