Several banana farms were devastated during Hurricane Ivan.
THE PASSING OF Hurricane Ivan on September 10 and 11 had a devastating effect on Jamaica's economic growth and on the lives of all Jamaicans.
Estimated damage stood at over $35.5 billion, which included loss of earnings. Apart from the dislocation of numerous families, the hurricane ravaged our agricultural sector, schools, public buildings, roads and other infrastructure.
Parishes such as Clarendon, Manchester, St. Elizabeth and Westmoreland were the hardest hit. The Office of National Reconstruction (ONR) established under the Office of The Cabinet headed by Director of Elections, Danville Walker was mandated by The Most Honourable Prime Minister to spearhead and anchor in conjunction with the relevant Government agencies the programmes and activities necessary for full and expeditious national recovery.
The private sector organisation and several other entities came forward to provide solid support and managerial skills. The ONR sought $2.9 billion from private sector organisations and foreign bodies to effectively undertake the various rebuilding challenges. ONR's main focus of recovery were:
Housing units to relocate storm surge victims,
Repairs to educational institutions,
Agriculture/fisheries assistance to restore production,
Repairs to public buildings,
mobilisation of funds to finance the restoration programme
Beach clean-ups.
ASSESSMENT OF DAMAGES
With a large quantum of Jamaicans effecting repairs in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Ivan, reconstruction efforts were targeted mainly towards the most vulnerable families, communities in need of relocation, small farmers and public facilities schools, libraries, health centres and police stations. The ONR began its operations by providing logistical support and data entry for the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the Ministry of Agriculture assessments.
The office also assisted in the printing of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security coupons and the printing of Ministry of Agriculture benefit coupons for the Ministry of Finance and Planning.
The ONR played a vital role in coordinating the Ministry of Land and Environment and the Ministry of Water and Housing in addressing the relocation efforts of Hurricane Ivan victims in Brighton, Rocky Point, Portland Cottage and Old Harbour Bay. Most of the assessment and planning were done in the first three months of operation.
The office spent a lot of time co-ordinating and implementing the logistical support for those who were out in the field doing the assessments.
CHALLENGES FACED
The work of the office was not without its challenges, which came in many forms. One such challenge was the unavailability of a database for farmers' located islandwide. Another was the "trickle-in" of the funds that were pledged for the reconstruction effort. Many of these pledges did not reach the office until December 2004.
The bureaucracy that surrounded Government's agencies and ministries was also another hindering factor to the office. This, especially as it relates to tenders/bids.
It is the thought of the office that in an emergency environment more has to be done to free the hands of the implementing agencies. There has to be a balance between prudence and efficiency, if they are going to respond in a timely manner. Through good planning, teamwork and co-ordination the effects of the challenges were minimised.
ONR GETS MORE TIME
Although much has been accomplished, the Danville Walker-led team had requested additional time to complete its work. These works primarily included the completion of the repairs to schools and the relocation of residents in Portland Cottage and Rocky Point in Clarendon, Old Harbour Bay in St. Catherine and Brighton in Westmoreland.
Lessons learnt from 'Ivan'
In life, one has to learn from mistakes made in the past so that they are not made again. Hurricane Ivan taught the country many valuable lessons. As Jamaica is prone to natural disasters it has been strongly recommended by the ONR's CEO that the Government put in place the necessary funds to deal with such events. This fund he suggested could be either through a regional insurance programme set aside in the budget of each year so that in the event of a hurricane the government can immediately put its hand on available funds to effect repairs .
A mechanism he said should also be put in place where damage can be quickly assessed. The suggestion is to allow for returning officers of the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) to be retained as disaster officers through a permanent secondment with the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), as these returning officers already have an islandwide network and are knowledgeable of every nook and cranny of their constituency. It has also been recommended that the disaster response teams should be placed under the umbrella of one Ministry in order to have a quicker and better response.
