THE MOVEMENT of migrant populations from rural areas to urban centres has long provided fertile ground for sociological studies and templates for government planners to draft programmes to address the attendant problems. But, as often happens, good plans either get shelved for lack of financial support or are forgotte Failure to act in a coordinated and intentional manner only results in the problems getting worse.
This situation was highlighted in our Sunday Gleaner report, demonstrating the extent to which the infrastructure of towns, such as May Pen, Clarendon, Ocho Rios, St. Ann and Montego Bay, St. James, are now under serious pressure. This pressure is manifested in informal settlements, with thousands of unemployed people seeking jobs of any kind, and the destruction of overburdened sewerage systems. Even attempts at the formal construction of dwellings for professionals are not without problems. Often, the new houses are hooked up to systems with which they are not compatible.
Studies done by various government agencies, including the Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) more than a decade ago, have pointed to the absence of a comprehensive settlement policy. This lack of a coordinated policy has resulted in intense competition for land for commercial and residential purposes.
Green Paper Number 4/94, 'Towards a Land Policy for Jamaica', noted there has been a heavy flow of migrants into the urban areas at a much faster pace than the Government's ability to provide serviced lots for low-income settlements. This has resulted in significant residential squatting where the landless have established spontaneous settlements without permission or guidance and without minimum installation of infrastructure.
Typically, infrastructure improvements lag behind home construction. Households may spring up rapidly, but it may take several years to secure funding for new roads. Traffic congestion, police services and arrangements for garbage collection are also dealt with slowly.
In one of the examples cited by The Sunday Gleaner, May Pen Mayor, Milton Brown, has noted that with the available land space on the outskirts of the town, several sprawling communities have now sprung up. The fact is our municipal and central government authorities have failed to act on the earliest signs of people beginning to set up houses where they are not permitted. Often, this stems from a fear of a political fallout.
Sunday's report should stir government authorities to revisit this most pressing problem. We would suggest that in seeking solutions, that dialogue be had with private groups, such as churches, which own extensive acreages of under-utilised land. We do not expect the churches or any other group to give away land without being compensated. But, arrangements can be entered which results in a win-win situation for all parties with the Government acting as a broker.
There should also be a more deliberate attempt at economic diversification so that the pull factor to the urban centres is less intense. The upgrading of schools and the provision of health facilities in rural areas will also help to reduce the tendency for people to move as close as possible to town centres with centralised services. But above everything, the State must also be more firm in maintaining zoning laws taking steps to nip in the bud, squatter settlements that have long-term impact on the country's social infrastructure and its ecology.
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