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We previously conceded our unease with the Government's plan to move the Jamaica Defence Force's (JDF) headquarters from Up Park Camp in Kingston for some place in St Catherine, where, according to Prime Minister (PM) Golding, 400 acres of land has been allocated to the army.
We must confess that our concern has hardened and is very unlikely to be assuaged in the absence of not only better, but compelling arguments to justify the move. This must include a guarantee of financing for not only the new facility, but the long-term funding of the JDF.
Without these, the Government might as well identify a spade for what it is and concede, even if that may not be the conscious intent, that this policy will only hasten what has hitherto been a slow march to the death of the JDF and its eventual merger with the Jamaica Constabulary Force.
Negative effect
Like others, we, too, have raised the historic value of Up Park where the JDF and its forerunners have resided for over two centuries. We, too, fear the potential negative effect on security in Kingston, the country's capital and often volatile seat of government, if the JDF were to move out, carted off to nether parts, in the circumstances of the army being seriously starved of resources, including transportation.
This brings us back to some of the issues that Mr Golding must therefore address if he is to have any hope of convincing Jamaicans of the efficacy of his plan.
Anyone who has been to Up Park Camp recently will be pained at just how run-down the place has become - like the compound of a once well-to-do family that works hard at keeping up appearances but can't keep the rot and mould from appearing and the neighbours from noticing. The problem is that Jamaican governments just have not had the money to finance the army. And those were the good days without the strictures of the International Monetary Fund.
400-acre facility
Now the Government has to build out a new 400-acre facility which, many argue, could be financed out of the payment for the acquisition of Up Park Camp. Assuming a sale price of, say, $10 million per acre, that would be $2.2 billion.
So the new camp is developed. What happens after that with a broke government? Things that are already difficult for the JDF - and the public is unaware how bad they are because army discipline has up now prevented public complaints - will get worse.
Moreover, Mr Golding, before he prises the JDF out of Up Park Camp, must be forthright about what the administration has in mind for the lands. We must see the full face of his urban renewal plan, for which the army has to make way.
The PM will understand, for instance, if people are a bit cynical about some of the endeavours of governments on this front, including, for instance, what was done on the Bellevue lands at a place now called Manley Meadows. Should the same happen at Up Park Camp many, perhaps including Mr Golding, will be fit to be certified as being mad as hell.
The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.
We must confess that our concern has hardened and is very unlikely to be assuaged in the absence of not only better, but compelling arguments to justify the move. This must include a guarantee of financing for not only the new facility, but the long-term funding of the JDF.
Without these, the Government might as well identify a spade for what it is and concede, even if that may not be the conscious intent, that this policy will only hasten what has hitherto been a slow march to the death of the JDF and its eventual merger with the Jamaica Constabulary Force.
Negative effect
Like others, we, too, have raised the historic value of Up Park where the JDF and its forerunners have resided for over two centuries. We, too, fear the potential negative effect on security in Kingston, the country's capital and often volatile seat of government, if the JDF were to move out, carted off to nether parts, in the circumstances of the army being seriously starved of resources, including transportation.
This brings us back to some of the issues that Mr Golding must therefore address if he is to have any hope of convincing Jamaicans of the efficacy of his plan.
Anyone who has been to Up Park Camp recently will be pained at just how run-down the place has become - like the compound of a once well-to-do family that works hard at keeping up appearances but can't keep the rot and mould from appearing and the neighbours from noticing. The problem is that Jamaican governments just have not had the money to finance the army. And those were the good days without the strictures of the International Monetary Fund.
400-acre facility
Now the Government has to build out a new 400-acre facility which, many argue, could be financed out of the payment for the acquisition of Up Park Camp. Assuming a sale price of, say, $10 million per acre, that would be $2.2 billion.
So the new camp is developed. What happens after that with a broke government? Things that are already difficult for the JDF - and the public is unaware how bad they are because army discipline has up now prevented public complaints - will get worse.
Moreover, Mr Golding, before he prises the JDF out of Up Park Camp, must be forthright about what the administration has in mind for the lands. We must see the full face of his urban renewal plan, for which the army has to make way.
The PM will understand, for instance, if people are a bit cynical about some of the endeavours of governments on this front, including, for instance, what was done on the Bellevue lands at a place now called Manley Meadows. Should the same happen at Up Park Camp many, perhaps including Mr Golding, will be fit to be certified as being mad as hell.
The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.