BLAME US!

ARGUING that stakeholders “failed to plan properly for a worst-case scenario”, chief executive officer at the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) Leonard Francis, on Wednesday, held these agencies accountable for the destruction that occurred following the passage of Hurricane Melissa last October, and other disaster events.

According to Francis, who was speaking at the World Planning Day 2026 event held at AC Hotel Kingston, the blame should not be placed on any one organisation, but instead each body responsible for planning and monitoring should be held accountable for the damage.

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He named NEPA and the municipal authorities specifically, and then made mention of others, including, “everyone here in the room, you bear responsibility for what went wrong. Regulators could have done better. Those who drew the plans, those who constructed, those who were to enforce, did you let the ball drop?”