Garth Rattray | Too many crisis-management remedies

What happened to citizens living in Coopers Pen was extremely distressing. From all indications, this privately owned land served as a squatter community for many families for decades. There were several ongoing, longstanding back-and-forth legal interventions, but in the end, many squatters were bulldozed and their belongings destroyed.

Since the tragedy, the Government has mobilised emergency assistance for displaced families, and the prime minister has promised to relocate families through regularised government systems.

But what troubles me is the repeated incidents of situations that begged for government intervention before the fact – that never materialised. Various government administrations were aware of this ticking time bomb and did little to solve the problem. The various court proceedings legitimised the owner’s claim but were costly and time-consuming.

It is estimated that between 600,000 and 700,000 citizens are living in informal or squatter settlements. Most of these settlements are on government-owned land or unregistered properties. I am also aware that this administration is in the process of regularising where citizens live by making official land ownership documents a reality. But due to the complexity of the system, this process will take time.

Coopers Pen should have been prioritised, and the informal settlers relocated before this horrible bulldozing, destruction of personal property, and displacement took place.

There are many other instances of ‘after-the-fact’ action by various governments. Remember the Heroes Circle crab vendors? It took one vendor’s posting on social media of a despicable act demonstrating a total lack of hygiene for the Government to step in and act.

Despite all our stringent health laws, no one took the time or made the effort to protect the public by ensuring that there were no public sanitary conveniences in the vicinity and that food-handler’s permits were absent. These people were operating out in the open, in full view of our many government officials.

Even now, there continue to be many food vendors either stationed in one place or going from place to place selling food and ‘juices’ (often homemade in God knows where), who are operating without any training or food-handler’s permit. These people are not hiding. They are everywhere for all to see. Who is protecting us?

I can’t forget a television interview with a man who was complaining that the gully wall adjacent to his home was slowly being washed away by heavy flows during the rainy season. When the camera moved back, it revealed a massive three-storey concrete structure! He built his multistorey home right on the wall of a major gully (a canal). This is illegal, yet no government authority checks these things until something, sometimes a disaster, occurs.

I also recall a structure that was under construction collapsing off the side of a cliff and killing someone. It was only then that officials of the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation took notice and made a big to-do on camera about the lack of a building permit. This structure was not in some back bush; it was right out in the open. Therefore, no government official checks to see whether all buildings under construction have the requisite permits and are inspected periodically, as required by law.

There was a recent announcement that the Government would be towing away inoperable vehicles left on the side of our roads. If this is happening, I am not seeing it. These vehicles partially obstruct the roadways and sometimes obstruct the sidewalks. They may provide cover for criminals to pounce on unsuspecting pedestrians. They can also be dragged out to be used to block roads in times of civil unrest. Yet many vehicles remain unmolested.

The principle of anticipating possible problems, having monitoring and reporting systems in place, and executing timely intervention before something goes wrong is essential for the efficient governance of a country.

There is congestion in city centres all across the island. This should have been anticipated and traffic rerouted or diverted years ago. Many people are reluctant to drive through Half-Way-Tree simply because of the congestion. Anything done now or in the future will be made more difficult and expensive because it will be after the fact.

I see that efforts are being made for the future improvement of healthcare in Jamaica. But in the meantime, very sick patients are sitting in chairs for days, and there is often no bed space in any urban hospital except the Kingston Public Hospital. People should be assigned to visit public healthcare facilities unannounced to see the true state of affairs and instigate corrective measures.

Vendors in municipal markets often complain about the accumulation of garbage. This is very predictable. There should be people who work within the markets who are assigned responsibility for observing and reporting problems with refuse because such problems quickly become health concerns.

A similar system should be implemented for potholes. These things are everywhere and become a serious concern because they damage vehicles and can cause serious accidents. Nowadays, from their appearance to their repair seems to move at a geological pace.

The system should consist of anticipating problems, monitoring them, reporting them, and intervening before the problems become unwieldy. And last but not least, there must be accountability. Those responsible for the efficacy and maintenance of the system must be held accountable if things go awry.

No government should operate as a crisis-response mechanism. Governments should operate with continuous early-warning intervention systems.

Garth Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice and author of The Long and Short of Thick and Thin. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com.