The Editor, Sir:

As a young, budding architect in Jamaica, I found the article about 'Unregistered draughtsmen bad for business' quite entertaining. As a young man seeking registration from the Architecture Registration Board this year, I find it rather disheartening that there is not a level playing field for people submitting drawings to the local parish councils.

It is impossible for a registered architect to charge the same fees as would a draughtsman charging a client. There is usually great disparity with the drawings prepared by non-professionals and that of a professional. The quality of work submitted by a professional is of a much higher standard than that of the non-professional. This is as a result of the training that one would have received before being eligible to be registered.

The majority of the architectural fabric that exist today in Jamaica is disheartening. Architecture is not just about a building and a couple of walls. It is about the quality of life that a well-designed building offers to its occupants and how the building functions adequately to satisfy the needs of our clients. These simple rules of architecture are clearly forgotten by the majority of people designing the fabric of our cities that exist today and that will be our landscape for the future. These are just two of the reasons why it is important for our building to be designed by professionals.

It is clear to me that until the Architectural Registration Act is recognised by the local parish councils, architects in Jamaica will be fighting a losing battle. I am humbly suggesting that until the Architecture Registration Act is enforced, indivi-duals being allowed to submit drawings to our local parish council should all be tax compliant. Each person or firm submitting to the local parish council should have a valid tax compliance certificate in the name of the individual or in the name of the firm doing the submission.

Tax compliant

It is beyond me why firms bidding on Government projects are required to be tax compliant whereas individuals submitting drawings to the parish councils do not have to be. Given that the Government is in dire need of money it would be a wise move on its part to amend the local parish council act to stipulate that all individuals submitting drawings to the local parish council be tax compliant. This is one of the ways of creating a level playing field for all individuals submitting drawings, whether you are a registered architect or draughtsman.

I am, etc.,

CONRAD A. JACKSON

conradjackson2002@yahoo.com