Any new government initiative, and one as huge as the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA) will undergo hiccups, false starts, stumbles, and obstructions that will force reconsideration of new directions to be taken.

The big debate about office space and the CEO’s salary makes the point that there are important issues to which the public is paying attention and the Government ought to take note.

It is clear, in my opinion, that NaRRA has stumbled with regard to its proposed spending on office space.

The nearly $120-million per year price tag for nice and cushy offices on a waterfront in Kingston seemed out of sync with the real concerns on the ground in the devastated areas. The Government obviously thought this was a good deal, but ran up against the ever-present reality check of perception being stronger than reality.

The Government should have known that even if the planned expenditure was in keeping with market rates, the average Jamaican would consider this sum exorbitant. Weighed against the continued suffering of people in the devastated areas — especially in St Elizabeth, Westmoreland, and Hanover — outrage from the public and Opposition was all but guaranteed.

The Government was blindsided, but it is good that the Administration had this awakening early in the reconstruction process.

It is to the credit of Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness that he did not unwisely push back against this perception, but engaged damage control immediately. There was no point to be scored in fighting, regardless of how good the Government considered its decision.

There was more credit to be gained by swallowing a little spittle this early in the game than being hard-headed or Trumpian.

I agree with those who argue that more effort needs to be expended in finding accommodation for NaRRA within the confines of available government space, notwithstanding the need for resilient infrastructure.

This is the time to be nimble and not starry-eyed about what can be achieved and methodical and measured in what can be accomplished in the short term.

It would be more prudent to complete a few well-placed projects than to attempt too much too soon and have nothing meaningful to show for its efforts.

Initially, projects must be concentrated where Hurricane Melissa hit the hardest. As important as a water project may be in Kingston, it cannot supersede an important project in one of the areas hit by the hurricane. My fear is that a great deal of capital and time may be spent elsewhere to the neglect of the affected areas.

The Government’s assistance to these devastated areas is already being questioned. If evidence of measurable projects completed on time is not seen in the affected parishes, its reputation for managing recovery will be further damaged.

Every project demands time and effort within the context of limited resources. People will applaud those that are finished, however small, and decry those which languish for months into years with overruns because more was bitten off than could be chewed.

We need not see every slip or tumble as an occasion for derision, recrimination, and “cass-cass”. Sometimes I believe we are too hard on ourselves.

We must hold the principals of NaRRA under the strictest scrutiny, but it is not every stumble that calls for criticism or making things seem larger than they actually are. The People’s National Party’s (PNP) disposition in this regard is regrettable.

It seems to await any instance, however miniscule and insignificant, to pounce. By crying about every perceived or actual misstep, it runs the risk of painting itself into a corner of irrelevance.

Such an occurrence would be unfortunate because, in future, when we really need to hear from the PNP, it will come across as the party that cried wolf. The PNP does not have to take my advice, but as the only person who has been writing public commentary in the printed media consistently for the past 50 years, I can claim a little privilege to do so.

I have seen many come and go; many who have sullied and sacrificed otherwise good reputations on the altar of self-aggrandizement; some who thought of themselves more highly than they ought to have done and have simply ended up in the dustbin of history with nothing to show but a punctured ego.

Insofar as the PNP can muster it, it would be well advised to be more cerebral and patriotic in its criticism of NaRRA. These criticisms are necessary, but they must be constructive, well thought out, and not scatter-brained.

We know the party’s disagreement with aspects of the legislation that brought NaRRA into being, but enough of the whining so early in the day. The cry-baby status does not befit a serious party waiting to form the next Government.

Regarding the CEO’s compensation package, I will say this: Major General Anderson has held important posts in government and his work ethic, productivity, and other bona fides have been well established.

In the scheme of things, his pay package does not seem to me to be exorbitant, considering the enormity of the task that faces him.

But for the aforementioned concern about perception, it would be better if there were a graduated pay package, starting at a certain rung and, in the second year or so, moving to a threshold based on performance on the job.

This is new for everybody and the utmost caution, with fairness, must be the order of the day as we plough forward.

Whether he is up to the task will be seen, but his compensation should be commensurate with the heavy lifting he is being asked to do.

This is not an easy job. He is not to be begrudged the pay for doing it. I averred in an earlier piece that a little prayer for him cannot but help. I still stand by this exhortation.

Dr Raulston Nembhard is a priest, social commentator, and author of the books Finding Peace in the Midst of Life’s Storms; Your Selfesteem Guide to a Better Life; and Beyond Petulance: Republican Politics and the Future of America. He writes a Substack — The Healing Self — on substack.com. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or stead6655@aol.com.