Too much politics

By Garth Rattray

Politics so permeates our society that it is often a liability. It has absolutely no place in governance - whether from the Government or Opposition. Once elected into office, members of parliament should stop politicking.

Newly elected MP Desmond McKenzie, the opposition spokesman on urban renewal and rural development, blamed politics for problems in controlling the fire at the Riverton City garbage-disposal site and called on 'the Government' to investigate its impact on residents very near to it.

Mr McKenzie, ex-mayor of Kingston, accused the administration of unnecessarily retrieving heavy equipment from far-off rural areas to fight the fire and for the removal of knowledgeable persons from the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) - all because of politics.

Minister of Local Government Noel Arscott responded by denying the dismissal of experts (clarifying the number that left because of completion of their contracts) and remarked that this fire was tamed within days, while the other recent fire, which occurred under Mr McKenzie's tour of duty as mayor, took weeks to be brought under control.

Both parties guilty

Whenever there is a change of administration, complaints of political dismissals are not uncommon. Because this practice disturbed me so much, I submitted a piece, 'Say it ain't so, Mr Golding' (published in The Gleaner on Monday, January 28, 2008).

Both parties are culpable of shifting around individuals for expedience. But, the most egregious statement on the matter came from the former de facto information minister, Daryl Vaz, during a political rally, when he declared that they intended "digging out" suspected People's National Party sympathi-sers who were thought to be getting in the way of the Jamaica Labour Party administration.

It is painfully obvious that the garbage-disposal site fire and existing conditions have become political fodder, even though serious problems at Riverton are far from new. Because the political base of both major parties is made up of poor people, some of whom are desperate and helpless, squatter communities and unplanned/unregulated 'developments' are allowed to establish themselves and flourish almost anywhere - including very proximal to the unsecured garbage-disposal area.

Turning a blind eye to the establishment, development and expansion of unplanned and unregulated communities gets politicians off the hook as it relates to the responsibility for finding land and housing for hundreds of thousands of our citizens. It also facilitates dependency on handouts and, therefore, establishes a patronage relationship with voters, which pays dividends at election time.

Grave health consequences

Although the NSWMA website designates the 100-acre Riverton City garbage-disposal area as a 'landfill', in reality, over all these years, it has been a very poorly managed dump. People and animals access all garbage (degradable materials, animal waste, animal parts, unsafe material, toxic material, infectious material and even poisonous material) uninhibited.

No one knows for certain how the toxins are entering the food chain or how the rainwater has been causing a percolation of harmful chemicals into the aquifer, into underground reservoirs and even into the sea.

The pungent and nauseating stench from the disposal site has been wafting its way into established commercial and residential areas - especially on the night breeze - for years. Even when there is no raging fire at the disposal site, the smoke from smouldering flammable material, plastics and innumerable hazardous material has been silently invading communities and having - yet to be fully determined - health consequences on citizens who depend on the Government to protect them from harm. The fires catalyse, exacerbate and intensify the spread of extremely harmful, pathology-producing chemicals.

Politics had a lot to do with the present deplorable, dangerous and hellish conditions at the dump. However, making it a political issue now is transparently opportunistic and non-productive.

Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com.