Full speed ahead with JDIP

Derrick C. Smith, Contributor

THERE CAN be no dispute that the Government inherited a decrepit and neglected physical infrastructure and some new highways when it assumed office after the general election of 2007.

Calamitous potholes and crater-filled roads were the order of the day, even as numerous bridges that connect vital townships and residential communities were unable to withstand the elements, collapsing under gushing winds and heavy rains.

This has been caused, in part, by the abject insufficiency of resources in the Consolidated Fund to adequately maintain the island's road network and myriad bridges across the island under the People's National Party (PNP) administration.

For many years, the groaning of thousands of tax-paying Jamaicans, who made tremendous sacrifices to maintain their homes as they saw them devalued by the failure of the then Government to maintain the road network, was as deafening as the screech of their motor vehicles that hit potholes of varying sizes and shapes on the neglected road network.

Convenient amnesia

Accordingly, one would have expected that the Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme (JDIP) that is designed by the Government, would have been welcomed by all patriotic Jamaicans, in and out of the political arena.

Sadly, members of the Opposition, which had responsibility for the infrastructure for 18¹/² years, now seem to be afflicted with an acute bout of convenient amnesia. The tragic reality is that the Opposition knows quite well how to "run wid it" if the populace is to be guided by a brazen admission of none other than the former Minister of Finance, Dr Omar Davies, who held the purse strings for 14 of the 18 years under the PNP.

I suspect that because of its own realities, the PNP can only see political exploitation even where none exists.

Mr Robert Pickersgill, a former works minister, has had the gall subsequently to mount a protest against the concept and philosophy of the JDIP even before the programme was properly launched. The unadulterated fact is that for most of the PNP's 18-year reign, it was Pickersgill who was the minister with portfolio responsibility for transport and works. It was he who had promised a Jamaica that would be "pothole free by 2003".

Shameless attitude of pnp

But years after Mr Pickersgill's rhyming rhetoric, he was not able to fill the innumerable potholes that pockmarked the island's road network and the pockets of most Jamaicans felt the effects. Furthermore, in a disgraceful demonstration of plain badminded and raw politics, the Opposition has been shameless in its efforts to derail a commendable approach by the Government. For after Mr Pickersgill complained prematurely about unfair selection of roads to be repaired, Dr Davies, the former finance minister, protested against what he characterised as the lack of transparency.

There is no question that a programme of the magnitude of the JDIP requires adequate monitoring to ensure ample transparency. The Government has, in a spirit of cooperation, sought to satisfy the Opposition, but the protestations have not ceased. Clearly, the PNP is not in a mood to be accommodating. A general election is too near to expect that from the Opposition.

Certainly, a system of accountability is required to monitor this US$400 million project and well-meaning proposals must be welcomed and taken on board by the Government, but equally important is the need for the programme to get under way without needless obstacles.

In the scheme of things, the JDIP has to ensure that the stated intent and schedule of implementation are strictly adhered to over the life. If the JDIP fails to live up to its expectations, as many projects before it have, the integrity of the programme could be severely compromised. If the country is to be guided by recent poll findings, the majority of Jamaicans have welcomed the project as a good one for the country.

The Opposition would do well to be guided by the sentiments of Jamaicans. The attempt to deprive them of improved and enhanced infrastructure may be to the party's peril. Of significance is the fact that many Jamaican homeowners are moving to enhance the value of their homes in areas in which the positive effects of the JDIP has been in evidence. I, therefore, encourage the Government to proceed full speed ahead and not be daunted by the short-sighted naysayers.