The irony at ODPEM

THE EDITOR, Madam:

I am writing with reference to the article ‘Pests, mould destroy $4m in relief supplies at ODPEM’ published in The Gleaner on December 4. It is indeed rather ironic to learn that Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), the agency charged with ‘disaster preparedness’ should be experiencing such disastrous management in-house.

This highlights the systemic failure over the years, following Hurricane Gilbert (1988), after which PM Seaga commissioned a ‘multi-agency report, chaired by Alfred Sangster, to make recommendations for the upgrading and improvements in the then ODP.

It would be interesting to know what became of the findings and recommendations of the Sangster Report, given the details presented in the article based on the review of the auditor general; in light of the many disasters that have occurred since Gilbert, taking into consideration Jamaica’s vulnerability to such events.

Jamaica cannot afford the luxury of not being prepared for disasters. Indeed, the budgetary allocation has been increased, but there still seems to be serious failings in the management and staffing of the Agency. It is not too late to have these failings corrected, so that the public can be assured that the ODPEM will be more efficient and effective in its future Operations.

CYRIL ADAMS