There is still a ray of hope, despite the numerous difficulties being experienced in Jamaica today.
This is the view of John Issa, chairman of SuperClubs, as he delivered this year’s speech at the Eighth Annual Bustamante Lecture at the Courtleigh Hotel, Tuesday night.
“I maintain that these times of difficulties are also times of hope, because the new world order will force us to be self-dependent,” he said. “Realization that there is no godfather standing by to save us when we try to destroy ourselves, we will now acknowledge that we have to work together for the good of all for a better future.”
Joe Issa, speaking on his father’s behalf on the topic “The Legacy of the Cousins – Betrayed”, Mr. Issa said: “We accepted responsibility for our financial affairs, taking over a situation where after more than 300 years of British rule, we relieved them of a responsibility of providing schools even though they left us with a grossly inadequate school system.”
He also said they left Jamaica with towns as important as Mandeville without piped water. “Yet we believed that we had won our Independence and went through a celebration so charged with happiness, hopes and dreams. We now have to question whether we were ever independent.
“We could take decisions with respect to our own internal affairs but in reality we were interdependent, not independent.”
According to Mr. Issa, at the time almost all of the local financial institutions, including banks and insurance companies, were owned and directed from overseas.
Source: The Gleaner
