The Bahamas tables Bill to improve preparations for and response to disasters
By Macushla N. Pinder
Fri, 28 Oct 2005, 10:40
Nassau, Bahamas, October 27, 2005 (The Bahama Journal)- In the wake of yet another hurricane, the government yesterday took a major step to ensure that the delivery of relief and response to disaster and emergencies come quickly and effectively and that “real help” follows as soon as is humanly possible.
But Prime Minister Perry Christie said the Disaster Preparedness and Response Bill also places great focus on preparing for disasters and taking steps to substantially decrease their impact where possible.
Mr. Christie led debate in the House of Assembly on the much-anticipated Bill, which had been in the making prior to the 2002 general election.
When he tabled the Bill in the House of Assembly on October 5, Mr. Christie noted the urgency of getting it passed – a sentiment he reiterated yesterday.
"Our country is compelled to always place at the highest level on the national agenda our obligation to protect the most vulnerable and the most disadvantaged amongst us," he said
"We have an obligation to always recognize from the history of disasters that the people most impacted and disadvantaged [are] the poor…And so I am happy to say that the new approach contained in this Bill signals the commitment of the Government of The Bahamas to very clearly defined [and] clearly understood policies embracing [and] minimizing, preparedness for, response to and recoveries from emergencies and disasters in our country."
The proposed legislation would establish the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) as a statutory body.
The government would also be empowered to declare certain areas national disaster zones.
According to the prime minister, based on the model legislation presented by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA), of which this country has been a member for the past 15 years, two recommendations were proposed for The Bahamas.
"They indicated that we can either form an agency – a corporation similar to Jamaica or use a government department. We decided to follow the government department’s model because it gives us greater access to the expertise in the public service and because unlike any country in this hemisphere, we’re a chain of islands," the prime minister explained.
Mr. Christie, however, stressed that the one unmistakable point that must be emphasized throughout the debate is that comprehensive planning and forward thinking to anticipate natural disasters will minimize their effects before they happen.
"Investments in keeping the damaging effects of a disaster to a minimum are much more cost effective than sums of money spent after the fact on relief and rehabilitation," he said.
The prime minister lamented that over the past 15 years, the government has had to spend much of its resources to rebuild and repair the same roads, buildings, homes, and other infrastructure.
Debate on the Disaster Preparedness and Response Bill came only a day after Prime Minister Christie and a team of technical experts toured Grand Bahama to assess the damage caused by Hurricane Wilma, which struck on Monday.
The coastal areas of Grand Bahama were slammed with raging waves that broke through concrete structures and dragged away personal possessions, leaving many residents shocked and surprised.
"God knows my knees are weak when I come and know that it’s another major experience for our country where we have to reorder our priorities to immediately send relief into Grand Bahama," Mr. Christie said.
The prime minister also said that 50 marines arrived in Grand Bahama yesterday morning with supplies of varying kinds.
According to Mr. Christie, school psychologists and guidance counselors have also been mobilized to go into the affected communities.
He said he has also invited the commissioner of police to redirect all the island’s urban renewal teams to concentrate on the impacted areas.
"I directed the minister of housing to move immediately to have Mr. Melvin Seymour who has recently been appointed director of urban renewal to go back to Grand Bahama where he was to ensure that maximum coordination is brought to bear on the immediate efforts we have to make, and to ensure that there is this coordinated approach to identifying landlords who own those places with a view to seeing how we can work with them to have their places restored as quickly as possible," Mr. Christie said.
"That’s what we’re faced with."
Minister of Housing Shane Gibson’s immediate assessment of Grand Bahama is that at least 100 homes were destroyed.
"We’re not talking about piece knock off here, piece knock off there. We’re talking about destruction," the prime minister added.
"We saw angry young men who were questioning whether or not public resources were brought to bear in sufficient time….There were people that said they didn’t expect it but still said ‘Thank God for life’."
The government spent some $8 million of what it projected to be a $24 million expenditure after hurricanes Frances and Jeanne battered Grand Bahama last September, according to Prime Minister Christie.
Source: http://www.jonesbahamas.com/?c=45&a=5781&sid=0daf28e3d5863e58951ae374e62db819