The recent initiative by the Portmore Municipal Council to demolish stalls adjoining school property in Portmore, which was highlighted in The Gleaner on November 6, is in my view, unfair, unjust and an unbalanced approach to deal with the problem which the council says was its objective.

The council expressed that it was destroying these stalls in an attempt to curb the problem of illegal activities which were being facilitated by the actions of vendors. The report quoted Superintendent Marlon Nesbeth, who is head of the St Catherine South Division, saying that some vendors were involved in the illegal activities. The inference drawn is that not all the vendors were involved, and certainly in most instances, if we are to follow the trend, a small percentage are usually the culprits.

It is, therefore, common sense that the miscreants can easily be identified either by utilising overt or covert means to apprehend them.

Participation critical

Surely, the vendors, the majority of whom are either displaced workers or elderly persons, trying to make ends meet, would not want to jeopardise their livelihood indulging in such risky ventures. Therefore, their participation would be critical in dealing with this problem, but it seems that this is not the priority of the council, getting rid of all the vendors, good suffering for the minuscule bad, is the solution.

It is not my intention to trivialise the issue, as any threat to our children should not be taken lightly. Nor will I condone any act to promote violence in our schools, such as the recent sale of badges with prominent DJs being sold near schools, which was also highlighted in The Gleaner. But in a democratic society as ours, a broad-brush approach in dealing with an issue as crucial as this has no merit; instead, I would suggest that careful, constructive thinking and a pragmatic approach to resolving the issue, taking into consideration all the parties involved, should be pursued.

I am, etc.,

ERROL McLeish

ermarlii16@hotmail.com

Daytona, Greater Portmore

St Catherine