The success of Puerto Rico’s recovery depends on transparency and input from its people
Finally, three and a half years after Hurricane María’s destruction in Puerto Rico, a year of continuous earthquakes and the COVID-19 pandemic, hurricane recovery funds have been released by the Biden administration. Now there is hope that needed aid will flow with more ease.
Yet, amid so many debates about federal and territorial governments’ failures and challenges to promote recovery on the island, it is clear that by merely releasing funds or assigning additional monies will not result in crucial efficiency, transparency and resiliency. In order to “build back better,” jump-start the island’s stalled recovery and aid its faltering economy, we should shine the light of transparency into funding and rebuilding, inviting civil society into the planning and decision-making processes.
Currently, only 27 percent ($18 billion out of $67 billion) of the money allocated for all post-2017 disasters have been disbursed, and it is possible to see that this small percentage has not been efficiently spent. Only half of individual and family recovery management cases have been addressed; only a quarter of the applications for home reconstruction have been processed; and only 258 homes have been repaired; and only two rebuilt. Contracts mostly have been given to outside consultants and contractors, and therefore have not helped local economy to recover or build capacity to face future disasters.
Large contracts for planning and management have been awarded to big mainland firms such as Horne ($122.5 million from the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Relief program) and
ICF International ($188 million of FEMA funds).
They frequently rely on local officials’ and organizations’ expertise and work to execute their duties. But they don’t stimulate local entities’ growth or capacity-building, because they are not formally engaged or remunerated.
Federal regulations, such as cost-reimbursable projects and programs, plus pressure to hire large firms deemed more capable, mean that local businesses and organizations are can’t
participate in the rebuilding and resilience-creation efforts.
The culture of suspicion and distrust promulgated by the Trump administration has impaired agility, as local and federal officials are paralyzed in fear of scandal and accusations. This leads advisors in agencies to concentrate their efforts on complying with regulations and protecting their officials, instead of identifying effective solutions to the challenges faced. Constant changes to regulations by FEMA and HUD do not help this scenario. There are more incentives for public officials to move only on decisions that will benefit and advance the interests of their political factions.
As next urgent steps, the Biden administration should create mechanisms within recovery programs that integrate Puerto Rico’s civil-society representatives into processes of needs assessment, planning, oversight and decision-making. Attempts to solve ineffectiveness with federal monitors and “recovery czars” — or even the territorial “Concilio de Reconstrucción” created by the new governor of Puerto Rico — further feed the vicious circle of distrust. It must be replaced by a virtuous cycle of public engagement and transparency.
Puerto Rico’s civil society, though poorly resourced, already has achieved better results in helping vulnerable communities than the billions going to the government. It can bring the expertise, insight and political pressure needed to push the island’s stalled recovery forward. The Biden administration should immediately pass The Community Driven Recovery for Puerto Rico Act (HR 8978), which authorizes the creation of a Civil Society Task Force as an essential mechanism of effectiveness and transparency.
To that end, the government should require that information on the use of federal recovery funds is accessible to the public. Dashboards that lay out program planning, budgets and contracting decisions can be used by local stakeholders, community leaders and non-profits to identify misuse of funds and problems with policies, and raise red flags on illegal or inefficient uses.
With access to complete information and real participation mechanisms created within recovery programs, federal funds would reach those who need it, and faster. The people of Puerto Rico are ready and willing to do what it takes and collaborate with this administration to achieve these goals.
Tiger Woods was seriously injured Tuesday when his SUV crashed into a median, rolled over and ended up on its side on a steep roadway in suburban Los Angeles known for wrecks, authorities said. The golf superstar had to be pulled out through the windshield, and his agent said he was undergoing leg surgery.
Woods was alone in the SUV when it crashed into a raised median shortly
Tiger Woods was undergoing surgery for compound fractures of his legs after a car crash near Los Angeles.
before 7:15 a.m., crossed two oncoming lanes and rolled several times, authorities said at a news conference. No other cars were involved. The 45-year-old was alert and able to communicate as firefighters pried open the front windshield to get him out.
The airbags deployed, and the inside of the car stayed basically intact and that “gave him a cushion to survive the crash,”
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said. Both of his legs were seriously injured, county Fire Chief Daryl Osby said.
They said there was no immediate evidence that Woods was impaired. Authorities said they checked for any odor of alcohol or other signs he was under the influence of a substance and did not find any. They did not say how fast he was driving.
The crash happened on a sweeping, downhill stretch of a two-lane road through upscale Los Angeles suburbs. Sheriff’s Deputy Carlos Gonzalez, who was the first to arrive at the wreck, told reporters that he sometimes catches people topping 80 mph in the 45 mph zone and has seen fatal crashes there.
“I will say that it’s very