Tough issues for infrastructure committee

IF THE delay is to allow Prime Minister Andrew Holness to reach an accommodation with the new opposition leader, Mark Golding, then quietly reverse himself on having his party members chair several important parliamentary committees, we’ll tolerate the wait.

In that event, the PM must still act expeditiously. Otherwise, he must instruct Heroy Clarke, his designated, but hopefully interim chairman of the House committee that deals with infrastructure and physical development, to convene hearings into the serious damage caused by recent floods and landslides to public infrastructure and private properties. Because of the urgency of the situation, we are accommodating the proposed sessions, but with reservations. There remains no endorsement by this newspaper of Mr Holness’ departure from what we had hoped was settled convention in favour of good governance.

Mr Clarke, if he proceeds, is not intended merely to engage in an arithmetic exercise, totting up the cost of the damage and the likely bill for the repairs, important though those calculations are. Neither should an expanded discussion be limited to the perceived inadequacies in the engineering and construction of public infrastructure, or whether taxpayers get value for their money. That, too, must be on the table.

What we look for, however, is large policy discourse which embraces that, while embracing the aforementioned points, asks fundamental questions about how Jamaica should prioritise development. These must include questions about where we build roads and drains; where water and electricity should reasonably be expected to be delivered; and whether some of the roads and bridges that have collapsed should be rebuilt. We do not expect such matters to be easily palatable for politicians. Nonetheless, the circumstances demand that they be tabled and frankly debated.

HAVE NOT DODGED THE BULLET

Jamaica has avoided the worst of the most active Atlantic hurricane season on record, with its 29 named storms, so far. However, we have not totally dodged the bullet. Over the several weeks the island has been battered by heavy rains associated with Hurricane Zeta and Tropical Storm Eta. There are the images of collapsing hillsides, taking with them stretches of hillside roads; and of rivers reclaiming altered courses, in the process burying homes and vehicles in mud and muck.

Many of the impacted communities are relatively new – informal settlements that grew unchecked from squatting in watersheds and on floodplains. Others are communities of long standing, with relatively well-developed infrastructure that, periodically, have been ravaged by the elements, but usually rebuilt. The problem now is that the weather’s destructive force, science warns, is becoming stronger, more frequent and unpredictable.

Since the 1880s, the earth’s temperature, driven by human activity, has become hotter by around 1.1 degrees Celsius. The warmer climate has led to melting ice caps, rising seas, more powerful storms, and generally unstable weather patterns. The world is struggling to contain any further rise in the earth’s temperature to under two degrees by the end of the century, in accordance with the Paris Climate Agreement.

If nothing happens to change the current trajectory, Jamaica has warned, by the 2050s the island’s average temperature could be between 0.7 and one degree hotter than at present. That could climb further, to three degrees over the next 30 years, into the 2080s. By the 2050s, rainfall could also decline by as much as 40 per cent; and heading into the next century, the sea around the island could be higher by over half a metre, threatening our coastal cities and towns. Add to these the increased frequency, and violence, of storms.

That is part of the terms of reference with which interim Chairman Clarke’s committee must approach its hearing: what kind, and where Jamaica should put in infrastructure. Take, for instance, Jamaica’s 15,000 kilometres of paved road, or nearly 550 kilometres per 100,000 residents – a ratio that is significantly better than many in the developing world. However, many of Jamaica’s roads head to sparsely populated, difficult-to-reach communities. These roads are hard, and costly, to build and expensive to be properly maintained. Matters like these are tough for policymakers to grapple with. But, as recent events showed, the issue is not only about roads. Difficult though it may be, the conversation must be engaged.