Give 10 per cent of profits to improve Jazz and Blues venue

Thursday, February 09, 2012

Dear Editor,

I attended the Jazz and Blues festival for the first time since its inception - on the night Celine Dion made her fantastic presentation. I was caught up in the traffic mayhem for three-and-a-half hours and had many feelings of immense disappointment during the three-and-a-half-hour trip from Rose Hall to the venue. Being part of the five-lane, one-way traffic, transformed from a single-lane, two-way highway, I resigned myself to the thought that I had bought a second airline ticket to fly home from the US this year and was just going to miss Celine's performance, the main highlight of this trip. At least, Montego Bay is home to me, and I had other business to conduct before returning to the US. But what of the many visitors, some of whom came from as far away as France?

The scenario of a 20-minute ride taking three-and-a-half hours, inadequate signage, extremely poor infrastructure, absence of parking designation, even in the areas marked for parking, and conspicuous absence of the police to direct traffic, resulted in many having to tread the dangerous gravel road that threatened to injure ankles. I have nothing against gravel roads if I am informed that the presentation of a first-class entertainment would require track shoes for a three-mile walk to the stadium. I feel sorry for those women who attempted the gravel road in their six-inch heels.

On a more serious note, both the organisers of the event and the government agency responsible for the stadium have a responsibility to protect any product in which Jamaica's name becomes intimately involved. Without any consideration, the organisers should give back 10 per cent of their profits to improving the infrastructure, whether or not they intend to promote this event for the same venue in the future. That's what the majority of Christians do without wincing. If you want a product to be sustained through the support of its patrons, then the organisers must consider the well-being of the patrons by investing in their comfort and safety.

The other concern is the lack of transparency that exists within government and its agencies. Unlike most first-world and developing nations who are serious about growing the macro-economy, they already have e-government in place. Developing nations, such as Kenya and others, facilitate access to all government and non-governmental operations, in an effort to provide information and communication in all aspects of government. It is the right of Jamaican citizens, therefore, to expect transparency in the relationship of a government entity with any private organisation. In other words, are any charges being made to private organisations that use the stadium where the Jazz and Blues festival was held? If so, are there plans to use these fees for improving the infrastructure of the venue? Lastly, is it only the taxpayers of Jamaica who are held fiscally responsible for maintaining this structure?

Apollone Reid

pollyreid2001@gmail.com

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Give 10 per cent of profits to improve Jazz and Blues venue