Homer Davis sees peace on horizon amid murder wave
Published:Friday | December 17, 2021 | 12:05 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Despite a runaway islandwide murder count hovering around 1,400 so far, ex-mayor of Montego Bay, Homer Davis, says Jamaicans will soon have a renewed sense of security.
While referencing the failed bid of the Holness administration to extend mid-November states of emergency (SOEs) by an additional three months, Davis said that the fear of COVID-19 is not as intense as anxiety about crime.
“SOE or no SOE, there is a determination by this Government ... there is a focus by this Government, and this Government will bring us back to a state where we can feel comfortable in our homes,” said Davis, while giving the main address at Monday’s St James Municipal Corporation Christmas tree-lighting ceremony in Montego Bay.
Davis, the state minister in the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, said that the security forces were working tirelessly and efficiently in the suppression of violent crime.
Between January 1, 2021, and December 11, Jamaica recorded 1,384 murders, an increase of 127 over the comparative period last year.
“I don’t think we would have reached this stage as a country, and as a parish, if we as citizens ... were adopting some of those good attributes to be smart in our neighbourhood and to communicate in a smart way,” he said.
Referencing the rapid growth and development of Montego Bay over the last 40 years, Davis said stakeholders need to bond and promote peace.
“For too long we carrying a grudge. We who used to cook ital stew, eat from the same pot, and now we are at daggers drawn with each other,” said Davis.
“... I am sure we can get to the place where we would really love to be as a country and as a people.”