THE EDITOR: The following is my year in review for 2024:
National security: A mess:
Crime: Out of control
Police: Lacking over 900 vehicles (40 per cent of 2,240); refusal to wear body cams, needs senior officers at the top.
Coast Guard: No vessels.
Air Guard: No craft, but personnel include an air vice-marshal, captain, squadron leader.
Radar: Is it functional or manned?
Fire: Lacking one fire appliance per fire station. Some units are TB and TC registration series; all are more than five years old
Army, Coast Guard, Air Guard: What can I say? Maybe appoint members as SRPs (special reserve police).
Finance: Missing billions; lack of accounting and auditing.
Health: Poorly organised and non-progressive; too many dinosaurs in the Ministry of Health and RHAs.
Agriculture: No policies for development; arable land being used for housing.
Education: The continued high failure rate in English and mathematics (arithmetic) is not being addressed at primary and secondary levels; failure to develop the non-academic curriculum developed since the 70s.
Attorney General: Too many errors and issues, legal and non-legal.
Rural Development and Local Government: Illegal and unplanned development leading to (extensive) flooding; roads are poorly maintained and constructed.
Sport: Lack of facilities; poor maintenance; lack of oversight, governance, development of national governing bodies.
Tourism: No international promotion; local sites not developed.
Public utilities: Water remains an issue with once-a-week-supply not guaranteed.
PHILIP AYOUNG-CHEE
via e-mail
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