I feel ashamed of the actions of our leader and prime minister. I am a born Jamaican, free and proud, and it is well known that Jamaicans are leaders, fearless and passionately driven. We take on all challenges and like Bob Marley and Usain Bolt we aspire to be the best.
The Trinidadians have never forgiven us for Federation. We may have taken the wrong decision then and it has certainly come back to haunt us - Eric Williams' words "one from 10 is zero" reverberates through history and their national anger has never subsided.
It is bad enough that they were able to cheaply buy our major insurance company and our indigenous cement factory, and they have never missed the opportunity to snub their noses at our national financial incompetence.
Our erstwhile prime minister has not learnt his trade well. Edward Seaga perhaps kept him as his deputy too long, meant to follow and not to lead. For how could he not know "Prime ministers don't negotiate with civil servants" or to put it in Jamaican parlance, "man a man and bwoi a bwoi".
National disgrace
It is to our national disgrace that he returned from Trinidad empty-handed after trying to sell Air Jamaica, waving like Chamberlain returning from Munich and Hitler "an agreement is at hand". History will judge him harshly.
For how would you rationalise the man presiding over the largest Cabinet in history, his deputy prime minister a postgraduate medical intellectual, and the Government served by vast multimillion-dollar-per-month con-sultants, could not find one person to represent us in Trinidad but himself?
How do you rationalise that those civil servants there did not sign any agreement until their leader and prime minister returned, while our hapless Mr Golding is made to subjugate himself.
This is the last straw! Someone needs to tell Mr Golding that heads of government negotiate with heads of government. Someone needs to tell Mr Golding that he represents us and our country wherever he goes; someone needs to tell Mr Golding that he has cheapened us.
I am, etc.,
JEPHTHAH FORD
jephthahford@hotmail.com
Kingston 19