Letter of the Day | The ‘Babylon’ system does not work
Published:Monday | February 17, 2025 | 10:22 AM
THE EDITOR, Madam:
I was deeply saddened to watch TVJ News on February 9, which reported on the plight of people, especially children, crossing the Craig Mill Bridge in Portland. They were forced to walk dangerously along the edge of the bridge due to its partial collapse. I was particularly disturbed by the image of a man with a child strapped to his back, navigating the precarious path.
I immediately reflected on the vulnerable members of the Craig Mill community — pregnant women, babies, children, the elderly, and individuals with special needs. How have they been coping? They have been confronting this crisis since 2012, when the bridge was ordered closed by the National Works Agency … 13 years of anguish!
On February 12, I watched a TVJ News update reporting that three government ministers had toured the area. Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Desmond McKenzie, acknowledged the community’s ongoing accessibility challenges and emphasised the need for urgent intervention. He announced that the Government would take a “route which is effective” by declaring the bridge a disaster area for immediate attention under the Disaster Risk Management Act. The declaration was made on February 14.
He stated: “If we wait on the system to work in the way that it is to work, then we probably will be here for the next two years trying to resolve this situation.”
This statement is a clear admission that the existing system for addressing infrastructure and related community needs DOES NOT WORK!
But why is the system not working? Taxpayers are funding a system that fails to meet our needs! The public deserves an explanation from the minister about the specific systemic failures at play. More importantly, what is the strategy being pursued to fix the system?
The fundamental problem lies in the persistence of a top-down, centralised government structure that is incapable of effectively addressing the needs of Jamaica’s more than 2,000 communities. The ‘Babylon’ system is not working because it was never designed to equitably address the needs of the majority of Jamaicans. We can fix it. Let’s start by restructuring both central and local government to empower communities through constitutional reform. Only then can we create a people-centred system that truly serves the needs of the Jamaica people.
ROSALEA HAMILTON, PhD