Building codes must be enforced as a matter of priority if the Caribbean is to be better prepared to respond to disasters and hazards.
That’s according to new executive director of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), Ronald Jackson, who held his first Press conference yesterday since the appointment on April 3.
Jackson, a former director general of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) in Jamaica, said work had to be done not only in applying and revising the codes, but legislating them.
“We have seen across the globe where success has taken place, there has been a mix of the code application and accountability of developers in this regard,” he said.
Speaking at CDEMA’s headquarters at the Manor Lodge Complex in Green Hill, Jackson said: “What we should be doing is hastening our pace of moving from behind the eight ball. We are making some strides but we shouldn’t sit back and be casual about it. We should seek to advance on our movement.”
