Costing – the effects of the flood

After the rains have stopped and the water has receded the task of assessing the damage done and putting a cost to it has begun.  This is particularly difficult for the government which has limited resources and is now faced with the task of finding money to effect the necessary repairs.  In addition the Government has committed to meeting certain economic targets as stipulated by the borrowing conditions laid down by the International Monetary Fund.  In order to restore the country the government needs the assistance of various persons of society.

The first priority is the clearing of roads which have been blocked by landslides.  If companies that have heavy duty equipment will offer their services and the drivers also, then the clean up will be finished sooner and the government will save on the associated costs.  In addition persons from affected communities can offer their labour to help remove fallen trees or mud and dirt that has washed into the roads.  If each of us helps to restore our area or another person’s area then that becomes a cost that government does not have to bear.

Of course the largest area of cost will be the rehabilitation of the island’s road network.  Already under significant strain from decades of neglect many of the roads simply collapsed under the deluge of water.  This means that the government will have to reexamine the roads which were to be fixed under the road improvement programme to see if their choices will have to change.  This is a chance for both political parties to put aside their differences and to come together and make decisions that are in the benefit of the country as a whole.  Unfortunately this is not likely to happen as neither side has demonstrated that they are here to serve the people not the party.

Once again agriculture has been hard hit after the severe droughts earlier in the year the last month has brought too much rain especially in the parish of St. Elizabeth.  Significant amounts of crops have been lost which will result in higher food prices for everyone and will also result in the scarcity of some crops.  There will also be damage to irrigation equipment which will hinder some farmers from going back into production.  Those who can not now service their loans will be unable to replant.

There will of course be other costs such as damage to schools and loss of production and man hours and all of these will affect the country’s ability to grow.  It now seems certain though that with this latest episode of flooding any chance that we had of positive growth has gone down the drain.