Fitz-Henley defends Government’s Hurricane Melissa recovery efforts

State Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Abka Fitz-Henley is defending the Government’s handling of Jamaica’s recovery from Hurricane Melissa, noting that billions have been spent on repairs and rehabilitation works, which are ongoing.

Fitz-Henley, in a statement on Wednesday, noted that the Government has committed and/or spent approximately $85 billion on the Melissa relief and recovery effort and, this week, committed an additional $9 billion to accelerate assistance to people with damaged housing through the ROOFS programme.

Today is the one-year anniversary of the Category Five hurricane, which caused widespread devastation in western Jamaica.

Fitz-Henley added that key areas of expenditure include a payment in United States dollars equivalent to $24 billion to restore electricity approximately four to six months earlier than originally scheduled.

He noted that electricity restoration in Jamaica was quicker than similar efforts in some developed countries that experienced major hurricane-related damage in recent years.

He was responding to criticism made by dancehall entertainer Beenie Man in an interview with the United Kingdom news outlet ITV.

“This is nothing new that the Government get the money, the Government distribute the money the wrong way. The people who supposed to get the money haven’t been getting any. These things, it’s a regular thing that these things happens,” Fitz-Henley quoted the artiste as saying.

The State Minister called the reported remarks irresponsible and untruthful.

“It is true that Beenie Man, during the recent general election campaign, continued his well-known habit of campaigning for the Opposition PNP [People’s National Party] and referred to the PNP president [Mark Golding] as his boss. However, that does not give him the licence to spread untruthful information about Jamaica’s relief and recovery efforts in the aftermath of an unprecedented natural disaster, Hurricane Melissa, which affected hundreds of thousands of Jamaicans. Beenie Man’s comments were irresponsible, mischievous and entirely false, but consistent with the untruthful narratives being peddled by the Opposition political party in Jamaica,” Fitz-Henley said.

He stated that it is public knowledge that the approximately $1.7 billion in donations received after Hurricane Melissa has been largely committed to, and is being actively used for, the construction of bases for modular houses for people whose dwellings suffered major structural damage, as well as other sustainable recovery initiatives, including grants to assist with reconstruction.

“Of the funds received through donations, $750 million has been committed to rebuilding roofs on damaged houses. So far, 550 houses have been restored. This work included the purchase of construction materials and the reconstruction of roofs. A further $700 million is being used to build bases for modular housing, and $100 million was allocated to the Ministry of Local Government for works associated with the construction of semi-permanent housing under the Shelter Recovery Programme in Westmoreland. This represents real expenditure on the needs of the people,” Fitz-Henley commented.

Fitz-Henley said that Jamaica remains grateful for the donations received, noting that the donations represent less than two per cent of the total amount committed and/or spent by the Government of Jamaica on the relief and recovery effort.

Commenting on the funds spent on recovery, Fitz-Henley said that the approximately $85 billion committed and/or spent includes billions spent on emergency relief, including food items for the poor and vulnerable in the immediate aftermath of the hurricane; the clearance of blocked roads; the restoration of roads and assistance to communities that were marooned; the restoration of water systems; emergency assistance to the nation’s farmers; the restoration of hundreds of badly damaged schools; and the rebuilding of medical facilities. It also includes financing for two separate programmes that assisted Jamaicans in repairing their houses.

He argued that it must be appreciated that, while Hurricane Katrina’s impact amounted to one per cent of the United States’ gross domestic product (GDP), Hurricane Melissa’s impact amounted to 57 per cent of Jamaica’s GDP.

Fitz-Henley said that, although the Government is not satisfied with the pace of the recovery effort and has taken several steps, including the passage of legislation, to accelerate it, recovery should be assessed in the context of the unprecedented scale of the damage.

The State Minister said that, even as the Government remains focused on rebuilding Jamaica in a more resilient fashion, misleading comments, lies and misinformation about the national initiative will be firmly rebutted.

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