By Trudy Simpson, Freelance Writer 
McKenzie
AN ENVIRONMENTALIST and some Parish Councils last week criticised Government officials, claiming that lives are being risked and Parish Councils are being undermined by the existence of laws which allow some agencies and officials to bypass the Parish Councils' building approval process.
In fact, the Association of Local Government Authorities (ALGA) is asking that one such Act, the Housing Act of February 1969, which gives sweeping housing-related powers, including final decision-making to the Housing Minister, be repealed to strengthen the effectiveness of the Parish Councils.
"Recent happenings with Hurricane Ivan have strengthened our position. What we will be doing now is to intensify the campaign because we can see what's happening. This (Act) is a direct way Parish Councils are being denied the management of building in the parishes. It gives too much power to one person," said Milton Brown, Mayor of May Pen and chairman of ALGA, on Friday.
BYPASSING
He said bypassing the Parish Council "poses a problem in that we are not able to ensure that building standards are met and what happens later is that the infrastructure becomes our responsibility."
Noted sociologist and environmentalist, Peter Espeut, and Mayors such as Kingston's Desmond McKenzie, explained that the existence of these laws allow the Housing Minister and agencies like the National Housing Development Corporation (NHDC), the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) and even some charity organisations such as Food for the Poor to bypass the Parish Council's building approval process by ordering construction and in some cases, allowing organisations to be exempt from fees associated with the process.
"They have done that several times coming from NHDC. I have raised concerns about the sweeping powers given to the Minister in the Housing Act," Mayor McKenzie said on Friday. He added that last year he wrote to officials, including the Prime Minister, on the issue.
CONTROVERSIAL HOUSING
He outlined that the Housing Act was invoked in controversial housing developments such as Long Mountain, an environmentally-sensitive area which led to skirmishes between environmentalists, construction and Government officials.
"There are instances even in Port Royal where we had to stop a housing development," Mayor McKenzie said.
The Parish Councils and environmentalists said that one result of ignoring Parish Council approval is that there is often condoned construction of homes and businesses in environmentally-sensitive areas and in areas not meant for construction. Some of these homes are not built strongly or are inappropriate for the locations, resulting in widespread destruction like that which happened in the wake of Hurricane Ivan, Mr. Espeut and the mayors said.
The Sunday Gleaner was unable to reach Minister of Water and Housing, Donald Buchanan, for comment on Friday and Permanent Secretary, Genefa Hibbert, did not respond to questions posed to the Ministry up to press time. However, a Gleaner report last year indicated that Cabinet has issued drafting instructions
to amend the Housing Act so that the Minister remains responsible for issuing policy directions, while the power vested in the Corporation Sole is transferred to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Housing. This should avoid the danger of any blurring of powers and responsibilities between ministers and public servants, it said.
However, this may not be enough, the group said.
"Government is its own worst enemy. The way they have it set up, we have these little kingdoms...We really need to look at
the political culture and the way we set up systems. As it stand, it clearly marginalises the parish councils," said Mr. Espeut, executive director of The Caribbean Coastal Area Management (CCAM) Foundation, an environment and development non-government organisation.
Mayor of Savanna-La-Mar, Delford Morgan said that some agencies such as UDC tend to work with Parish Councils but even if they do not submit building plans for approval, they are expected to adhere to building codes and standards. Just recently, the Prime Minister ordered a halt to the rebuilding which had started in the Portland Cottage community of southeast Clarendon and cited the importance of the relevant state agencies enforcing the Building Code. But this does not always happen, the mayors said.
Mayor Brown said some agencies and some charity organisations, with permission under the Housing Act, have built houses in sections of Clarendon, including Rocky Point, Portland Cottage, Cock Pit and Mitchell Town, communities which experienced severe damage and many deaths during Hurricane Ivan, and are having severe hardship following the Hurricane.
The Parish Councils are also complaining that some laws also allow central Government and agencies such as the National Works Agency (NWA) to do other activities that are already being done by Parish Councils.
"If local Government is to become effective, if local Government reform is to have meaning, local authorities must be allowed to do their job, the constant undermining and doubling up of duties cannot continue," Mayor McKenzie said.
Previous Gleaner reports also gave another reason for the proliferation of illegal settlements. They state that in many areas, development orders were ignored and illegal structures appeared on the landscape. The reports added that if these were not challenged within a period of seven years, they will become a permanent part of the community.
