Christopher Burgess | Why Melissa matters: Balancing debt with development

People in Jamaica have been preparing and bracing for Hurricane Melissa’s impact since last Monday. Trust stare us in the face; underdevelopment remains our national vulnerability.

Kingston Metropolitan Area drainage network has not kept pace with urban expansion. In Negril that is exposed to erosion, the refusal to invest in resilience now only deepens vulnerability. Too often, a few privileged voices outweigh the public good, stalling projects that could protect thousands. Meanwhile, the fears of vulnerable communities’ island-wide continue, as they expect to bear the brunt. As one resident of Darling Street put it: “The water usually goes out, but now the water turns on the people. They know the man that blocked the drain, and the water turns back on everybody – and they don’t talk.”

This captures Jamaica’s deeper problem – underdevelopment. The real question is whether Melissa will make us act differently. Debt management must be balanced with social and economic resilience.

INFRASTRUCTURE THAT MATCHES CLIMATE

Even on the eve of a national crisis, politicians seem to be unable to coordinate and collaborate. There was a squabble among parliamentarians last week for a paltry sum of $200 million in nationwide drain cleaning. Then, at the last minute, the amount was doubled to $400 million – still inadequate. How could that suffice to clear drains along the south coast, expected to receive 300–450 millimetres of rainfall, where proper preparation would need at least $8 billion?

Dr Alfred Dawes, member of parliament for South East Catherine, put it plainly that with the tiny sum received for his low-lying constituency, he could only clean one outlet to the sea. Who is then crafting these meagre $400 million budgets for a government with $11 billion underspend on the capital budget? The officials responsible for these figures might need more than retraining.

Last week, a TVJ report showed an elderly resident standing beside Sandy Gully, half clogged on the eve of Melissa, pleading for help. It was, of course, too late. That section should have been cleared in 2023, when the blockage was already known. The NWA’s drain and road maintenance must become predictable, planned, and professional – not a last-minute, scramble after the rain begins to fall.

The lack of routine maintenance, and development is at the heart of each major flood event. We cannot keep relying on undersized drains built for the 1960s and expecting them to perform credibly. Today, our systems face storms 20 per cent more intense from climate change and urban expansion.

COASTAL DEFENCES

On the coast, we watch beaches like Hellshire disappear and the livelihoods at risk, mostly from climate-related events. Why are technocrats studying Hellshire for fifteen years, while concessions are granted to private developers for premium beaches, further restricting public beach access? The result is profit for a few, peril for the many.

Our national response should include a mixture of manmade and natural stabilization options. Mangrove restoration, revetments and sand nourishment on eroded beaches, and setbacks that account for sea level rise and stronger storms. Coastal towns like Savanna-la-Mar, Rocky Point, and Negril must not be left out. The recent coastal protection projects along Port Royal Street, Harmony Beach, Palisadoes and in Annotto Bay show that resilience is achievable – if we act with consistency.

LANDSLIDES RISK

Just last week, experts again warned of landslide risks. Some ‘upscale’ developments have left hillside bare, inviting erosion. We have seen this story before in Haiti where the poor have no choice but to retreat to desperate situations, except this is Tavistock and Jacks Hill, where vanity meets vulnerability, for a long-term relationship.

Slope instability in our mountains worsens with storms and soil saturation. We remember the 2023 Tavistock landslide, the 2009 Jacks Hill collapse that cut off Papine for two years, and the 1998 destruction from Hurricane Mitch. Building foolishly in high-risk zones doesn’t make it safer, it only raises the costs.

The hazard-mapping and slope-stabilisation studies done by USAID and ODPEM in 1999 now gather dust. Where are the experts? Migration has drained Jamaica’s technical class, and too many of my colleagues complain that leaders ignore the knowledge that remains. I can only urge our leaders and investors: open the reports, and build wisely.

DEBT VERSUS RESILIENCE BALANCE

Each year climate-related hazards cost an estimated 1.2-1.4 per cent of GDP, according to World Bank and IDB studies. Disasters aren’t free, but that cost can decline with smarter resilience investments. With public debt falling from 145 per cent to 73 per cent of GDP today, and nearing the 60 per cent target soon, there is now space to expand the capital budget.

We cannot let the debt-burden choke safety and development. Like resilience, infrastructure must be seen as an investment. Capital spending that reduces risk, also boosts productivity, but only if guided by transparent procurement and credible cost–benefit analysis. The new Public Investment Appraisal Form is a step in the right direction, helping justify today’s infrastructure decisions as tomorrow’s protection from storms even stronger than Melissa.

Melissa reminds us, that Jamaica stands at this crossroads of fiscal restraint and vulnerability from underdevelopment. Politicians and technocrats can continue the reactive scramble before and after every storm, or we can build resilience through planned infrastructure development.

When even modest winds and rainfall from Beryl cause us to lose power for weeks and the floods from 90 minutes of rainfall of September 19 this year ravage some of our most ‘developed’ areas, it’s time to pay attention to developing our infrastructure.

Christopher Burgess, PhD, is registered civil engineer, land developer and the managing director of CEAC Solutions. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com