It is always a risky thing to second-guess someone’s explanation of a situation, especially one given to controversy, as in the case of the prime minister’s decision to place the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) in his office.

Mitigation specialist and former head of ODPEM, Dr Barbara Carby, disagrees with last week’s announcement by Dr Andrew Holness and his explanation that the move was intended to establish a single point for emergency logistics and further tighten coordination with relief partners.

Arguing that the shift to the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) was “not convincing or logical”, Dr Carby said it risked “mixing up politics with operation” and she feared that the head of the national emergency centre might not have “the courage to speak up… with the prime minister leading the charge”.

The new ODPEM director general, under the changes, is Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) Commander Alvin Gayle, while the former acting head, Mr Richard Thompson, has been reassigned to the OPM “to assist in the establishment of strategic frameworks and systems for national relief and recovery efforts”.

“Based on what the prime minister has said, I see no reason to move it [ODPEM],” Dr Carby insisted, suggesting that there was already a single point for coordination — the National Emergency Coordination Centre. “In all emergency-management doctrine, the emergency operation centre is the point from which all response is coordinated.”

Some people have dismissed Dr Carby’s criticisms as politically motivated. We don’t see it that way.

The enormity of the disaster recovery effort needs all voices, especially of people who are as qualified and experienced as Dr Carby — a patriot who has served her country well — to be heard. It is dangerous to proceed on the basis that every criticism is politically motivated. Constructive criticism is critical to the success of this project.

At the same time, we suspect that the prime minister has not said everything that could be said about moving the ODPEM to the OPM. And, if we are correct, Dr Holness might be taking a leaf out of late Prime Minister Edward Seaga’s book at the time of Hurricane Gilbert in 1988.

Mr Seaga took full control of the then Office of Disaster Preparedness (ODP), and even moved some relief supplies up to Jamaica House, apparently to bring tighter control to the process, ward off thievery, and stem partisan distribution of materials, including by his own supporters.

In that respect, we support the appointment of Commander Gayle, a seasoned military officer with over two decades of service in the JDF and who brings extensive experience in operational planning, crisis management, maritime search and rescue, disaster prevention, and risk management.

Dr Holness might also have noticed that former Prime Minister P J Patterson brought in Mr Danville Walker — who later ran on a Jamaica Labour Party ticket — to mastermind the reconstruction process after Hurricane Ivan in 2004, based on his superlative success as director of elections.

What Commander Gayle brings, as Mr Walker did when he helmed the Office of National Reconstruction (ONR), is a non-partisan approach that can calm nerves and raise trust among the disparate parties involved in the post-Melissa reconstruction.