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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><SPAN class=TopStory>Burchell Whiteman, our man in London</SPAN>
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Friday, December 01, 2006
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<P class=StoryText align=justify>We are not always happy about the choice of persons to sit in our embassies or high commissions overseas. To be frank, we don't often understand the thinking behind some of those choices, as many are not self-evident.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Happily, the appointment of Mr Burchell Whiteman as our new high commissioner to London leaves us in no doubt.
Mr Whiteman's personality is highly suited to that of an ambassador who must be measured, knowledgeable, articulate and truly representative of a country and not a party.<P class=StoryText align=justify>During his tenure as minister of education, and later as minister of information, we found him to be a courteous man and an honest-to-goodness deep-down decent human being.<P class=StoryText align=justify>When he stepped away from representational politics, ahead of the last general elections, from a St Ann seat - under the pressure of the cut and thrust of the political contest for the constituency - we were not at all surprised.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Mr Whiteman's mild-manneredness and his lack of partisan coarseness just never seemed to fit in the political jungle.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Which is not to say that these enviable characteristics are not sorely needed in Jamaican politics. How much we yearn for a kinder, gentler society; and it is people like Mr Whiteman who can lead the way.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Unfortunately, many among us see these characteristics as "too soft" for our rough-and-tumble political arena. Yet, from our assessment, they did not prevent him from serving his party and his country in significant ways, including as general-secretary of his ruling People's National Party (PNP).<P class=StoryText align=justify>Mr Whiteman will also have responsibility for Denmark, Finland, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. We wish him a successful tour of duty, as he carries the Jamaican flag in these European lands.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Tickets for littering? Yes!<P class=StoryText align=justify>We are enthusiastically in support of the National Solid Waste Management Authority's promised crackdown on littering. And, if our readers will allow us a bit of political incorrectness - we Jamaicans are a bit too nasty at times.<P class=StoryText align=justify>How often do we see people spitting from moving vehicles, urinating in public spaces or throwing garbage onto the streets or in gullies, including from uptown communities.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The plan to issue 'garbage tickets' to persons caught littering in public areas should help to reduce these very unhealthy practices, as should the fines which will range from a low of $2,000 to $10,000, depending on the offence. A lunch box tossed out of a car window, for example, will attract a $2,000 fine. So too will flicking a cigarette butt onto the street. For major offences, such as dumping truck loads of waste onto open lots or into gullies, the punishment will be $1 million or imprisonment for a period not exceeding nine months.<P class=StoryText align=justify>We expect that when this comes into effect next February, we are going to hear a lot of objections, similar to what happened in the case of increased traffic fines. Many people prefer to worry about the size of the fines, rather than the need to comply with the road traffic rules. It will be the same for littering.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The authorities, however, should not be deterred. This is an idea whose time has come.
<SPAN class=Subheadline></SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD>
Friday, December 01, 2006
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P class=StoryText align=justify>We are not always happy about the choice of persons to sit in our embassies or high commissions overseas. To be frank, we don't often understand the thinking behind some of those choices, as many are not self-evident.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Happily, the appointment of Mr Burchell Whiteman as our new high commissioner to London leaves us in no doubt.
Mr Whiteman's personality is highly suited to that of an ambassador who must be measured, knowledgeable, articulate and truly representative of a country and not a party.<P class=StoryText align=justify>During his tenure as minister of education, and later as minister of information, we found him to be a courteous man and an honest-to-goodness deep-down decent human being.<P class=StoryText align=justify>When he stepped away from representational politics, ahead of the last general elections, from a St Ann seat - under the pressure of the cut and thrust of the political contest for the constituency - we were not at all surprised.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Mr Whiteman's mild-manneredness and his lack of partisan coarseness just never seemed to fit in the political jungle.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Which is not to say that these enviable characteristics are not sorely needed in Jamaican politics. How much we yearn for a kinder, gentler society; and it is people like Mr Whiteman who can lead the way.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Unfortunately, many among us see these characteristics as "too soft" for our rough-and-tumble political arena. Yet, from our assessment, they did not prevent him from serving his party and his country in significant ways, including as general-secretary of his ruling People's National Party (PNP).<P class=StoryText align=justify>Mr Whiteman will also have responsibility for Denmark, Finland, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. We wish him a successful tour of duty, as he carries the Jamaican flag in these European lands.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Tickets for littering? Yes!<P class=StoryText align=justify>We are enthusiastically in support of the National Solid Waste Management Authority's promised crackdown on littering. And, if our readers will allow us a bit of political incorrectness - we Jamaicans are a bit too nasty at times.<P class=StoryText align=justify>How often do we see people spitting from moving vehicles, urinating in public spaces or throwing garbage onto the streets or in gullies, including from uptown communities.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The plan to issue 'garbage tickets' to persons caught littering in public areas should help to reduce these very unhealthy practices, as should the fines which will range from a low of $2,000 to $10,000, depending on the offence. A lunch box tossed out of a car window, for example, will attract a $2,000 fine. So too will flicking a cigarette butt onto the street. For major offences, such as dumping truck loads of waste onto open lots or into gullies, the punishment will be $1 million or imprisonment for a period not exceeding nine months.<P class=StoryText align=justify>We expect that when this comes into effect next February, we are going to hear a lot of objections, similar to what happened in the case of increased traffic fines. Many people prefer to worry about the size of the fines, rather than the need to comply with the road traffic rules. It will be the same for littering.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The authorities, however, should not be deterred. This is an idea whose time has come.
