OCHO RIOS, ST ANN - Former postmaster general, Dr Blossom O'Meally-Nelson, says most of the financial problems now facing Jamaica and the rest of the world are as a result of human greed and corruption.

OMEALLY-NELSON. we need political leaders who put people above politics

Technological advances, she added, have facilitated the greed and corruption.

According to Omeally-Nelson, if Jamaica's financial crisis and other issues were to be properly addressed, strong and responsible leadership would be required from a wide cross-section of the society.

The former postmaster general was speaking at the St Ann Chamber of Commerce annual awards banquet on Saturday night here.

"We need political leaders who put people above politics, who govern with a greater vision, who serve with a greater purpose, whose character and conduct inspire the confidence of the populace and lead people to focus on what is important and critical in knitting together the fabric of the society and in creating a sustainable economy," said O'Meally-Nelson.

".We need religious leaders who rise above the narrow confines of their interpretation of their faith; we need leaders in education who are not afraid to shatter the vessels that we are now using, vessels which have shown themselves to be inadequate and incapable of meeting the demands of a modern age, and instead to boldly build new paradigms for learning and living," she said.

She said, too, that educational leaders need to understand that the real purpose of schooling is for the transformation of the individual and not statistics to determine how many students pass a particular exam.

O'Meally-Nelson said the country also lacked strong community and business leaders who were willing to help build the nation without seeking to be rewarded.
Leaders, she added, must be principle-centred and willing to work for the good of the whole body.

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