Peter Espeut
ONCE MIGHT be accidental; but after being advised, a second and third time is "purpose". Why is it so hard for government agencies to obey the laws of the country?
I have already mentioned in this column that after being consulted about a possible area for the relocation of the flooded-out residents of Portland Cottage by the Office of National Reconstruction (ONR), when I arrived there, a bulldozer had already ripped up the site. Clearly my opinion was not really required, but more importantly, the opinion (and permit) of the government environment agency was not needed either. I guess the environmental laws of Jamaica are not a shackle to the government.
I was happy to be advised by the ONR of their intention to dredge the small channel used by the Portland Cottage fishers to access open water, and to be shown their plans. I reminded the ONR that they would need a permit from the government's environment agency before starting work, and they assured me that a permit had already been applied for.
On my return from overseas last month, the work had begun (with great environmental damage, I might add). I was advised by the government's environment agency that not only had they not issued a permit, but that none had been formally applied for; only an enquiry had been made. And, of course, no environmental impact assessment has been conducted. Clearly, the environmental laws of Jamaica are not a shackle to the ONR.
Week before last I was invited to a ground-breaking ceremony at the relocation site for the flooded-out Rocky Point residents. The site selected was itself flooded-out in the 1985 rains despite the fact, the residents recall, that the relevant drains had been cleaned just a few weeks before. Again, no environmental impact assessment has been conducted, and no environmental permit has been obtained.
The ONR is about to relocate flood victims from one flood-prone area to another flood-prone area. What sort of legal liabilities are being incurred here? Abundantly clearly, the environmental laws of Jamaica are not a shackle to the ONR.
NATIONAL SCANDAL
This amounts to a national scandal! I note that a private citizen who built a bowling alley in lower St. Andrew without the requisite permits, is to lose not only the structure he built, but the valuable land he built on. I have no sympathy for this person; he has broken the law, and the government fought his appeals all the way to the Privy Council and won! And rightly so! Bravo! For this private citizen, the environmental laws of Jamaica were a shackle, and he paid the price. But for government agencies, the environmental laws of Jamaica are not a shackle. Is not this double-standard a national disgrace? And there is absolutely no penalty.
CRIME AND POLITICS
I notice that my colleague Ian Boyne has again returned to his old theme that human rights advocates are to blame for the increase in crime and violence in Jamaica (see In Focus in last Sunday's Gleaner). At the same time he takes a big swipe at us, calling us "Utopians", "bleeding heart liberals", and "armchair journalists totally disconnected from the underbelly of the Jamaican society and oblivious to what goes on in the inner cities". Such name-calling! How close are you, Ian, to the issues of the rural underbelly of Jamaican society?
The point is, Ian, that the "underbelly" of Jamaican society you claim to be so close to, is afraid of the police because, often, police make no distinctions between private citizens and criminals. The police, Ian, are not above the law.
Ian is right when he says that criminals are "emboldened from the conflicting signals in the society". He admits that these urban terrorists have links with politicians and political parties, people and social institutions with status in Jamaican society, which must provide positive signals of self-worth and approval to the criminals. Ian wants these politicians to provide the police with the names of their henchmen so they can be arrested or taken out.
How naïve, Ian! How will the politicians survive afterwards? And what if the crony starts singing about who gave him his guns, and about the political orders he received?
Ian's job with the government's propaganda agency blinds him to the fact that it is not going to be possible to deal with political criminals by arresting those in the underbelly alone. Not even politicians are above the law.
Peter Espeut is a sociologist and is executive director of an environment and development NGO.
