THE EDITOR, Madam:
Some of us have become addicted to being reactive rather than being proactive, especially as it relates to integrated planning in the process of the mitigation of natural disasters.
The methodology to planning without compromise requires a paradigm shift, which evokes the relevance of the 16th President of the United States who said, "The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate for the stormy present". With the critical issue of natural disasters, all the scientific indicators of intense global warming hence more aggressive intensity and frequency of natural disasters, unfortunately, are unavoidable.
As sure as day is light we must vigorously at all times develop a sustainable culture of preparedness, to penultimately engender the mitigation effort.
We must underline the fact the poor are the ones who suffer most, and even the socio-economic better off are increasingly finding it burdensome to sustain home and crop insurance. The call by Dr. Barbara Carby for a fund to be set up is timely and this can be done in the same way that the government raided the National Housing Trust money of $5 billion to the arena of education.
It is inevitable I rekindle the issue of disaster mitigation as it relates to the Little London division, Westmoreland.
It is impatient of debate that no disaster mitigation can be optimised without the priority to the cleaning of the mother of all drains, Margaret Gutter, any other effort is cosmetics.
It is urgently imperative to once again call on MP Wykeham McNeill to allocate annually from the Social and Economic Support Programme (SESP) a minimum of $650,000 to clean this almost three miles of river.
PUBLIC EDUCATION
The Office of Disaster Pre-paredness must reach out to the communities via public education; our love for music must be harnessed as a public relations instrument to encourage the people to be present.
It would not be balanced justice not to encourage and call on the citizenry to practise good and sound ecological practices, for example, the proper disposal of garbage, enhance the culture of minimal soil erosion to name a few.
I reiterate to our Member of Parliament Wykeham McNeill for a comprehensive drainage programme for the Little London division.
The rural town of Little London should be earmarked for development under the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) umbrella called 'The Comprehen-sive Rural Township Development Programme'.
I urge the office of Disaster Preparedness to coalesce with the community organisations and continue to oil the machinery of mitigation; the shelters, the shelter managers are integral to disaster mitigation.
Interestingly, the Parish Development Committee, if it is living up to its mandate, must be juxtaposed with macro developments in the parish. Is this body in a coma?
If we fail to plan succinctly we plan to fail; the leadership in the truest sense must light an eternal flame of leadership; they must be inspirational; they must positively lead.
I am, etc.,
FRANK MANBORDE
Little London
Westmoreland
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