Law. A powerful means of controlling human behaviour and providing stability in the collective ideals and thoughts of mankind. The proviso to that however is the fact that society does not remain static. It is fluid and therefore laws need to be more relevant to be effective. They must respond directly to social, economic, technological, moral, and political change. Failure to do this is tantamount to driving a car that you haven’t serviced in years and expecting it to perform the way it did when you got it years ago. There simply has to be progression.
Earlier this week on Twitter, I created a thread on outdated laws in Jamaica. Although my list pales in comparison to the 800 laws that are said to be under the process of amendment per Minister of Justice Delroy Chuck, the fundamental truth is that successive administrations have been neglectful in this regard. Notwithstanding the valiant effort to amend the penalties of certain laws through the Law Reform (Amendment of Penalties Act), there is much more to be done. Amending the penalties for Major Crimes is one thing but there is a silent killer that could claim more lives than we could ever anticipate. Climate Change has made us acutely aware of the need to adapt to the paradigm shifts in our climate patterns and further emphasizes the necessity of developing a climate-resilient country. Jamaica has been like a stubborn grandfather that is stuck on his farmer’s almanac and refuses to see that the world around him is changing, not in the increments that he is used to, but in massive leaps and bounds. As such, it is no surprise that our country’s response to climate change has been lackluster. The truth is, We have so many laws on our books geared towards environmentally safe practices but the enforcement of these laws is often wanting. For example, the Country Fires Act prohibits the lighting of a fire without first notifying the nearest police station and clearing an open space of at least fifteen feet. This is seldom enforced. But here’s the funny part, failure to do this can result in a grand fine of 2,000 Jamaican Dollars. That’s right folks, the cost of six beef patties and an orange juice. Hilarious right? But it gets even better, the Act does not extend to the “urban and suburban districts of the corporate area”. I guess Kingston can’t have fires? Apart from the fact that laws such as these are every arsonist’s dream, fires in areas such as St. Elizabeth during periods of sustained drought are deadly and often lead to excessive smoke which sits on the plains and hills of Jamaica’s breadbasket parish for days. The farmers are then punished through acid rain which substantially damages their crops and leaves them heavily indebted and discouraged. Another example is the Watersheds Protection Act which is of extreme importance as it concerns the protection of our drinking water and is essential to maintaining the quality of water on the island. The Act rightfully seeks to protect improvement works which entails the conservation or security of water resources. The problem is, someone who willfully or maliciously destroys or damages this work will be charged the fine of a lifetime, 200 Jamaican Dollars. Do you see the trend here? The political administrations over the years have been so caught up with making grand postures that real substantive change has not taken place. We have spent time amending the legislation that will win votes because of the short term impact insofar as crime is concerned but not on the legislation that will have long term consequences. We decided to ban styrofoam and plastic bags but not plastic bottles despite Daryl Vaz’s sectoral presentation on February 5, 2019, as then Minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, where he acknowledged that 50% of Jamaica’s total waste is from plastic bottles. Recycling isn’t working as Mr. Vaz himself acknowledged with a paltry 11% of that number actually being recycled. This is unsustainable and reflects poorly on a country that has the ability to be the environmental conscience of the world. We must be disruptive because our lives depend on it.
Jamaica needs to take its environmental responsibility seriously and begin to insist on the amendment of these laws. Crime control is important, don’t get me wrong, but the world is slowly learning that the intergenerational impact of climate change could be deadly. Climate change is more of a threat to Vision 2030 than Crime ever will be and it’s time for Jamaica to start acting like it. We must be disruptive and move towards legal reform that ignores corporate greed and fanciful promises.
MMW LAW 