My thoughts on…preparations for the ICC Cricket World Cup

March 2nd 2007 -

The ICC World Cup is little over a week away. Preparations are almost complete for the greatest sporting event to ever hit the Caribbean. Though we are only going to host the opening portion, a few warm up matches and the semi-finals, the Jamaican government is taking this thing very seriously, something they very rarely do. They’ve left nothing to chance. They’ve got police to guard the patrons, bought new police cars, gotten new amubulances, fixed broken-down schools and roads around the venue, cleaned up beaches and drains, constructed stop signs, put commercials on radio and TV promoting national pride and Jamaican values, a clever way to say, “Leave a good impression on the foreign people.” I’ve got one thing to ask them. WHY DIDN’T YOU DO THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE?

I think this is good and all, but that’s what I hate about the Jamaican government (among other things), the fact that they only maintain the nation’s resources and infrastructure when the world is watching. It sickens me. Your own have been asking for these things for years, waiting for sometimes decades for you to do something about it. But when the foreigners come, “Oh, we don’t want Jamaica to look like the broke down, hopeless, poverty-stricken wasteland that our people, thanks to our negligence, view it as. Let’s spruce it up for the white folks. And when they leave, we can let it run down and get back to the business of betraying our people’s trust in us.”

I mean, where did all of this money come from? When teachers, policemen and other civil servants ask for raises, the Government gives them single digit ones. And that’s when they’re feeling generous. Most times they get nothing. When education, health and other sectors need money, the answer most often is, “There’s no money left in the budget.” Yet now they can find the money to build an elaborate, 25,000 seater stadium and lots more. I think this Government acts more like a corporation, because they only invest in the country when there is money to be made. No wonder there is constant talk of corruption, mostly involving shady deals with contractors and others in the private sector.

I have seen the changes myself. I live next to a main road, and midweek (Wednesday I think it was), I got up to go to school and lo and behold, the road had the white lines repainted. All finished overnight. Just like that. I had no idea the National Works Agency was capable of such competence. I guess I’d better quit being angry at the Government and thank the organizers of the Cricket World Cup for choosing Jamaica, else none of this would’ve been done.

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5 Responses on “My thoughts on…preparations for the ICC Cricket World Cup”

Stunner Says:
March 3rd, 2007 at 8:30 pm
I totally agree with you on this Leon.

I think this money would have been better spent on education and inproving the health sector.

It seems so similar to some “ghetto” people: complaining that they don’t have any money to buy food nor to send their children to school, but yet still they are sporting brand-name clothes and excessive jewelery. Such is the government of Jamaica.
Crankyputz Says:
March 4th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
Amazing what they can do when they think they are going to make some money……
Mad Bull Says:
March 5th, 2007 at 9:32 pm
Oh well… these things happen everywhere! Its just that we are in such desperate circumstances normally that the difference is much more striking for us.
Abeni Says:
March 7th, 2007 at 9:49 pm
Way too much money being spent..I gonna put up a post soon on this
Åñèè§å Says:
March 7th, 2007 at 10:04 pm
yeah I think most caribbean counrties are like that…..mine is……I’m from trinidad…..they hosting the ICC as well….and well they went so far as to shut down ALOT of roads…I’m talkin about roads where there are business places for this whole event….ppl can’t come to work with their cars can’t park their cars on the street….they provide a shuttle and I hear pppl have to pay to use it….ppl who work in that area now have to pay extra money just cause they decided to have ICC here and shut down the roads….also ppl who live in places that are 15mins drive away now have to take another route which is longer due to all the traffic that has been sent there cause they blocked the roads…..as well as on that whole white ppl coming here- for us is carnival they’ll pave the roads where the bands pass and thats it lol i wonder if we would have been better off the england still running T and T instead of who is in parliment now….n e ways I just know where ur coming from…..