Permit politics 

Opposition spokesman on the Environment Omar Newell stirred controversy in Parliament last evening when he referenced the recent Supreme Court ruling setting aside a 2020 mining permit which was granted to Bengal Development Limited after the prime minister overturned an earlier decision by a regulatory body.

Government lawmakers sought to shut down Newell, citing Standing Orders relating to statements or comments on a matter that is before the court.

The Government has appealed the Supreme Court ruling in the Bengal Development matter.

Highlighting Standing Order 35(2), Acting Leader of Government Business Robert Morgan noted that “reference should not be made to any matter in which a judicial decision is pending, in such a way, in the opinion of the chair, [that] prejudices the interest of the parties”. 

In his contribution to the 2026-2027 Sectoral Debate, Newell said one of the most important reforms Jamaica must confront now is environmental governance.

He argued that recent controversies have exposed structural weaknesses in the way environmental decisions were made locally.

Referencing the action by the prime minister to overturn a decision of the Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) in the Bengal Development matter, Newell signalled that provisions in the NaRRA legislation could legitimise “this kind of action”.

In late April this year, the Constitutional Court struck down as “unconstitutional, void and of no effect” the 2020 environmental permit granted for Bengal’s controversial limestone-mining project.

Newell said the question before the country was larger than any one quarry, any one permit, or any one minister.

“Can environmental science and technical expertise be overridden by political discretion without sufficiently transparent safeguards?” he questioned.

He called for the creation of an independent environmental protection agency established by statute.

Newell said this move would not be anti-development or anti-investment but rather, pro-transparency, pro-science and in support of accountability.

He said investors deserve certainty, communities deserve fairness, and the country deserves confidence that environmental decisions were being made objectively and transparently.

He reasoned that the National Environmental Protection Agency should not “appear trapped between environmental protection and development pressure”.

Further, Newell wants the mandatory publication of reasons for approvals and refusals from regulatory bodies and statutory timelines for decisions.

He also proposed the modernisation of the NRCA Act.

The governing board of the proposed independent agency, Newell argued, should be appointed through a transparent process, similar in spirit to the Integrity Commission model.

“The minister likes to talk about having science lead the way in environmental policy and action. What better way to have science lead the way than to have permit appeals be overseen by a transparent, competent authority and not the political directorate?” edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com