Prioritise national security

THE EDITOR, Sir:

IAGREE 200 per cent with Ronald Thwaites’ assertions in his column of Monday, October 22, 2018, titled ‘Wrong thinking, wrong spending’.

For many years, Gordon Robinson, among other concerned citizens, has been saying the same thing. Murders are still committed in areas where the police and army are operating. It would seem that there is intelligence about many criminal gangs. How many gang members have been arrested in these zones of special operations?

When the prime minister does not respond to a question from Mr Thwaites in person, it is a glaring display of arrogance, ignorance and rudeness. Is it any wonder the masses, who are often uneducated and unlearned, behave in such a crass manner?

DISGRACEFUL DISCOURSE

When the prime minister and the leader of the Opposition, Dr Peter Phillips, can cuss each other in Parliament or any public space, it is disgraceful, infantile and does not augur well for the future of the country. Are we building a nation or are we building a hut? Like children, the citizens not only hear what is said but they pay more attention to the examples that are demonstrated.

National security is not a PNP or JLP matter. It is a national matter that needs long-term solutions. Ignoring the causes of the cancer while treating the symptoms will only allow the disease to take over the entire body.

Has anyone done research into the growth of security firms in Jamaica over the past 40 years? That would certainly paint a clearer picture of the need for national security to be prioritised.