Disaster Zone

The government is currently trying to cope with the effects of Tropical Storm Nicole.  The cost of rehabilitating the island’s road network stands at 20 billion dollars and rising.  The International Monetary Fund is not in favour of changing any of the targets for passing the test in December basically suggesting that we are on our own.  There is also a report by the Interamerican Development Bank issued at the end of August which states that Jamaica is at risk of an average annual loss of US$105 Million.

In fact the situation is much worse according to a representative of the world bank Dr. Bradal Haque who spoke recently at a meeting to hand over a grant for work to be done on the Tropical Storm Gustav Recovery Project.  He stated that the World Bank’s Natural Disaster Report ranks Jamaica as the third worst country in terms of exposure to natural disasters.  He further stated that over 80 percent of Jamaica’s GDP and 90 percent of the population is at risk from natural disasters.

This is not news to anyone who has been following my blog as I have tried to convey the message that economic growth and hence financial stability of a country depends upon its ability to prepare for disaster.  For too many years we have squandered what little resources we have with limited spending on disaster prevention.  We have cultivated a culture whereby persons can squat on any land they find knowing that if they get washed out they will receive aid which allows them to rebuild on the same disaster spot.

It is time for us to understand that enforcement of building practices is not about denying the poor man an opportunity to own a house; rather it is about the safety and security of the population.  It is unreasonable for a person to build in an unsafe area to expect the government (in reality the taxpayers) to pick up the cost of relocation and rebuilding.  The attitudes of the people must be changed and more attention must be paid to safety.

It is ridiculous to keep on repairing the same roads and the same locations year after year.  It is time to devise a strategy around development and housing which identifies safe places to build.  I know that ODPEM has started this process but it is too long in the making.  The lesson must be learned that it is cheaper to prevent the damage from natural disasters then to clean up after one.  It seems that we have still not learned that lesson yet.