Carolyn Cooper | Crushing illegal construction in uptown Gaza

It’s the best Christmas present for law-abiding citizens who are being crushed by illegal construction in long-established residential communities. Public scrutiny of the operations of the Kingston & St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) and the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) appears to confirm our suspicions of sustained dereliction of duty.

On Sunday, December 19, The Gleaner published a most welcome news story headlined, “Corruption allegations cloud KSAMC over Birdsucker strata approval ‘error’.” When a powerful state agency like the Kingston & St Andrew Municipal Corporation makes an alleged error in the process of approving building projects, it makes you wonder if this was done accidentally on purpose.

The Gleaner published a follow-up article on Tuesday, December 21 by Jovan Johnson, senior staff reporter, with this damning headline:

“SLEEPING WATCHDOGS – KSAMC, NEPA slammed as developer almost triples rooms in building breaches”.

It seems as if the watchdogs are not sleeping at all. They are wide awake and viciously biting the hand that feeds them.

In theory, the watchdogs are supposed to protect taxpayers who feed them out of the public purse. But they don’t even bark when attackers threaten the safety and well-being of those they are supposed to defend. If the charge of corruption at the KSAMC and NEPA sticks, then it would appear that the lazy watchdogs are actually being fattened up by special interests groups who know they can depend on licky-licky officials to protect their real estate deals.

The KSAMC has attempted to do damage control in response to the incriminating reports. In another news story, also published on Tuesday, December 21, Jovan Johnson reported that “The L ocal Government Services Commission advised Robert Hill, the KSAMC’s chief executive officer in a letter yesterday that Shawn Martin, a field inspector who is also the second in command of planning, and assistant building surveyor Calvet Sutherland were interdicted from duty on full salary effective December 21.” It’s too little, too late. What about the higher-ups?

TAKING LESSONS FROM ANDREW HOLNESS

Citizens’ associations all across Jamaica have been joining forces to fight for the survival of our communities. We have long recognised that we cannot depend on NEPA to protect us from environmental degradation caused by overbuilding on relatively small lots. And as for the KSAMC! That’s another lost cause. The violation of restrictive covenants is a constant threat. KSAMC approval is given prematurely for construction of multi-family units on lots that are supposed to be single-family. It’s up to developers to apply for permission to vary the restrictive covenants. Many times they start building even before applying for permission. This backward system needs to be fixed. It encourages corruption.

Residents of neighbourhoods under attack are forced to defend their right to maintain restrictive covenants, often at great expense. Legal fees are not cheap. Residents also have to fight for their basic right to peace and quiet. In yet another Gleaner report published on Wednesday, December 22, Ainsworth Morris documented the “nightmare” in which residents on Merrivale Avenue are trapped. On a Sunday, when construction work in residential communities is not permitted, concrete-mixing trucks were in operation from 4:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.! Robert Hill admitted that the KSAMC had approved the invasion without even consulting residents.

Morris reported a revealing response to the residents’ complaints: “‘A bad-mind dem bad-mind,’ a construction worker said tersely.” The aggrieved worker appears to be taking lessons from Prime Minister Andrew Holness who repeatedly draws the ‘bad mind’ card, particularly in response to environmentalists who challenge aggressive over-development in the Corporate Area. Holness has made his position quite clear. The legislation on restrictive covenants should be reviewed.

I wonder how the prime minister would respond to a proposal to construct a multi-level apartment building close to his fortress on Shenstone Drive, in breach of existing restrictive covenants. There’s a vacant lot nearby that’s ripe for ‘development’. Occupants of apartments on the upper floors would be able to peer into the prime minister’s yard, with or without the benefit of binoculars. Would Andrew Holness welcome all of his new neighbours? Or, would he object to the building? And, if so, would he accuse himself of ‘bad-mind’ for not wanting this development?

CONSTRUCTION WAR ZONES

Construction sites are increasingly becoming war zones as various interest groups fight over competing rights. At 10 Roseberry Drive, the developer built 32 bedrooms instead of the approved 12, forcing neighbours to take legal action. It’s entirely appropriate that the zinc fence for the construction site bears the brand ‘GAZA,’ a name popularised by notorious dancehall DJ Vybz Kartel. On August 1, 2014, our award-winning novelist, poet and essayist Kei Miller posted a piece on his blog, https://underthesaltireflag.com, with this headline, “And the war rages on in Gaza (that is – Gaza, Jamaica).”

Miller observes that, “Inner-city communities in Jamaica, plagued by violence often imagine themselves as war zones, taking on the names of international sites of conflict. In August Town, for example, there is a section called Angola, or simply Gola. Also in August Town is Vietnam. In downtown Kingston there is Tel Aviv. And most recently in Portmore, Jamaica – there is Gaza.” War zones are no longer restricted to the inner city. Gaza has migrated uptown.

- Carolyn Cooper, PhD, is a teacher of English language and literature and a specialist on culture and development. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and karokupa@gmail.com.