KINGSTON, Jamaica — People’s National Party (PNP) Shadow Minister of Environment and Climate Resilience, Omar Newell, is calling on the Government to immediately transfer the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) from the Ministry of Economic Growth, citing perceived conflict.

In a statement on Wednesday, Newell noted that NEPA currently falls under MEGID, whose portfolio minister is Prime Minister, Dr Andrew Holness.

The MP said as a result, the same portfolio responsible for promoting major infrastructure expansion and economic growth also oversees Jamaica’s principal environmental regulator.

Arguing that the issue is not partisan, but structural, Newell said: “Environmental regulation must not only be independent, it must be seen to be independent. When the authority approving large-scale developments sits within the same portfolio driving those developments, the perception of conflict becomes unavoidable.”

He noted that Jamaica has previously structured its environmental governance differently and more coherently citing the second administration of Portia Simpson Miller.

At that time, Newell said, NEPA operated within the Ministry of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, giving environmental policy and regulation a clear institutional home while formally integrating climate change at the ministerial level.

Newell argued that that arrangement demonstrated that development and environmental integrity can coexist within a framework that protects regulatory credibility.

He also noted that International models reflect a similar principle pointing to the United Kingdom (UK) where the Environment Agency operates under the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs rather than an economic growth ministry.

He also cited the United States (US) where the Environmental Protection Agency functions as an independent federal agency.

“In each case, environmental oversight is structured to maintain institutional insulation and public trust,” he said.

Newell welcomed the creation of a Ministry of Environment and Climate Change but cautioned that the ministry’s effectiveness depends on regulatory alignment.

“A ministry tasked with climate resilience and environmental protection cannot be fully effective if the country’s principal regulator remains outside its supervision. Policy without regulatory authority weakens coherence and accountability,” he stated.

He stressed that the moment demands institutional clarity.

“At a time when Jamaica faces stronger hurricanes, coastal erosion, and increasing water insecurity, we cannot afford governance arrangements that undermine confidence in environmental decision-making. Sustainable development requires balance, transparency, and structural integrity,” he said.

Newell urged g the Government to realign NEPA and the Natural Resources Conservation Authority under the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change and to strengthen statutory safeguards to ensure transparency and regulatory independence.

“Environmental protection must never appear subordinate to economic expansion. Our governance framework must reflect long-term national interest,” he emphasised.