Incompetence the real killer
Incompetence the real killer
With Indonesia bearing the brunt of the death and destruction
wrought by the Indian Ocean tsunami, it is instructive to ask
whether this was entirely because of its proximity to the
earthquake's epicenter. The answer, it seems, is a resounding
"no".
According to an Australian tsunami expert, Ted Bryant, not one
life would have been lost if there had been a warning system.
Many will retort that tsunamis in the Indian Ocean are uncommon,
wave stations are expensive, and that Indonesia has better use
for its limited resources.
Yet the excuse of non-availability of expensive technology
rings hollow if one looks at how and why so many survived the
tsunami on the Sumatran island of Simeuleu. The people there have
etched into their consciousness the thousands of deaths caused by
a tsunami in 1907, and they survived by fleeing to high
ground on experiencing the recent strong quake.
Dr. Kerry Sieh, an American seismologist, predicted the quake
at a conference just weeks before it struck. Such was his concern
that he distributed posters on Sumatra itself and briefed local
officials. His warning, unfortunately, was not heeded.
As Bjorn Lomborg of the Copenhagen Consensus points out, it is
poor countries that suffer most from natural disasters, while the
rich ones are better prepared with contingencies. In view of the
frequency of quakes along the western coast of Sumatra, how much
would it have cost to educate coastal people to flee to higher
ground on experiencing an earthquake, and to have arranged for
sirens, telephone text messages, radio and television stations to
warn the people of possible impending danger? Like technology,
the cost is really no excuse when even the simplest precautions
were not taken.
If it was not the absence of money or technology that resulted
in the staggering death toll, then what did cause it? It can
only be one thing, and that is competency. The people of
Indonesia are not poor because the country lacks resources. Not
at all. They are poor because the country has a culture of
corruption and cronyism rather than culture of competence. Too
many officials are in their jobs, not because of their
effectiveness, but because of whom they have curried favor with.
This, in turn, permits them to put their own interests first in
the allocation of scarce resources. They are not made accountable
for their incompetence anymore than well-placed Indonesian
criminals are brought to account for perpetrating crimes against
the innocent and well intentioned, but poorly connected.
FRANK RICHARDSON, Norwich, UK