Although there has been much talk about a bipartisan team to drive the redevelopment of key areas of Jamaica, following the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Melissa, nothing has happened in the three weeks of suffering, but for the continued pain of hundreds of thousands, mainly in Jamaica’s western region.

The prime minister has not budged in setting up the best team possible to spearhead Jamaica’s reconstruction.

And time, precious time, is running out for proper and practical steps to be made.  

When Prime Minister Andrew Holness decided to assign management of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management to the Office of the Prime Minister, which he runs, one of his reasons was to allow for better coordination with the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) of activities related to Melissa’s mess.

Holness, who also doubles as defence minister, suggests that he, too, is in charge of the daily operational flow of the JDF. That, of course, is not so. 

All operations of the JDF fall under the Ministry of National Security, now at ‘peace with itself’. The permanent secretary of the Ministry of National Security (and Peace) also serves in that capacity at the Ministry of Defence. So the permanent secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister has nothing to do operationally with the army. What then is the big deal?… And I am not thinking about KFC.

Prime ministers, for as long as I can recall, have always been named minister of defence, which is really there for him (or her) to chair the defence board, which deals with appointments of senior defence force personnel, including its head. Everything else though, is done through the Ministry of National Security, so in effect, Dr Horace Chang, as minister, has day-to-day oversight of the JDF.

With what has been happening regarding the situation of some of the devastated parishes like Westmoreland, the worst hit, St Elizabeth, Hanover, St James, Trelawny, Manchester, and St Ann, it appears to me that the prime minister does not fully grasp the magnitude of the disaster, which would possibly come down to knowing the terrain.

And flying around in a helicopter is not the answer.

The respectful use of helicopters

Speaking about helicopters, apparently, there has been an order issued to the JDF, by you know who, in respect to which government and parliamentary officials can get access to JDF choppers in a bid to view sections of their constituencies.

When I heard it, I was stunned into silence, and having checked further, I realised that it was no hoax.

The decision has been taken that government officials from the prime minister to ministers of state can have access to the helicopters, and no one else.

It means that no member of the Jamaican Parliament who won on a People’s National Party (PNP) ticket will be allowed to fly on any of the metal birds, and only about five such of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) who were not appointed to the executive will also be denied. That, of course, is absolute rubbish.

Firstly, MPs whose constituencies are worst off, for example, Dr Dayton Campbell in Westmoreland Eastern, must be given priority treatment over all others, more so when it comes down to answering the call of the people, and spearheading plans to fulfil their needs. It should never have to reach this level of pettiness that we are experiencing. Again, arrogance is at play here, and an action such as this will not redound to the benefit of the people affected.

I remember clearly in 2004 when Hurricane Ivan struck, the kind of camaraderie that prevailed between the PNP and the JLP then.

I had not long before, mere weeks, relocated from KLAS Sports Radio to CVM Television, when Ivan rushed in. PJ Patterson, who was in the last two years of his reign as prime minister, offered Opposition Leader Edward Seaga the use of a JDF helicopter for himself and his team for three days. It was accepted with glee by Seaga, who served another year as opposition leader before his retirement. He and his senior people were able to visit sections of Jamaica by air and have a clear picture of the level of the destruction. It was a gesture by Patterson that I believe Seaga would have made, had the shoes been flipped. 

Bruce Golding, too, who succeeded Seaga and became prime minister three years later, would also have made the gesture to the then Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller, had there been reason for it.

But what is really happening now? Oh yes, that word again: Arrogance. Every politician has a desire to see Jamaica wiggle its way out of this crisis. There is no justification in denying credibly elected members of the House of Representatives the right to see the people who elected them and hear their plight. 

Better has to come.

Crass handling of Christians deaths

Among the powerful items of news that surfaced last week was the death of two kind Christian activists in a plane crash, as well as the speaking out by entertainer Buju Banton (or if you prefer, Mark Myrie) against irregularities at Kingston Wharves. 

In both matters, the name of one parliamentarian was a constant: Daryl Vaz.

I have admired Vaz since I met him during the 1980s in Kingston, while his father, Dougie, served as a member of parliament and minister of industry and commerce.

The younger Vaz went on to become MP for Portland Eastern and, along with that, has served as minister in various areas.

He was lately appointed by the prime minister to co-chair the Relief and Recovery Oversight Committee, after Hurricane Melissa’s destruction.

Now, the back and forth that involves Buju, who fired the first salvo, and Vaz has some merit in maintaining a discussion. Whomever is telling the truth about aid items shipped by Buju going missing at one of Jamaica’s ports of entry may or may not be found out, and the cross-talk will continue, even in a subdued way, because of the subjects involved. The ‘disappearance’ of items from Kingston Wharves is nothing new or strange, though, as many people, including myself, have been ripped off over the years.

What concerned me more about Vaz over the last few days was how he handled the death of Alexander Wurm, 53, founder of Ignite the Fire, a Christian ministry, and his daughter Serene Wurm, aged just 22.

It is well known that they were flying to Jamaica from the United States to take hurricane relief supplies when their private plane crashed in Coral Springs, Florida, on November 10.

An investigation revealed that the aircraft’s Caymanian team members were on their fifth trip to Jamaica in days (not two as we were told initially) to drop stuff off.

Now, Vaz, who is in charge of transportation in the Jamaican Cabinet, in his first statement said that the plane had not been cleared to land by the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority.

What a cruel statement to have made, after the father-daughter team had done so much before, and was in the process of doing even more, when tragedy struck.

It is a simple, as they say, one-two, for landing permission to be granted, and as in the case of other aircraft, that was done at the last minute, considering that a disaster had struck.

What I would have expected from the minister when he, in a backhanded way, expressed condolences to the duo’s family and friends, was a simple one-liner: ‘I had said (which is what he did) that the aircraft had no permission to land, and I might have given the impression that something was underhand or amiss. But in hindsight, it was improper for me to have said such a thing at the time, as the lives of two people were lost in their pursuit of seeking comfort for Jamaicans affected by Hurricane Melissa’.

Nothing like that was done, and it is worrying that, without fully checking things in the future, there is likely to be more public faux pas by a man who is now so integral to the process of repair.

Media must focus more on those human interest stories

As the days progress, the uncertainty of what the future holds for so many displaced Jamaicans lingers.

The media, generally, excelled in the coverage of nasty Hurricane Melissa, and some entities continue to go far beyond the call of duty.

The viewer, reader or listener has been kept informed, especially as it regards some of the human interest stories that have been churned out. But there are several more behind the destruction, and hopefully, those will gain attention in a timely fashion.

Of late, there has been a proliferation of news conferences, mainly hosted by the Office of the Prime Minister, which do not make much sense, apart from officials trying to seek the limelight, with a view to convincing people that they are on top of things.

And yes, news conferences serve their purpose, but when journalists are invited to carry information that the death toll has risen from 32 to 45, for example, that information could have been handled through a news release, even when you consider that in the example given, the death toll is woefully understated, as I have been informed by solid sources that the number is almost double that.

The State apparatus, instead of inviting media personnel on regular Jamaica House tours, should open channels of ongoing communication, whereby news seekers can email questions directly to those who are assigned to speak on various issues of post-hurricane life, or have direct telephone numbers for even faster contact.

Questions posed by journalists must be given priority, and in that sense, the media personnel will always have the opportunity to break their own stories, which is a preferred approach by all.

It is only when major announcements are to be made, or important external personnel visit, that the media room at Jamaica House should be populated.

International interests and charities respond more to human interest stories, rather than news conferences.