“All I wish is for my children to be able to take a breath of fresh air in Jamaica by the time they are forty years of age!” For many Jamaicans, this has become their singular yet unselfish ideal, borne out of enlightened self-interest, given the environmental degradation being occasioned by the poor oversight responsibility exercised by the regulatory agencies coupled with a paucity of political will. Indeed for many, their dreams have been shattered by decades of economic malaise and a mounting casual disregard by the State for proper urban planning strategies, which are being sacrificed on an altar of expediency and short-termism. For example, in Seymour Lands and the residential sections of New Kingston, the current building boom while been marked by widespread breaches of the State’s regulatory framework for urban planning, also highlights the contempt with which sustainable environmental practices are treated. However, this contempt is also being replicated across the other urban centres in Jamaica. Some of the imperatives are highlighted below:
Legal Overhaul
Indeed, while there is heightened construction activity in Seymour Lands, there remains no enforceable mechanism to treat with Air Pollution emanating from construction sites and even for the appropriate disposal of construction waste. Whereas a protocol does exist for the Disposal of Construction Waste, it is breached with impunity and therefore has lost its legitimacy. As a result it is estimated that the air quality in the above community has deteriorated by some 30 – 40 percent, with the attendant increases in respiratory ailments among the citizenry. This points to the need for a protocol which is actually enforceable. Further, it is critical that the laws governing construction activity in general be reviewed. For instance, the Building Code which currently obtains in Jamaica was drafted in 1907. Similarly development in Kingston and St Andrew is supposed to be guided by a Development Order prepared in 1966, however in the current context there is seemingly a more laissez faire approach to development. Equally the principle of adverse possession and the Limitations of Action Act need to be revisited and placed in a modern context to facilitate orderly development and once and for all discourage antisocial activity inclusive of spontaneous settlement (squatting) on private lands. Current squatting laws only protects Crown Lands and therefore reflects a deficiency that should be addressed with urgency. Therefore in essence there is need for a comprehensive review of all laws governing development in Jamaica inclusive of the NRCA Act which should be amended to facilitate the compulsory consultation of the citizenry regarding any developments within their respective communities.
Densities and the Environment
Similarly, the matter of linking increased densities to access to a central sewer line would deceptively appear to indicate environmental consciousness on the part of the State. However, in the context of the parishes of Kingston and St Andrew, the Soapberry Waste Water Treatment Plant is now just being commissioned into service putting to an end a period of years when there were no functional treatment plants. Even so, according to KSAC Mayor Senator Desmond McKenzie only 35% of residencies in the Corporate Area are attached to the sewer system with the majority in the foreseeable future continuing to rely on more traditional waste disposal mechanisms. However, just being in relative close proximity to the sewer line (attached or not) in Seymour Lands and other areas increases the density from 30 to 50 habitable rooms per acre and attracts a 100% surcharge on water bills, whether or not there is a functional treatment plant. Further, this has not impacted the continued flow of 20 million gallons of waste water and 1.5 million gallons of solid waste into the Kingston Harbour daily and puts paid to any notion of environmental sensitivity on the part of the State.
Enforcement
Similarly, stipulations for plot ratios, setback ratios and the minimum green area space established by the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) are equally frequently breached facilitating a sustainable development crisis in many urban centres in Jamaica. To compound this issue, there is a lack of capacity at the level of the local authority (in this case the KSAC) and NEPA to engage in a meaningful and sustainable enforcement and monitoring exercise. For example, the KSAC now boasts a complement of 6 Building officers up from 2 in 2006/7, to police all construction activities and enforcement issues across the parishes of Kingston and St Andrew. Further both agencies lack any financial incentive to embark on any meaningful enforcement exercise. Firstly both are at least partially funded by the Government of Jamaica and given budgetary constraints operate primarily in a parsimonious environment. Hence, in the main they are unable / unwilling to engage in any form of corrective legal activity. Further, even if they engage persons functioning in breach of the law and are successful in a court of law, any monetary award does not inure to the benefit of the regulatory body, to even cover legal costs but are turned over in their entirety to the Consolidated Fund of the State. This has led to a situation where the regulatory bodies are actively encouraging citizens to challenge developers in the courts to address breaches rather than seeking to fulfil their statutory obligations. This is clearly an untenable scenario.
Preserving Process Integrity
Also as part of the approval process, varying committees are established to review and adjudicate applications with the Prime Minister who has portfolio responsibility for Planning and Development being the final arbiter in the event of an appeal by a developer. The first area of concern must be the KSAC Building and Town Planning Committee, which boasts a significant number of politicians ( with no discernible relevant areas of expertise) coupled with a few technocrats determining the process. This is a dangerous practice and increased emphasis needs to placed on the technocrats with the involvement by the political directorate being minimal and such participation occurring on a rotating basis to avoid even a perception of corruption. There is also the need for a strengthened oversight process coupled with greater autonomy for the local authorities to seek redress through the courts. Similarly for both the Local Authority and NEPA, persons affiliated with enforcement activity should be rotated from time to time ( perhaps after every 6 – 12 months) so as to avoid undue familiarity between staff and developers and preserving the integrity of the process and again reducing even the perception of corruption. In this regard any breach by personnel must be dealt with harshly and swiftly under the Corruption Prevention Act and / or any other applicable law. Further, whereas there has been some capacity building, particularly at the level of the local authority, there are particular concerns regarding the quality of decisions being made. For example, in Seymour Lands and the residential sections of New Kingston, there is feverish construction activity with respect to high density developments but there has been no increase in water supplies, which leads to reduced water pressure or no water at times, yet there is no slowdown in the pace of approvals.
The Voice of the People
Finally, the process needs to facilitate the involvement of the community based organizations at every stage of the application and enforcement processes. This has been a particularly vexed issue for a protracted period, as the views of citizens in the main are given minimal to no weight in a process that often times affects their living environment, property values among other issues. In fact the system has become so compromised that for example, developers rarely seek to address matters relating to the Discharge or Modification of Restrictive Covenants prior to the commencement of construction as they are obliged to do but which would necessitate the involvement of the citizenry, but instead seek to regularize the process on a de facto basis. Even in the cases of breaches, the involvement of the citizens is minimal and response times so slow (some might argue deliberately) that by the time the respective regulatory body intervenes there is certain knowledge that nothing can or will be done. Not only has this led to a loss of legitimacy of the process but has led to an overall deterioration in the quality of life being experienced in residential communities as unscrupulous developers recognising the deficiencies have sought to engage in varying activities which in some cases threaten to ruin the character and ambiance of some residential communities. Hence whereas cognizance is taken of the desire of the State to streamline the approval process due care must be exercised that the requisite control mechanisms are established to finally inculcate the concept and functional tenets of sustainable development.
Legal Overhaul
Indeed, while there is heightened construction activity in Seymour Lands, there remains no enforceable mechanism to treat with Air Pollution emanating from construction sites and even for the appropriate disposal of construction waste. Whereas a protocol does exist for the Disposal of Construction Waste, it is breached with impunity and therefore has lost its legitimacy. As a result it is estimated that the air quality in the above community has deteriorated by some 30 – 40 percent, with the attendant increases in respiratory ailments among the citizenry. This points to the need for a protocol which is actually enforceable. Further, it is critical that the laws governing construction activity in general be reviewed. For instance, the Building Code which currently obtains in Jamaica was drafted in 1907. Similarly development in Kingston and St Andrew is supposed to be guided by a Development Order prepared in 1966, however in the current context there is seemingly a more laissez faire approach to development. Equally the principle of adverse possession and the Limitations of Action Act need to be revisited and placed in a modern context to facilitate orderly development and once and for all discourage antisocial activity inclusive of spontaneous settlement (squatting) on private lands. Current squatting laws only protects Crown Lands and therefore reflects a deficiency that should be addressed with urgency. Therefore in essence there is need for a comprehensive review of all laws governing development in Jamaica inclusive of the NRCA Act which should be amended to facilitate the compulsory consultation of the citizenry regarding any developments within their respective communities.
Densities and the Environment
Similarly, the matter of linking increased densities to access to a central sewer line would deceptively appear to indicate environmental consciousness on the part of the State. However, in the context of the parishes of Kingston and St Andrew, the Soapberry Waste Water Treatment Plant is now just being commissioned into service putting to an end a period of years when there were no functional treatment plants. Even so, according to KSAC Mayor Senator Desmond McKenzie only 35% of residencies in the Corporate Area are attached to the sewer system with the majority in the foreseeable future continuing to rely on more traditional waste disposal mechanisms. However, just being in relative close proximity to the sewer line (attached or not) in Seymour Lands and other areas increases the density from 30 to 50 habitable rooms per acre and attracts a 100% surcharge on water bills, whether or not there is a functional treatment plant. Further, this has not impacted the continued flow of 20 million gallons of waste water and 1.5 million gallons of solid waste into the Kingston Harbour daily and puts paid to any notion of environmental sensitivity on the part of the State.
Enforcement
Similarly, stipulations for plot ratios, setback ratios and the minimum green area space established by the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) are equally frequently breached facilitating a sustainable development crisis in many urban centres in Jamaica. To compound this issue, there is a lack of capacity at the level of the local authority (in this case the KSAC) and NEPA to engage in a meaningful and sustainable enforcement and monitoring exercise. For example, the KSAC now boasts a complement of 6 Building officers up from 2 in 2006/7, to police all construction activities and enforcement issues across the parishes of Kingston and St Andrew. Further both agencies lack any financial incentive to embark on any meaningful enforcement exercise. Firstly both are at least partially funded by the Government of Jamaica and given budgetary constraints operate primarily in a parsimonious environment. Hence, in the main they are unable / unwilling to engage in any form of corrective legal activity. Further, even if they engage persons functioning in breach of the law and are successful in a court of law, any monetary award does not inure to the benefit of the regulatory body, to even cover legal costs but are turned over in their entirety to the Consolidated Fund of the State. This has led to a situation where the regulatory bodies are actively encouraging citizens to challenge developers in the courts to address breaches rather than seeking to fulfil their statutory obligations. This is clearly an untenable scenario.
Preserving Process Integrity
Also as part of the approval process, varying committees are established to review and adjudicate applications with the Prime Minister who has portfolio responsibility for Planning and Development being the final arbiter in the event of an appeal by a developer. The first area of concern must be the KSAC Building and Town Planning Committee, which boasts a significant number of politicians ( with no discernible relevant areas of expertise) coupled with a few technocrats determining the process. This is a dangerous practice and increased emphasis needs to placed on the technocrats with the involvement by the political directorate being minimal and such participation occurring on a rotating basis to avoid even a perception of corruption. There is also the need for a strengthened oversight process coupled with greater autonomy for the local authorities to seek redress through the courts. Similarly for both the Local Authority and NEPA, persons affiliated with enforcement activity should be rotated from time to time ( perhaps after every 6 – 12 months) so as to avoid undue familiarity between staff and developers and preserving the integrity of the process and again reducing even the perception of corruption. In this regard any breach by personnel must be dealt with harshly and swiftly under the Corruption Prevention Act and / or any other applicable law. Further, whereas there has been some capacity building, particularly at the level of the local authority, there are particular concerns regarding the quality of decisions being made. For example, in Seymour Lands and the residential sections of New Kingston, there is feverish construction activity with respect to high density developments but there has been no increase in water supplies, which leads to reduced water pressure or no water at times, yet there is no slowdown in the pace of approvals.
The Voice of the People
Finally, the process needs to facilitate the involvement of the community based organizations at every stage of the application and enforcement processes. This has been a particularly vexed issue for a protracted period, as the views of citizens in the main are given minimal to no weight in a process that often times affects their living environment, property values among other issues. In fact the system has become so compromised that for example, developers rarely seek to address matters relating to the Discharge or Modification of Restrictive Covenants prior to the commencement of construction as they are obliged to do but which would necessitate the involvement of the citizenry, but instead seek to regularize the process on a de facto basis. Even in the cases of breaches, the involvement of the citizens is minimal and response times so slow (some might argue deliberately) that by the time the respective regulatory body intervenes there is certain knowledge that nothing can or will be done. Not only has this led to a loss of legitimacy of the process but has led to an overall deterioration in the quality of life being experienced in residential communities as unscrupulous developers recognising the deficiencies have sought to engage in varying activities which in some cases threaten to ruin the character and ambiance of some residential communities. Hence whereas cognizance is taken of the desire of the State to streamline the approval process due care must be exercised that the requisite control mechanisms are established to finally inculcate the concept and functional tenets of sustainable development.
1 comment:
I recognize that you all are just being polite but the simple fact is that the process involving NEPA and the KSAC is so riddled with corruption it is actually quite sad. If Bruce Golding really wants to clean up the system I would suggest that he starts right there.
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