‘Cut with care’

National Integrity Action (NIA) Principal Director Dr Gavin Myers says Jamaica cannot ignore what he described as potential corruption risks as the Government moves to pass the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA) Bill into law.

He also warned that faster rebuilding should not come at the expense of transparency and accountability.

Speaking Monday during The Burgerman Show on Edge 105 FM, Myers stressed that concerns raised by many Jamaicans were not about opposing reconstruction or delaying recovery efforts following Hurricane Melissa, but about ensuring that large-scale redevelopment projects are carried out with sufficient oversight and public confidence.

“There’s a real general corruption risk that we need to talk about. We need to understand how it is that we are going to prevent or how is it that we are acting in such a way, whilst moving speedily so that the corruption risk is mitigated,” Myers said.

The Bill seeks to establish the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority to coordinate post-disaster rebuilding projects and accelerate major infrastructure and investment developments across the country. However, the legislation has triggered growing concern from several civil society groups, environmental advocates, and the parliamentary Opposition over the scope of powers being granted to the authority and the Cabinet under the Bill.

Myers argued that Jamaica already has systems capable of facilitating emergency responses without removing accountability safeguards, pointing to the way the National Works Agency (NWA) routinely contracts emergency road clearance following natural disasters.

“Every time when there is any form of natural disaster, and a road [breaks away] anywhere up in the hills, NWA contracts somebody to clear the road, and I’m using that as a simple example to show you that after every emergency we have that being done, and I can say to you that there are robust systems that can be done. And that we can have oversight without it becoming a burden. So saying that there is a need for better speed doesn’t mean that you need to bypass systems of accountability. What we’re trying to say is that we need speed, but we also need to cut with care,” he said.

Among the concerns raised by Myers were the Bill’s provisions relating to ministerial “step-in” powers, delegation of authority and indemnity protections for the authority, and its personnel. He argued that important questions remain unanswered regarding the limits of those powers and the safeguards that would prevent abuse.

He also questioned the scope of indemnity protections proposed under the legislation and warned that the Government must be careful to ensure the legislation does not eventually face constitutional challenges.

Suggesting that some of the powers proposed under NaRRA could face legal scrutiny if not carefully structured, Myers pointed to last week’s Constitutional Court ruling striking down a permit granted to Bengal Development Limited for limestone mining in the Dry Harbour Mountains, after the court found that the approval breached citizens’ constitutional rights to a healthy and productive environment.

He argued that the judgment showed courts are willing to intervene where ministerial actions are viewed as overreaching or inconsistent with constitutional protections.

“So one of the things that the Government has to guard against now, in terms of trying to push through this Bill, is that they don’t put up a Bill that may be seen as unconstitutional… so you don’t want to do it after the fact, you want to do it from before, make sure that you cut your cloth right,” he said.

However, Myers repeatedly stressed that his position should not be interpreted as opposition to rebuilding efforts or viewed through a partisan political lens.

“We are not saying to slow down things, what we want is to ensure that what is being done is being done for us. And we’re not asking about it along party lines, we’re asking about it along the lines of if this is what Jamaica wants,” Myers said.

He also argued that the Bill appears heavily focused on large-scale investments such as tourism, agriculture, and mining projects, while paying insufficient attention to smaller communities and sectors directly affected by Hurricane Melissa which slammed into Jamaica’s south-western coast and moved across north-western parishes last October.

“They also said that they’re going to look at certain areas and then put in some big things about high-value tourism, high-value agriculture, and the critical minerals and different big words. But guess what is not there? Focus on fisheries, focus on small farmer agriculture… So, if you are going talk about resilience and rebuilding, and you want to focus on the communities and the people who are impacted most, then any form of Bill should speak about that,” he said.

This house in Parottee, St Elizabeth crumbled during Hurricane Melissa. (Photo: Karl Mclarty)