Special Select Committee Working on Project to Remember Sir Howard

The Special Select Committee, which has been mandated to find a suitable means through which the late former Governor General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Howard Cooke, will be recognized and remembered, is hard at work, says Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Lloyd B. Smith.

In an interview with JIS News, Mr. Smith, who is also Member of Parliament for Central St. James, said members of the committee have been meeting with various interest groups in canvassing opinions, aimed at arriving at what should be done to remember Sir Howard.

“I believe there ought to be some very outstanding, distinguishable, lasting legacy that is set up somewhere for Sir Howard. The committee is looking at a number of things at the moment…quite a variety of events as well as various forms of activities, which will involve the youth of not only Western Jamaica, but the wider Jamaica,” Mr. Smith said.

He pointed out that the views and involvement of the youth will be central in the selection of events or activities to honour Sir Howard, as the former Head of State was an advocate for the youth and an avid sportsman.

“Sir Howard was not only a politician, he was an educator, a sportsman, among other things. We have to look at the various aspects of his life and come up with something that will encompass all of that and then put it into an artistic expression or some kind of architectural expression that will remain as an outstanding symbol of achievement in Montego Bay, to inspire the generations to come,” Mr. Smith said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Smith hopes that the committee and by extension the Government, will place some focus on the house in Goodwill, St. James, in which Sir Howard was born on November 13, 1915.

“I know the family (of Sir Howard) at the moment is not too excited about the erection of a monument in the Goodwill community. However, I have suggested that the area in which Sir Howard was born (Goodwill) be made into a heritage site. The house is still there and that could be retrofitted and be made into a national monument. Anything that is done, however, must first of all receive the blessing of the family of Sir Howard,” he said.

The late former Governor-General served from August 1, 1995 to February 15, 2006. He died on July 11 at the age of 98. He will be buried today in National Heroes Park, after a State Funeral.