Omar lacks credibility

As Omar Davies began a vigorous critique of the Government's Budget plans, I found his words having no impact on me whatsoever, no matter how sensible they may have been. The fact is that having sat in the position of minister of finance for 14 years and, by all important indicators, falling short, he simply has no credibility with me and I am sure many other Jamaicans.

The People's National Party should do itself a favour and quickly find others to act as spokesmen who were not integral to their mediocre four-term performance. Some of us are willing to listen to the party. We simply are not willing to listen to a bunch of ex-ministers, who failed to do the job, criticising the other party for poor performance.

It smacks of hypocrisy and minimises the impact of their words.

- Nimal Amitirigala

amitirig@gmail.com

Unwelcome practice

The telephone companies have adopted a recent practice which I find unwelcome and unnecessary. This is their ill-advised policy of calling customers at inconvenient times to pass on information which has already been fully publicised via the media.

Having entered into a contract with a phone company does not give it the right to be a nuisance. I wish telephone companies would find other ways to communicate with customers without having them answer a ringing phone to hear a message.

- E. Gyles

gylese@hotmail.com

The significance of life

The dilemma of our Jamaican experience is that those wreaking murder, mayhem and havoc in our society are seeking a recognition and significance that they would otherwise not have attained.

Man desperately needs to find meaning to his life and to be convinced of his significance on planet Earth and the importance of making his contribution to it. Unless he can find significance and value to his birth and life - an answer to 'Why am I here?' - the conclusion can easily be reached that he may have been better off not being born.

The challenge of our leaders, teachers, politicians, movers, shakers, nation builders, and even for ourselves as parents, counsellors and caring citizens in our localised communities and towns, is to give our youth meaning and significance for their lives. We can do this by engaging them at all levels, ages and stages, by taking the time to explain their own role and significance in the whole scheme of things.

The charge is for us individually and corporately to take the time to 'treat de yout' right' - to reason with them, listen to them and constructively engage them in productive, community-based, problem-solving endeavours that will stimulate their creativity and ingenuity, which will in turn be of long-term value, gain and benefit to this country.

- Lloyd Maxwell

ellmax7@yahoo.com