THE National Works Agency (NWA) admitted yesterday that it would have to seek additional funding for disaster mitigation, arising from the threat of flooding from a tropical wave from the remnants of Tropical Storm Chantal.
A report from the agency, which should have been discussed by Parliament’s Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC) at Gordon House yesterday, showed that despite a request to the Ministry of Finance for $400 million in the 2013/14 budget to clean drains and gullies, the agency only got $31 million.The agency said in the report that it was “concerned about the impact” of the under-funding, which amounted to less than 10 per cent of a request to fund its Capital A Flood Damage Rehabilitation Cleaning of Gullies and Drains Mitigation Programme.The agency also expressed concern about the impact of the decreased allocation for routine maintenance activities as well, which fell from $1 billion last year to $500 million this year.The report was tabled but not discussed, as the NWA’s representatives had to beat a hasty retreat to Jamaica House, where a meeting had been convened by Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller to discuss the threat from the tropical system and the possibility of excessive flooding.But Opposition Spokesman on Finance Audley Shaw said that the retreat to Jamaica House would not help unless the Ministry of Finance agreed to release more funds for gully and drain-cleaning.“Only $1 million has been allocated to Manchester, and I only got $200,000. What can $200,000 do?” Shaw asked.PAAC Chairman Edmund Bartlett said Shaw was lucky to get $200,000 for North East Manchester, as he only got $30,000 for the gullies and drains in East Central St James.Audrey Sewell, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Transport, Works and Housing, under which the NWA falls, admitted that the $31 million allocated was inadequate, but said that under-allocation for flood mitigation was customary.“The ministry, the NWA and related agencies will just have to sit down and look at what we have, what faces us and to see what we can do, as we did with Hurricane Sandy,” she said.“We didn’t have any special allocation for Sandy (last year), but then we had to re-allocate resources based on what faced us,” she added, suggesting that the same would have to be done again this year.Bartlett said he hoped that more funds could be found, “because, certainly what has been provided cannot, in any way, deal with the problem”.“The drains are blocked from bow to stern in every parish, and $31 million is ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous,” Bartlett added.Government MP Lloyd B Smith told the Jamaica Observer after the meeting that he also felt that the $31 million allocation was ridiculous.Asked what he could do with a $31-million drain and gully cleaning programme, NWA Chief Executive Officer E G Hunter responded, “clean $31 million worth of drains”.However, he said that he expected an improvement in the figure, following the threat of adverse weather.A dirty Barbican gully is seen in this recent Observer file photo.View the original article here
Chantal prompts look at lack of funds for flood mitigation
