Pothole Governance

THE EDITOR, Madame:

As I read the story of Donathon Dillon’s tragic death in the Gleaner on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, caused by a collision with a cow in the civil parish of Westmoreland, I could not help but think about the poem by Portia Nelson, “There’s a Hole in My Sidewalk: The Romance of Self-Discovery.”

The poem’s first two stanzas capture Jamaica’s dysfunctional local and central government systems, which we cannot get right.

I walk down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I fall in.

I am lost. . .I am helpless.

It isn’t my fault.

It takes forever to find a way out.

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I pretend I don’t see it.

I fall in again.

I can’t believe I am in the same place.

But it isn’t my fault.

It still takes me a long time to get out.

We constantly fall into the potholes of poor governance at the local and central government levels. One of many examples is the poor management of stray animals on public roads, which results in road accidents and death in Westmoreland. How about the Riverton City Dump? The following two stanzas of Nelson’s poem reflect the dreams of many Jamaicans that keep eluding us.

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I see it is there.

I still fall in.  It’s a habit.

My eyes are open.

I know where I am.

It is my fault. I get out immediately.

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.

I walk down another street.

When will we have the foresight, courage, and will to “walk down another street”?

Re-read this poem and replace the first-person singular “I” with “We” or “Jamaica.”

Condolences to all the families whose relatives have died because of a collision with stray animals on the public road.