Dear Sir,

It is so hard not to resort to despair and cynicism when reading some of what comes out of the mouths of our government ministers.

Wayne Furbert talks about the eyesores of the abandoned vehicles and says that after a “crackdown”, the Government is going to fine and ticket the offending owners.

Who is doing to fine the Government for the neglect and abandonment of so many government-owned buildings?

Aren’t they a worse eyesore? Don’t they “diminish the beauty and dignity of our island, and undermine our sense of pride and community”? Aren’t they “a reminder that we have strayed from the path of responsibility and care that once defined us”?

He is calling on the community to “take action and restore the beauty of Bermuda”, as “we have a responsibility to ourselves, to our children and to the generations yet to come to ensure that Bermuda remains the paradise we know and love”.

So, it is everyone’s responsibility other than the Government’s?

When is the Government going to act responsibility and allocate resources to so many once-beautiful buildings that may be soon beyond repair — Montpelier, Government House, the former home of the Director of the Department of Agriculture in the Botanical Gardens (now saved by a private foundation), Camden, and many others too numerous to mention.

Everywhere you go on this island, there are signs of government neglect. But, of course, there is always an excuse and an attempt to allocate blame somewhere else.

How about we spend less on first-class airfares to Dubai and more on our crumbling infrastructure?

Wouldn’t it be nice if the Government practised what it preaches?

ELSPETH WEISBERG

Warwick