In all fairness, Hurricane Joaquin was an unexpected,
explosive force and no amount of preparation could have prevented the
damage.
That is not to say emergency
preparation like the identification of shelters/safe houses or advance
notice for residents should not have been undertaken, but it all begs a
couple questions about the responsibility of the Members of Parliament
for the affected areas.
Besides making more and
more cumbersome laws and regulations what is the actual job description
of a Member of Parliament and Cabinet Ministers?
They take an Oath of Allegiance and the Ministers take an Oath of Office, but what do they actually do in their constituency?
Since we're stuck with, and pay them, their job description should be a matter of public record.
Suggesting they created NEMA and the ZNS Radio network etc is not enough.
The
government has repeatedly shown it does not have the resources nor the
ability to manage all the infrastructure here on New Providence much
less the many islands with ports and airports, electricity plants, and
water supplies etc.
Shouldn't the MP's at least
be interested enough in their constituency to make sure the laws
function to their intended effect? Building codes come to mind. Or where
they can't enforce them, amend the laws to exclude remote communities
from requirements for which people cannot be held to account. In other
words, a law that cannot be properly enforced is not worth the paper it
is written on.
How about a response to a
disaster like the one wrought by Joaquin? The government response has
been pathetic and here again, it would appear that getting tied up in
protocol and rules, when people need help, is the main problem.
On
the other hand, the private response has been phenomenal. Local private
pilots and airlines from the Family Islands and New Providence took to
the skies to survey damage and pointed to areas needing the most
attention.
The response of private groups like
HeadKnowles, the Rotary Clubs of The Bahamas, Trans Island Airways,
churches, the programme organized by the MP for Long Island using
private resources, and many, many more mobilized to help like never seen
before in The Bahamas, and remain active with helping those affected by
the storm, while the government is still not firing on all cylinders.
This
leads to personal responsibility and where it's obvious the
Nassau-centric government must yield power to proper local government
throughout the islands. Tax revenue collected should stay in and be
managed by the local communities. Likewise, if revenue is required for a
local project they should have the ability to tax themselves for it if
it's possible to raise those dollars at all.
Remote
communities understand their limitations where many in the political
class create a mirage that the central government can satisfy all needs
and provide all desires, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary.
This is highlighted in this instance when we see that most Members of
Parliament do not focus on how the laws and regulations impact or
function in the communities they supposedly "represent".
Joaquin
has certainly exposed weaknesses. Some of them could have been
prevented while others, like the complete devastation, could never have
been anticipated. But as for strengths, the private community response
has been wonderful to watch, proving yet again it is the people that
make a country, not a government.
Yours in Liberty,
Rick Lowe