Glenda Anderson, Staff Reporter
A NUMBER OF social agencies are still in the dark as to what their role and commitments in the 'failed' anti-crime plan should be. Up to last week, many had received no directives or specific instructions on what they were to do.
And to compound the issue, it appears no budgetary allocations were made to the agencies to carry out work they were expected carry out.
Among the agencies listed for involvement were the Social Development Commission (SDC), Culture, Health, Arts, Science and Technology (CHASE) Fund, Ministry of Health, PATH programme, Urban Development Corporation (UDC) Metropolitan Parks and Markets, Ministry of Education, National Water Commission (NWC), Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Kingston Restoration Company and the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC).
"There was no clear indication of what programmes were to be implemented, who has responsibility for what, or what is the responsibility of the various agencies," said Susan Goffe, a member of the consultative committee set up to monitor the implementation of the recommendations.
Mrs. Goffe said while there was the later understanding that the multi-agency team was to have continued their programmes, the individual groups were not informed of the way forward.
"There was no clear indication of what programmes were already in place, funding, timelines and targets to be met."
However, senior police officers just over a week ago blamed failures in aspects of their crime-fighting plan on the absence of these same agencies which were ignorant of their specific roles.
According to the head of the KRC, Morin Seymour: "It might well be that they intend to engage the KRC but at this moment we are not aware of it, nor have we been given any particular task."
One source at the NWC said he was unaware of any specific mandate for the company besides that related to current efforts at community assistance where necessary.
But co-ordinator of the multi-agency team, Alistair Cooke, pointed to tasks which should have been assumed by some agencies.
One example was the UDC which was to be responsible for building houses which were to be funded through the National Housing Trust.
But the UDC pointed to a similar role under an earlier programme, the Inner City Renewal Programme (ICRP), which was launched in 2001. This specific programme precedes, and is therefore separate from, but in some aspects could be complementary to, what is here referred to as the "latest programme of social intervention for inner city communities".
In a press release the company said: "Please note that the UDC is also involved in the Downtown Kingston Re-development Programme, main components of which will be the provision of new housing and the re-development of the Business Improvement District. Under the ICRP the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) is the lead co-ordinating agency. Other lead agencies are the KSAC, Ministry of National Security, Social Development Commission (SDC) and the Kingston Restoration Company (KRC) working in collaboration with over 45 public and private sector agencies and NGOs."
CHASE identified its job as to 'provide funding to upgrade facilities in early childhood education health and sports in particular.'
"The impact of such a programme is not immediate; it is developmental in nature so it will take some time," it said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Cooke has admitted to several flaws in the planning process. Chief among them was the absence of a workable schedule for activities which should have seen social service groups urgently restoring crucial systems in inner-city areas.
"We didn't set realistic timelines," Mr. Cooke said. "It's extremely easy to deploy security forces immediately, and they have done a very good job, but there is the situation where all these other agencies should have then gone in afterwards to do follow-up in the areas," he added.
Still, to date an action plan for the programme has not yet been discussed. Amidst accusations of turning a blind eye to the collapsing Crime Plan, civic group activists on the Consultative Committee say early warnings were ignored.
"We (JFJ) have written twice to the Ministry of National Security indicating our great concern. It was obvious from very early that they were not being implemented at the rate needed to have an impact, and the long delay in putting the draft action plan before the committee has also contributed to this in that the information has not been before the Committee," Susan Goffe said.
