Statement to Parliament on the Aftermath of Hurricane Melissa

Posted on November 6, 2025 by OPM Communications

Statement to Parliament

Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP

Prime Minister of Jamaica

on the

Aftermath of Hurricane Melissa

November 4, 2025

__________________________________

Thank you, Members of this Honourable House.

On Tuesday, October 28th, Jamaica endured one of the most punishing natural disasters in our modern history. Hurricane Melissa made landfall near New Hope in Westmoreland as a Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 185 mph and a minimum central pressure of 892 millibars.

Madam Speaker, experts described Melissa as being “at the very edge of what is physically possible” in the Atlantic Ocean- a storm powered by record sea temperatures and near-perfect atmospheric conditions. Its force was so immense that seismographs hundreds of miles away registered its passage.

Melissa is the very first Category 5 hurricane to make a direct hit on Jamaica in the recorded history of such hurricanes, surpassing the previous benchmark set by Hurricane Gilbert, and recently by Hurricane Beryl.

Melissa crossed the island with catastrophic winds and torrential rain, inflicting widespread damage—most severely across St. Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Hanover, Manchester, St. James, Trelawny, and St. Ann. We mourn lives lost, and we stand with the thousands of Jamaicans who have lost their homes, farms, businesses, and livelihoods. I extend condolences to the bereaved, and I salute our first responders, public servants, local authorities, community leaders, and volunteers who have worked around the clock to protect life and begin the recovery process.

In keeping with the Disaster Risk Management Act, on October 29 the Government formally declared the entire island a disaster area, giving the Government the powers needed to prioritise life-saving actions, open emergency funding channels, and coordinate an all-of-government response. We also issued mandatory evacuation orders for specified high-risk communities in the immediate lead-up to the landfall of the hurricane. These decisions were taken on the advice of the Meteorological Service and ODPEM to save lives and expedite the restoration phases which is now underway.

On October 30, following updated guidance from the Met Service and ODPEM, the Government issued the national “all clear” to commence full restoration and damage assessment activities. Non-essential government offices reopened the following day with special provisions for impacted public-sector employees, and ministries were activated.

Preparation Measures Undertaken Before the Storm

Madam Speaker, it is important for the Jamaican people to know that long before Hurricane Melissa made landfall, the Government had moved decisively to prepare the nation for its arrival.

From the moment the Meteorological Service signalled the potential for rapid intensification and a direct strike, we activated all national response protocols and placed the country on high alert.

Early warnings were issued by ODPEM and the Met Service; emergency communication channels were engaged to deliver timely, accurate updates; and as forecasts worsened, we escalated our preparedness posture and public advisories.

To ensure legal authority for swift national action, the Government issued an Order under the Disaster Risk Management Act declaring Jamaica a “threatened area,” and a complementary Order under the Trade Act to prevent price gouging and protect consumers during the state of emergency preparedness.

Madam Speaker, the Government also allocated JMD$1.5 million to each constituency prior to the passage of the hurricane to assist with preparedness and on average Madam Speaker, each constituency would’ve gotten at least $3 million for drain cleaning and other civil works in preparation for the hurricane.

Hundreds of designated shelters, schools, churches, and community centers were opened and manned by trained personnel, with relief supplies preposition in the most vulnerable parishes.

Critical systems were secured: airports, seaports, and utilities activated disaster response teams; ministries established command posts. The National Works Agency undertook urgent drain clearing, bridge inspections, and slope assessments in known hazard areas, while the National Water Commission worked to protect treatment infrastructure and urged citizens to store water safely. The Jamaica Public Service, telecommunications providers, and health facilities implemented emergency protocols and prepared backup generation and response crews.

The security forces—JDF and JCF—were placed on heightened readiness to support rescues, maintain order, and assist local authorities.

Simultaneously, the Government engaged the food, fuel, and transport sectors to safeguard supply chains, while the Fair Trading Commission and various consumer agencies monitored markets to uphold the zero-tolerance stance against price exploitation.

Public communication remained constant and transparent, with frequent press briefings and emergency bulletins emphasising vigilance, community support, and protection of the vulnerable.

Madam Speaker, the Government approached this storm with seriousness, urgency, and unity of purpose—to protect life, preserve order, and prepare our people for the fury of a Category 5 hurricane. Though the damage was immense, our proactive measures ensured Jamaica faced Hurricane Melissa with the greatest possible state of readiness to safeguard our people and enable a rapid transition into relief and recovery.

Phases of Response

Madam Speaker, as we move forward from the initial shock of Hurricane Melissa, the Government’s response is being guided by a clear, structured, and disciplined framework. We are pursuing recovery through four overlapping phases: immediate relief, emergency relief, stabilisation and recovery, and then long-term reconstruction and rebuilding. Each phase carries distinct priorities, but all share a single purpose—protecting the lives and dignity of our people and restoring our nation with greater resilience than before.

The immediate relief phase began even before the hurricane had fully passed. In those critical hours, our priority was to safeguard life and maintain essential order. Search-and-rescue operations were initiated in affected communities as soon as it was safe to deploy teams. Emergency shelters continued to operate at scale, ensuring food, potable water, and medical services for displaced families. Our uniformed services secured critical infrastructure, while ODPEM, municipal disaster teams, and volunteers coordinated life-saving interventions.

This phase focused on urgent humanitarian needs, clearing access routes for emergency response personnel, and stabilising high-risk areas to prevent secondary loss of life.

Then, we entered the emergency relief phase, the phase in which we are now. This phase includes clearing and reopening primary road corridors, accelerating the restoration of power and water systems, and expanding mobile and community-level distribution of relief supplies. We have also mobilised medical outreach to shelters and affected districts, while ensuring psychosocial support for children, elderly persons, and vulnerable families. International humanitarian assistance, including airlifted supplies and technical teams, began to arrive and integrate with Jamaica’s national response system during this stage. The central aim of this phase is to relieve suffering, re-establish safe access to communities, and stabilise essential services across the island.

The next phase will be the stabilisation and recovery phase, which focuses on helping families and businesses regain a sense of normalcy and restoring the foundations of daily life.

This includes bringing schools back into operation as quickly and as safely as possible, providing targeted support to small businesses and farmers, restoring public transportation routes, and accelerating the repair of government buildings and community facilities. Households whose homes are habitable will begin returning from shelters, while those whose properties were destroyed or severely damaged will receive temporary housing assistance and construction support. Utilities will complete permanent repairs, and municipal authorities will operationalise debris removal and rehabilitation programmes. This stage is about rebuilding confidence, re-establishing livelihoods, and supporting Jamaicans as they resume work, school, and community life.

Finally, Madam Speaker, the reconstruction and rebuilding phase will ensure that Jamaica emerges stronger than before. This phase will see major capital works begin to rebuild and climate-proof critical infrastructure, including roads, bridges, water treatment plants, health facilities, and power and telecommunications networks. We’re going to see those built out.

Housing reconstruction will prioritise stronger building standards, improved drainage, land-use guidance, and support for formal construction.

We will partner with international development institutions, private-sector actors, and regional allies to secure financing and technical expertise. Throughout this phase, we will apply the principle of “building forward better,” ensuring that public investments not only replace what was lost, but reduce risk and improve resilience against future climate-related events. This is the phase where we overcome the adversity caused by this shock and come out ahead, with modernised frameworks and long-term planning for better resilience against the future shocks that will be inevitable.

Building for Resilience in the face of Climate Change

Madam Speaker, Hurricane Melissa was not only a national tragedy — it was a warning. The storm’s 13-foot storm surge on our western coastline and up to 30 inches of rain in the central highlands revealed the devastating power of a new climate reality. The era of “once-in-a-generation” hurricanes is over. Imagine if we were hit by Beryl, then immediately after that a tropical storm, almost 6 weeks of consistent rains, then drought and then this year to be hit by a Category 5 hurricane. Climate science confirms that storms are now intensifying faster, moving slower, and carrying more rain than ever before — emerging from warmer oceans and testing the limits of our infrastructure and preparedness.

The combination of wind, storm surge, and rain as we saw with Melissa, creates cascading failures of infrastructure that storm scientists call “a glimpse into the Caribbean’s future.” At the same time, Jamaica’s vulnerability is not limited to hurricanes. We are an island in a seismically active region, and our communities remain at risk of earthquakes and associated hazards such as tsunamis. The multi-hazard risk profile means that our investment in resilience must span across sectors and hazards, rather than being narrowly focused. We have to mainstream resilience in everything that we do.

But Madam Speaker, nature’s power, does not have to determine our fate. Resilience is not beyond us — it is within our control. Regional experience from the not-too-distant past is illustrative. Consider the contrast between two earthquakes that occurred in 2010: in Haiti on January 12 (magnitude 7.0 earthquake) and in Chile on February 27 (magnitude 8.8 earthquake occurred). The earthquake in Chile was more powerful, yet it resulted in fewer than 800 deaths, whereas Haiti’s earthquake caused well over 300,000 fatalities and the near collapse of its infrastructure.

What is the difference? What does it reveal? It is not simply geography or tectonic power: it is the presence or absence of resilient infrastructure, building standards, institutional preparedness and resource capacity.

That is the lesson for Jamaica. Every repaired bridge, re-roofed home, and rebuilt road must be designed for the storms of tomorrow, not the storms of yesterday. Our hospitals, water systems, and power grids must be restored and upgraded to higher standards; our coastlines strengthened through mangroves, reefs, and natural defences; and our agriculture diversified and climate-smart.

Investing in resilience is a strategic necessity. For a country whose GDP is closely tied to tourism, agriculture, and natural resources, a single large-scale disaster can wipe out years of progress and impose long-term fiscal and social costs. By building better now, we reduce future repair bills, shorten economic downtime, protect lives, and preserve our national development trajectory.

Also, Madam Speaker, let me remind all Jamaicans that resilience is not solely the job of government—it is a national project that requires every community member, every business, every agency and every parish to participate. Because in a world where storms will become stronger, quicker and more unpredictable, our greatest defence is preparedness.

Economic and Fiscal Impact

Madam Speaker, it is clear that Hurricane Melissa will have a profound economic impact on our country. The storm struck the heart of Jamaica’s productive belt. It tore through our breadbasket parish of St. Elizabeth; it disrupted our tourism corridor stretching from Westmoreland through St. James and into Trelawny and St. Ann; and it inflicted heavy damage on housing, community infrastructure, commercial operations, and public utilities across multiple parishes. Thousands of households now face the loss of homes, crops, equipment, and small enterprises. This is not only a humanitarian crisis—it is a shock to livelihoods, incomes, and local economies.

Madam Speaker, detailed damage assessments are still underway, but I wish to share very preliminary, high-level estimates only to illustrate the scale of the devastation. Based on benchmarks from comparable regional disasters, physical damage to housing, commercial buildings, roads, electricity, water, and telecommunications infrastructure is estimated between US $6 to 7 billion—equivalent to roughly 28 to 32 percent of last Fiscal Year’s GDP.

It is Members, a major hit to our economy, and I want the country to appreciate that we have never had a disaster of this magnitude with this economic footprint in terms of the impact. Not Gilbert, not Ivan; all of those were relatively small to our GDP. To lose 30% of your GDP is significant. Still preliminary, I believe it is conservative based upon the damage that we have assessed, but the relevant public agencies are doing their assessment in addition to what they have to collate from the private sector and so I would say in another few weeks we should have what the real figure is, but we can use this as a benchmark based upon what other countries who would’ve been impacted and what we have observed, and what has happened to us here in Jamaica with a Category 5 hurricane.

We anticipate a temporary slowdown in economic activity, particularly in the most affected parishes. Agricultural output will decline in the short term as farmers replant and livestock operations recover. The tourism sector, while resilient and working swiftly to reopen, will require targeted support to restore capacity and confidence. Small and medium-sized enterprises—especially those in retail, manufacturing, services, and the creative industries—have sustained significant losses and will need liquidity and recovery support to rebuild inventories, repair their facilities, and restart operations.

At the same time, supply chains for food, construction materials, and consumer goods are being actively restored, though some market disruptions may occur in the immediate weeks ahead. A very preliminary estimate suggests that short-term economic output could decline by 8 to 13 percent.

Madam Speaker, this means that revenues will decline as well as economic activity slows, even as expenditures must increase to finance emergency relief, recovery, and reconstruction. This will place pressure on our fiscal targets.

As we did during the COVID-19 pandemic, my Administration will act responsibly, transparently, and with foresight to protect lives and livelihoods while preserving Jamaica’s hard-won macroeconomic stability. In this regard, it will become necessary to activate the lawful provisions under Section 48C of the Financial Administration and Audit Act, which allow for the temporary suspension of the fiscal rules in circumstances of national emergency or extraordinary economic disruption.

We anticipate a rise in the debt-to-GDP ratio in the short to medium term as resources are channelled into rebuilding for resilience.

Yet Jamaica’s record of disciplined fiscal management provides the credibility and space to respond decisively. The sacrifices that we have made and how this government has administered our fiscal affairs would’ve put us in the best position that this country has ever been to respond to a disaster.

Our focus remains clear—to restore livelihoods, protect the vulnerable, and ensure that Jamaica emerges from this crisis stronger, more resilient, and more competitive than before. However, Madam Speaker, it is also important to state that restoring economic activity must proceed alongside relief and restoration efforts. This is not insensitivity—it is a necessity. Reviving production, reopening tourism, and restarting commerce are essential to restore incomes, rebuild confidence, and mitigate the wider economic shock. Recovery is not just about clearing debris—it is about getting Jamaicans back to work and our economy back on its feet.

We are already activating the fiscal and financial instruments available to us and engaging our international development partners to support the recovery effort. Cash-flow support to households, emergency social programmes, concessional financing, and targeted industry assistance will form part of a responsible and disciplined economic response.

The Ministry of Finance and the Public Service will bring further details to this Honourable House as assessments are completed and funding packages finalised with our multilateral and bilateral partners.

But I want to say Madam Speaker, that 40% of the island has been impacted from an economic perspective. It means that the other 60% of the island must double our economic output. Fields destroyed in St Elizabeth, in Manchester, in Westmoreland, must be replaced by fields brought into production in St Thomas, St Mary, Clarendon, and St Catherine. The other half of the island that is not impacted, we must increase our output.

Madam Speaker, this is a good point for me to say that there is a notion emerging that somehow we are getting a lot of aid and there’s a lot of money coming in. Yes, we have made provisions, but all of that is temporary, and at some point all of that will dry up and the Government must be able to stand on its own two feet and manage its finances because while we intend to ensure that the relief phase is efficiently conducted, the recovery phase might be extended and therefore with not just the loss of physical assets, but the requirement to spend on increased social safety net, vulnerable, welfare and social support; we will have to have the revenues to support it.

And so I repeat the point, Madam Speaker, that economic recovery is that an insensitivity to human suffering. Economic recovery, it is the way in which we bring human suffering to an end early and those persons who are opposed to us going back to school and going back to work, get that out of your mind. Get the economy up and running right away. That is the only way we’re going to be able to fund the recovery quickly and I urge all Jamaicans to get that mindset in. For the half of Jamaica that has not been affected, your productivity will have to increase right away.

Situation Update by Sector

Road Infrastructure and National Works

Madam Speaker, Melissa dealt a severe blow to our national road network and public infrastructure. The National Works Agency reports that 151 roads were impacted island-wide, with landslides, fallen trees, flooded corridors, scoured pavements, and breakaways rendering many communities temporarily inaccessible. At peak, 134 roads were blocked, particularly across the western parishes most directly in the path of the storm.

I am pleased to report that, through urgent mobilisation of national and private resources, more than one-third of affected corridors have already been cleared or reopened to at least single-lane access.

Priority has been given to corridors serving hospitals, airports, seaports, water treatment plants, and emergency shelters, ensuring that life-saving assistance and relief supplies can reach communities swiftly.

This recovery effort is a testament to the determination and discipline of our technical teams and the spirit of Jamaican partnership. The NWA has deployed 14 parish-level technical field teams, supported by engineers and administrative staff, and working hand-in-glove with the Jamaica Public Service, National Water Commission, ODPEM, and the security forces. We have also activated the full capacity of Jamaica’s contracting ecosystem. Major contractors—including our SPARK project partners, CHEC and local road-maintenance firms—are assisting with heavy equipment. The private sector has stepped up: bauxite companies, housing developers, and other equipment owners have volunteered machinery and operating time. Community members armed with chainsaws and hand tools have joined the effort, and we express our gratitude for their assistance in clearing some of our roads. This is the Jamaican spirit at work.

Simultaneously, technical teams are assessing bridges, river-training structures, retaining walls, coastal revetments, gully systems—including Sandy Gully and the north- and south-coast gullies—and the national traffic-signal network. Once access is restored across all affected communities, we will transition from emergency access to full road rehabilitation, including surface reconstruction where roads have been washed out or undermined. Restoring drivability on major corridors and designing long-term resilient solutions will form a core part of our national reconstruction plan.

Housing and Shelter

Madam Speaker, Melissa has caused extensive damage to the nation’s housing stock, particularly in the western parishes. Leveraging our national geospatial intelligence capacity, the Government has, for the first time in our history, executed a rapid, high-resolution national housing damage assessment. This effort, coordinated through the National Spatial Data Management Branch and supported by international technology partners, analysed more than 428,000 buildings across Jamaica.

Satellite data and drone verification indicate that approximately 116,000 structures sustained severe or catastrophic damage, concentrated in Westmoreland, St. Elizabeth, and Manchester. These findings are now guiding targeted relief and reconstruction planning across communities.

This is a big change, Madam Speaker. In Beryl, we didn’t have this capacity, but we have since invested in and we are now able to have more definitive and scientifically driven data as to the extent of the damage. This now will help us in budgeting and it will help us in allocating resources.

Madam Speaker, we are now transitioning from emergency sheltering to stabilisation and repair. The Ministry is conducting field verification in priority communities, with housing support teams working alongside the JDF, ODPEM, and local authorities. As access is restored to additional communities in the west, we will complete our beneficiary verification, accelerate roofing support, and deploy building materials, tarpaulins, and rapid-repair kits to ensure safety and habitation for our citizens.

The data now being integrated into the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment will shape a resilient housing and building recovery programme. Minister Montague has been asked to lead the process of determining the kinds of housing solutions and how they will be deployed because we have to utilize new building technologies, including prefabricated and containerized solutions to deploy rapidly and so we are examining those options to see what is available. Minister Montague has been has been tasked to spearhead that programme and he has already convened a Technical Working Group to ensure that when we actually get out to give houses, which is very soon, we have solutions that match the problem, but solutions that are easy to deploy and cost effective.

Electricity (Power)

With regard to electricity, restoration of power is proceeding in phases, prioritising hospitals, water plants, communications backbones, and dense residential zones. The “all clear for restoration of utility services” enabled JPS and independent contractors to enter the field at scale, while the Ministry with responsibility for Energy is coordinating grid stabilisation and resolving localised issues such as low voltage and restored feeders.

Yesterday, JPS would have given an update on the status of electricity restoration. The government has given them strategic direction to make it a priority to restore large commercial and urban centres in addition to the critical public facilities. Moreover, they have been tasked in their grid restoration efforts to explore relocating where feasible the grid underground.

We have given them directives regarding Montego Bay, the elegant corridor and the hip strip with the two areas where focus should be given to put the grid underground. If other areas are feasible, going underground is expensive, so we have to balance between expense and getting the grid up. But if we’re getting the grid up and we can get some resilience in it, then we have to get the resilience in. We will balance as we can, but it wouldn’t be possible for all the grid that we have to put back up to put it underground but in areas where it makes strategic sense, then we are encouraging them and indeed directing them to ensure that that is done.

We will continue to update the country on parish-by-parish basis on re-energisation percentages as the network is repaired and rebuilt.

Petrojam has maintained fuel supply continuity despite flooding at its Montego Bay terminal. The cleanup is complete, and structural and electrical assessments are underway before resuming western loading. In the interim, all tanker loading is being conducted through Kingston, with extended operating hours to ensure uninterrupted national fuel availability.

Water and Wastewater System Status and Recovery

Madam Speaker, Hurricane Melissa has significantly disrupted water supply across the country, with the operational capacity of the National Water Commission deeply affected by power outages, blocked intakes, turbidity, landslides, and damage to electro-mechanical systems.

Several key NWC offices—including those in Mandeville, Santa Cruz, Bogue, Falmouth, and Morant Bay—have been forced to close due to flooding, structural damage, and loss of access, while others continue to operate under constrained conditions. In total, more than 631 water systems were initially affected island-wide, with western parishes experiencing the most severe disruption as electricity supply remains limited.

Supply restoration has been heavily reliant on generator power where grid access remains unavailable, which means intermittent service in some areas. Even so, progress continues. Approximately 66% of NWC customers now have supply restored, with St. Catherine and St. Thomas achieving restoration rates above 87% and 84%, respectively. The NWC has deployed around 40 generators to potable water facilities and 8 to wastewater plants, and has supplemented this capacity through private rental arrangements to stabilise service delivery.

Madam Speaker, you will recall that in Beryl we weren’t able to have this level of water restoration, primarily because we didn’t have backup power for NWC. We learned the lesson and we started a programme to have all our major water supply have independent backup and that is being worked on but in the interim, we secured backup generation capacity for which we are now benefiting from, Madam Speaker.

The Minister of Water will give you more details on the recovery. But Madam Speaker, I’m pleased to inform this Honourable House and the people of Jamaica that all Members of Parliament will be allocated the following sums for the trucking of water.

$2 million to the following constituencies most affected by the hurricane:

Westmoreland
Hanover
St James
St Elizabeth
Manchester
Trelawny

$1.5 million to selected constituencies in the following parishes:

Catherine
St Andrew
Clarendon
St Ann

We will allocate some other funding, which the minister will explain. But Madam Speaker, we have $1 million to constituencies in the following parishes: Clarendon, St Ann and in St Catherine to certain constituencies, and I won’t call out these names. There is $1.5 for some constituencies in St Catherine, St Andrew, Clarendon and St Ann because they’re particularly affected. I don’t want to go through the detail of calling out each constituency, but $1 million for others.

Telecommunications

After the “all clear” utility crews mounted full field activities with cross-sector coordination, to restore poles, repair fibre, and power cell sites. Public Wi-Fi nodes and critical government communications are being prioritised in affected town centres.

To restore nationwide connectivity, 600 Starlink terminals are being deployed to first responders, government facilities, NGOs, MPs, and Councillors. Now, Madam Speaker, not all Members of Parliament have been provided with Starlink capabilities, but certainly those who are critically affected, like the member from Eastern Westmoreland and Central Westmoreland but the affected parishes have been provided. Flow and Digicel continue rapid recovery, with up to 86% service restoration reported in some categories. Additional spectrum was allocated to carriers to accelerate repairs.

The Government will also deploy roving mobile teams, which an important service, with Starlink connectivity and charging stations to affected communities and urban spaces to allow residents to make contact with loved ones or make short urgent calls.

Transportation

The Jamaica Urban Transit Company infrastructure and fleet remain mostly intact, with only minor structural damage and limited operational disruption reported. The Portmore Depot experienced minor damage to the perimeter wall and electrical systems; Spanish Town saw minimal impact, and Rockfort had minor ceiling damage.

The Montego-bay depot had significant infrastructure damage, with 4 buses sustaining severe damage. Fuel dispensing has been halted, as electric pumps are inoperable; and the depot has no generator. 10 buses from the Montego-bay fleet can be mobilized once minimal power is restored to the facility. Additionally, some drivers are marooned in their communities due to blocked access roads and poor communication.

Despite infrastructure damage, air navigation services have been fully restored nationwide. Radar and air-to-ground communication have been re-established with support from Aerotel. A 24/7 landing-permit operation is in effect for humanitarian flights, and monitoring of unmanned aircraft (drones) is being strengthened to protect aviation safety.

All airports reopened within 48 hours of the storm. Relief flights began on October 29 and commercial passenger services resumed on October 30. From October 29 to November 2, airports processed 350 flights, including 162 commercial passenger flights and 117 relief and military missions. Domestic aerodromes, including Negril and Tinson Pen, are also operational.

Public and Mental Health Response and Restoration

Madam Speaker, the health system has been tested in an extraordinary way by Hurricane Melissa. Even before landfall, the Ministry of Health and Wellness activated its Health Emergency Operations Centre and deployed response teams across all regions. Hospitals transitioned to emergency-only services, and health centres remained open to support communities until safe conditions emerged. These early preparedness allowed the health sector to move quickly into its emergency response posture once the storm passed.

The hurricane has caused severe damage to several major health facilities, particularly across the western parishes. The Black River Hospital in St. Elizabeth—our only Type C hospital in that parish—suffered catastrophic roof loss, structural failure, and complete utility disruption, requiring the evacuation of 71 patients to Mandeville and May Pen.

Falmouth Hospital in Trelawny lost most of its roofing and suffered extensive flooding, compromising electrical systems and diagnostic and clinical equipment. Cornwall Regional Hospital, our key Type A facility in Western Jamaica, lost more than half of its effective capacity, including severe damage to temporary wards and the Accident and Emergency Department. Noel Holmes Hospital and Savanna-la-Mar Hospital similarly sustained serious roof and water damage, with power and water outages affecting patient services. These facilities are currently providing limited emergency services while staff continue rapid discharge where clinically safe and assess equipment integrity for restoration.

In primary care, the picture reflects the scale of national disruption. Southeast of Jamaica approximately two-thirds of facilities and in the southern regions are expected to have full operation of health centres within days. In the Western region, where the impact was more severe, we expect a longer time for recovery for our primary healthcare systems.

Several health centres have suffered significant structural damage, and temporary clinical spaces are being arranged to ensure continuity of care, especially for maternal health, chronic disease management, and child-health services.

To stabilise service delivery, the Ministry will establish temporary field hospitals in the hardest-hit parishes. These will provide emergency, inpatient, and outpatient capacity while permanent facilities are repaired. The Ministry is also mobilising medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, oxygen, and essential equipment to critical sites, while conducting urgent testing and certification of hospital equipment to ensure safe reuse.

Beyond clinical services, we are aggressively addressing post-disaster public-health risks. Flooding, stagnant water, and sanitation disruption create favourable conditions for mosquito breeding and the spread of water-borne and vector-borne diseases.

Public health teams are deploying enhanced vector-control operations, including larvicide distribution to 120,000 households, fogging campaign is being mounted now, Madam Speaker, with the support of private contractors and expanded field staff. Water-quality monitoring is being intensified at all treatment plants, with chlorination and turbidity testing to protect the population from gastroenteritis, hepatitis A, and other water-related illnesses. Food-safety teams are inspecting facilities and supervising safe disposal of spoiled food and livestock carcasses. Sanitation and other management operations are being strengthened to protect communities and reduce disease transmission.

Madam Speaker, beyond the physical destruction and the economic disruption, the toll of Hurricane Melissa on the hearts and minds of our people has been profound. Families huddled together as winds howled and floodwaters rose. Parents worked desperately to shield their children from fear. Elderly Jamaicans, some recalling storms of decades past, relived deep anxieties as they once again faced nature’s fury.

Many of our brothers and sisters have endured the unimaginable: the loss of loved ones, the loss of homes built over a lifetime, and the loss of lives and livelihoods that sustained entire families. There are thousands who, even now, are sleeping in shelters or with relatives, searching for stability in a world abruptly turned upside down.

Therefore, Madam Speaker, the state must also address the emotional and psychological burden of the disaster. And by the way, Madam Speaker, it would not only affect our constituents, but even members inside here are also impacted and I saw the grief palpably expressed by the member from Southern St James. The impact of the hurricane, Madam Speaker, especially for our children, for many of them, they cannot come to grips with what has happened to the disruption of their lives going to school, to the loss of people in their community, just the disruption in their regular meals; they’re trying to come to grips with that and with the hurricane also comes a break in order, not having meeting with their friends and going to school, being cut off, not being able to communicate; all of those have severe mental health impact.

And as I visited the Falmouth Hospital, Madam Speaker, that was an issue raised and I was quite surprised that it was by someone who was at the hospital who was brave enough to say, I am a mental health patient, and it was very important that I got the services here, but we need more mental health services because our people are reacting to this crisis in ways that are becoming antisocial and therefore we must pay attention.

I want to give the nation the commitment that the Ministry of Health is augmenting its psychosocial and mental health operations as it also seeks to mount its conventional health response. And now is a good time, Madam Speaker, to call for volunteers who are trained in this regard to reach out to the Ministry of Health because we simply would not have enough trained professionals on staff to mount the kinds of response that would be necessary.

Education Impact

Madam Speaker, I now turn to the education system. Assessments are still underway, but we already know that many schools, especially in the western parishes, have been severely damaged or destroyed, and others across the island have also been affected. At present, 446 schools serving nearly 150,000 students face major disruption. We have all seen the images: roofs lost, classrooms flooded, learning tools destroyed. Many schools also face extended outages of electricity, water and internet.

The situation in the Western parishes is particularly grave and poses a real risk of significant learning loss. Our children need their classrooms and the structure they provide. Every day out of school is a day of lost opportunity. Yet, Madam Speaker, we must also be pragmatic. The doors of many schools cannot reopen immediately. So, while we move with urgency to repair and rebuild, we must act now to resume learning through innovative and flexible arrangements so that no child is left behind.

After Hurricane Beryl, we responded swiftly, aided by the timing of the summer break. This time, we must move even faster, as Hurricane Melissa offers no such reprieve. Our focus will therefore be on three clear priorities:

Safe reopening where facilities permit;
Continuity of learning through blended, remote, and alternative sites where needed; and
Accelerated reconstruction to return students to permanent classrooms as soon as possible.

Madam Speaker, we successfully navigated the education system through the global pandemic and the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl. We will do so again. We will get our children learning—safely, swiftly, and in stronger, smarter schools than before.

Relief Operations and Social Support

At the peak of the emergency, approximately 15,000 Jamaicans were accommodated in official shelters. Shelters will remain open as long as needed, with food, water, medical support, and psychosocial services provided through the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MLSS), ODPEM, and partners.

Marooned Communities

Madam Speaker, specifically in relation to marooned communities, of which there are likely in excess of 30, the JDF is in the process or has already established 22 humanitarian assistance and disaster relief outposts in the following areas:

St Elizabeth

Burnt Savannah
New Market
Springfield

Westmoreland

Savanna La – Mar
Darliston
Lennox Bigwood
Bluefields
Bethel Town
Amity
Beeston Spring/ Thatch Valley
Frome
Roaring River
Content/ Glenbrook
Reno

St James

Catadupa
Cambridge
Adelphi

Trelawny

Adelphi
Maroon Town
Wire fence
Jackson Town
Falmouth
Perth

These are all the communities. I hope the members of Parliament would’ve noted the establishment of these. They will be establishing more outposts as they are able to stand them up. The objective is that these will serve as humanitarian bases in a “hub-and-spoke” model from which to reach other surrounding communities.

They were moving humanitarian aid through airlift and other means directly to the various communities. Now, the phase that they’re transitioning into is to move it to the hub where they can store a lot, they can do 24-hour movement, and then from the hub to all the communities, including communities that are marooned. That way we can scale up rapidly the response to communities that have not yet been serviced.

Security and Public Order Response

Madam Speaker, the national security architecture of our country has been fully mobilised in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa. From the earliest moments of this disaster, the Jamaica Defence Force and the Jamaica Constabulary Force have stood at the front line of our national response, upholding order, saving lives, and ensuring that essential relief reaches our people. Their efforts have been heroic, and the nation owes them deep gratitude.

The Jamaica Defence Force moved with urgency immediately after the storm’s passage. Within hours, troops established a forward disaster-relief site at the Luana Community Centre near Black River and began clearing blocked routes—many on foot—to ensure ambulances, utility crews, and relief agencies could reach our most vulnerable communities.

Madam Speaker, I think I should give you and the nation firsthand experience. Madam Speaker, the day, immediately after the hurricane’s passage, I asked the JDF to facilitate an aerial tour, but I sent my forward team to meet me in Black River. When we landed in Black River, having circled three or four times to find an appropriate landing site and getting communications, we recognized that the team that we sent could not pass through Holland Bamboo. It was totally blocked and the JDF, along with residents came out and they started work. When I returned from that tour, I went to Sav and other areas, went back home and I got a call from one of the officers in charge saying that they were cutting their way up to 4AM the following morning.

The entire stretch was blocked. It was compounded because there were vehicles trying to get in, blocking the convoys, and it was chaos but they managed and it is good that we have a reserve of logistics capabilities and engineering and operational force like the JDF that we call on them in times of disaster.

Madam Speaker, the JCF is not to be outdone because whilst we look upon the police mainly as a security force, you would be surprised that they fill the gap being the social worker, being the firefighter, helping with medical issues in addition to the commissioner leading the way with his power saw cutting down trees but you can see that they were multifunctional in the disaster and again, commendations to them.

Madam Speaker, the JDF did suffer some losses. Several bases in Western Command—including Frome, Paradise Park, Montpellier, and the Black River Coast Guard Station were severely damaged and we will ensure that these are rebuilt very quickly because that’s important to stand up the operations.

Working with the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the JDF has established a major relief hub at Up Park Camp, producing and distributing more than 11,000 family care packages, delivered by both ground convoys and helicopter missions, including support from U.S. Chinook aircraft. This operation represents the highest standard of joint civil-military coordination and underscores the discipline and capacity of our armed forces.

We also recognise and appreciate the international cooperation that has strengthened our security response. Support has come from the United States Southern Command, the Government of El Salvador with 287 personnel deployed, Canada through its Operational Support Hub, the United Kingdom with an offshore patrol vessel, and regional partners including Belize, Bermuda, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, and the Cayman Islands, which have provided support and aerial support including helicopter support. Venezuela has provided humanitarian relief. This international solidarity has significantly boosted our humanitarian and security operations.

Madam Speaker, even as the JDF has worked tirelessly in the field, the Jamaica Constabulary Force has executed its mandate to maintain public order and protect infrastructure. More than 12,000 police officers were mobilised across all divisions before the storm’s arrival, with incident command centres activated and integrated into national and parish emergency operations. Following landfall, the JCF immediately transitioned to securing communities, protecting hospitals, water facilities, Petrojam, and our airports, and escorting relief supplies into affected zones. I am pleased to report that, due to early planning, strong community cooperation, and visible police presence, we have had no major looting or disorder incidents to date.

Madam Speaker, I’m aware that there are persons calling for the implementation of emergency measures, states of public emergency or curfews. Madam Speaker, these are being considered, but we are very sensitive to the current situation and we do not want to impose further hardship on persons by imposing a security measure. At some point, however, when we have established as we are now doing, the hub-and-spoke for a supply chain operation to ensure that there is a consistent flow of relief into communities, that will have to be protected and therefore we will have to put special measures around the routes that have to be traveled and protecting the areas where they are stored and distributed.

Madam Speaker, we have to consider the availability of the human resources as well and so there are areas that are sensitive that we will have to man and have regular foot patrols and the like, and therefore it may become necessary in moderating that to have curfews and other measures put in place but we are not at that point just yet. These things are being planned out so that the security operations don’t come into conflict with the humanitarian situation that currently exists.

International Support and Cooperation

Madam Speaker, the eyes of the world have been on Jamaica as we confronted this ordeal, and the outpouring of solidarity has been extraordinary and deeply moving. The generosity shown to us reflects Jamaica’s high standing and goodwill on the global stage.

Even before Hurricane Melissa’s landfall, messages of support and offers of assistance came from every region of the world. Since then, our relief efforts have been fortified by early and tangible aid from bilateral partners, regional and international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and the Jamaican Diaspora.

We are especially grateful for the outreach of His Majesty The King, the United Nations Secretary-General, and many Heads of Government who conveyed their solidarity with Jamaica.

We extend heartfelt thanks to our CARICOM brothers and sisters and regional agencies such as CDEMA, CARPHA, and the Caribbean Development Bank for their immediate engagement. Our bilateral partners from Belgium, Canada, Colombia, El Salvador, Venezuela, European Union, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, India, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States; a list that I have not exhausted. China, Japan, they’ve all committed support and, Madam Speaker, what we have to do in addition to the NGOs, which I haven’t even mentioned, there are so many of them, but permit me to say the World Central Kitchen, Doctors Without Borders, Global Empowerment Mission (GEM), Direct Relief, Samaritan’s Purse, and of course, our own Food for the Poor.

Madam Speaker, on our supportjamaica.gov.jm, which was built in record time by the Amber Group, which is the central hub for donations to Jamaica from the diaspora and the world, we have so far raised JMD$170 million in contributions on that platform, and I encourage Jamaicans and our friends all over the world to give, supportjamaica.gov.jm. All contributions go centrally to ODPEM which is the government’s official disaster management agency.

Announcements

ODPEM moved to OPM

Madam Speaker, I wish to make some important announcements as to how we are going to be managing the disaster. Madam Speaker, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) is the central agency of the Government’s disaster response. They work with all the critical agencies across government, the private sector, international aid agencies, and multiple governments. It is, however, clear that the response to Hurricane Melissa will require significant logistics experience. It will also require significant coordination.

The Jamaica Defence Force is currently assisting with the logistics support to both ODPEM and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, especially given the fact that many communities are situated in difficult terrain and several have been marooned.

Given the nature of the response needed for the current relief effort and the coming reconstruction efforts, it is important that ODPEM and the JDF have even greater levels of collaboration. As such, effective immediately, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) is reassigned to the Office of the Prime Minister to strengthen logistical collaboration with the Jamaica Defence Force.

Madam Speaker, the Jamaica Defense Force is already under the Office of the Prime Minister. Madam Speaker, this move will ensure that the relief effort is well coordinated and coordinated across government. The best place to achieve that, given the nature of the crisis and the speed with which we want the recovery, is for it to be centrally positioned in the Office of the Prime Minister, which is what the Office of the Prime Minister does; it coordinates all the entities,

This realignment establishes virtually a single point for emergency logistics and further tightens coordination with relief partners. This is about speed, Madam Speaker. The new arrangement will accelerate the distribution of relief supplies in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, better serve the most affected communities and restore normalcy as quickly as possible.

Madam Speaker, from a strategic perspective, and it is important that this be said, I have just listed the level of international response and NGO response. One of the things we don’t want to happen is any fumbling, so logistics and coordination is absolutely important and what we will create, Madam Speaker, is a plug and play system. Government can’t do it all. We are the first to recognize that we don’t have enough helicopters. We don’t have enough social workers. We don’t have enough engineers. We don’t have enough doctors, but what we want is a coordinated system where all of the goodwill that comes whilst we get that benefit, but we must get one other thing from that and that is synergy. And you can only get synergy where the sum of the parts are greater than the whole when you have coordination and that is the one thing that this administration has been good at, is the management of crises and disaster.

We are going to create that plug and play operation to take advantage of the goodwill. At the end of the day, the people who are giving to Jamaica must say it was worth giving and I will give more. At the end of the day, they must say, I’m satisfied that my efforts achieve something, and I can see it visibly because it was not interfered with by bureaucracy, lack of coordination, territorialism, or corruption. We are going to make sure that we display to the world a first class relief and recovery and rebuilding operation.

National Clean Up Week

Madam Speaker, the passage of Hurricane Melissa has left debris, disruption, and dislocation in communities across our island. To accelerate recovery and restore order, the Government will launch a National Clean-Up Week. The minister of local government already explained what that will be, but it will be the mobilization of the NSWA, the NWA and other entities that have capacity with the removal of debris.

It may very well be a cleanup month based upon the level of debris that has to be moved. In this effort, the Members of Parliament will be called upon to play a critical role. There is a sense, Madam Speaker, that I’ve heard being banded about that some members of parliament were not integrated into the operations or that there was some kind of favoritism where some constituencies got and others didn’t get.

Madam Speaker, let me stand here and say that there was never any intention or action on this Government designed to marginalize, discriminate, isolate, alienate any Member of Parliament and we must dismiss out of hand any argument that would seek to divide this country politically when it comes to the distribution of aid. As far as I’m concerned, every Jamaican is entitled to the aid that comes in and to the spending of the government. There will be no politicization of aid. It never happened in COVID. It never happened in Beryl, and it will not happen.

Madam Speaker, I can point out to you that the member from Eastern Westmoreland made his public comments. I saw them. I reached out to the leader of the opposition. I recognized your pain in what you said. I saw your public comments. I recognize the pain in what you said, and I asked the member from Southeast Clarendon, the Minister of Labour and Social Security to reach out to you. It is only a matter of logistics why I was not able to land in Darliston or in White House. My friend, if the helicopters could have landed me there, I would’ve landed there and I would’ve been by your side if I could find you. There was no attempt whatsoever and the suffering of Jamaicans in your constituency, the suffering of Jamaicans in the constituency of North West St Elizabeth is of concern. There are constituents over here that we have not reached. Southern Trelawny, we haven’t reached. Northwestern St Elizabeth, we haven’t reached, so all I’m saying, Madam Speaker, and to Jamaica, I must stand up firmly and close the door on any attempt to politicize aid in Jamaica.

In the cleanup, Madam Speaker, we are going to need the MPs to be active in mobilization because we won’t have enough people to send into community to clean up. It will have to be the communities, leader of the opposition, that do the cleanup. You have to mobilize the people, but it is also an opportunity for communities that have not had a chance to earn anything. We are going to try to put together a little stipend. Let me say, it’s a little stipend, it’s not a pay. We will provide a stipend to assist the restart of economic activity through the cleanup. It’s a small stipend, they would be able to go to the shop if shops are open, they’ll get a little cash in hand to restart. That’s the objective, but it does require however value for money, and that is why we’re going to need the MPs there to ensure that we get the value for money and I think that is only fair.

The programme is being developed. We will have to budget it, but you can start to prepare for that programme. The minister, very shortly will come and announce how that programme will operate, but we really need to move the debris because it’s a health hazard as well as an economic obstacle in many instances.

Housing Support

Madam Speaker, across the island, our first priority has been to deliver food, water, and medical support to every affected community. But we know that beyond these essentials, the greatest need now is shelter.

Too many of our brothers and sisters have lost the very roofs over their heads. To address this urgent need, I am announcing a building support programme for households in the most affected parishes as follows, and this will be an MP-driven programme again:

For St Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Manchester, Hanover, St James and Trelawny, $10 million will be allocated to each constituency in those parishes.

There was a debate in this House about whether or not any distribution to MPs should be done on a constituency basis equally, and I’m of the view that every seat is equal, but in a disaster that cannot hold and I hope that MPs who were not as badly affected will not put pressure on me to make increased allocation.

Let me repeat, $10 million for St Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Manchester, Hanover, St James, Trelawny. Manchester really should be $% million, but let me resolve it.

For the other constituencies, $3 million per constituency. I think it’s a fair distribution based upon on everything that we have to go through. We will send the letters out and I will resolve the issue with Manchester.

Madam Speaker, in addition to this, the National Housing Trust (NHT) has activated a comprehensive package of support measures to help its contributors and mortgagors recover from the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa.

First, I wish to remind the public that all NHT mortgagors are insured under the Trust’s House Owners’ Comprehensive Policy, which covers damage from hurricanes, storms, floods, fire, and other perils. The NHT has already mobilised its branches islandwide to help mortgagors prepare and process their insurance claims quickly and efficiently.

Second, recognising that many families will need time to prioritise home repairs, the NHT will grant an automatic six-month moratorium on mortgage payments for mortgagors in the worst-affected parishes — St. Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Hanover, Trelawny, St. James, Manchester, and St. Ann. This measure will assist more than 20,000 homeowners.

For all other parishes, the NHT will continue to consider individual moratorium applications for those who have lost income or face special hardship.

Third, the Trust will introduce a special home-improvement loan of up to J$3.5 million at an interest rate of 2 percent, available to both existing mortgagors and contributors who need to repair or rebuild their homes as a result of the hurricane.

Finally, to further ease the burden, the NHT will provide a special grant of up to $500,000 to help contributors repair damage to their homes or those of immediate family members. Grants will be awarded based on demonstrated need and the level of impact.

Madam Speaker, we are also working with our international partners and the private-sector to identify housing solutions that can be rapidly deployed at scale across the most affected parishes, and as i said before, Minister Montague is working on that. There are some really viable prebuilt, prefabricated housing solutions. They may not be block and steel, but they are very durable and can be rapidly deployed as shelter solutions.

Additional Constituency-Level Allocation

Madam Speaker, in addition to the $1.5 million that had already been allocated to each constituency before the hurricane, which was for emergency relief, food medicine, tarps and so forth, I’m announcing an additional $1.5 million, which the leader of the opposition already announced it for me yesterday. The nation should know that we talk and it looks like I’m telling him too much because he’s announcing the things before I do, but the leader of the opposition correctly got that one.

There will be another $1.5 million for MPs to use for the emergency response, but this one would be now mostly focused on food and medicine.

Customs Duty and GCT Relief

Madam Speaker, to speed the flow of humanitarian goods, the Government had approved customs duty and GCT exemption for the importation of relief supplies for a one-month period expiring November 28.

Recognising that recovery efforts are ongoing and will extend beyond this one-month period, we will extend this relief period by a further month, to the end of December 2025. This measure will ensure that every shipment of relief supplies can reach our people quickly, efficiently, and without additional financial burden.

In addition, to the eligible items already announced by Jamaica Customs, and in consideration of the extent of the damage to the electricity grid in the most affected parishes and projected timelines for complete restoration, I am announcing that persons will be allowed to import Starlink equipment and other such equipment, inverters, and solar power equipment (including panels and batteries) free of customs duty and GCT.

Madam Speaker, this is in an attempt to get power and communication back into the communities that really need it. Now, I know others will take advantage of it, but I appeal to every Jamaican, if you can buy two Starlinks and send one to a family or a community, do it. If you can buy solar batteries and solar panels and give it to a community or to a household in the affected parts of Jamaica, please do it.

I know that when we give up these revenues, others will benefit from it who don’t really need it so I’ve asked Jamaicans to use your conscience, ensure that the other half of Jamaica that is suffering now benefit from this relief.

Madam Speaker, while the needs across our nation are indeed great, we must also remain judicious and disciplined in the use of public funds. So, leader of the Opposition, I couldn’t give $50 million just like that because, Madam Speaker, we have the bill coming from health, we have the bill coming from cleaning, we have the bill coming for schools, we have the bills coming for JDF and JCF, we have the bill coming for agriculture, for tourism, for water, not to mention the bill for roads. So, leader the opposition, as I say, it sounds good, but it is wishful thinking. We couldn’t do it. And the truth is, leader of opposition, we may very well over a period of time do it, but at this present time, we have to literally be very careful with how we spend.

The truth is, leader of the opposition, as we speak, we see that there are other weather systems forming. We don’t know so we just have to be very careful with the resources that we have, and that’s why I give the assurance that what we have will be fairly shared for every Jamaican.

I want to announce two other things. In the COVID Pandemic, we established an oversight committee of Parliament to review the work of the Ministry of Health in its operations. We will establish a similar oversight committee of Parliament to review the distribution welfare relief operations. I’ve given a directive to the House Leader to speak with the opposition leader of opposition business to establish that committee, the terms and how it will work.

Madam Speaker, it is in the interest of the Government to have the highest level of transparency in what we do. There is no victory for JLP communities to have food and PNP communities not. There is no victory or vice versa, none whatsoever. And therefore, we will put in place every measure to ensure that whatever is given to us and whatever we spend from our budget is fairly done, everybody can see it, and everyone benefits. As soon as we meet again by the next Parliament, that committee should be in place, a special joint select committee, possibly that will look at the operations.

Madam Speaker, in a time of crisis, every Jamaican wants to participate. One of the greatest challenge you face in a time of crisis is to organize goodwill. Leader of the Opposition, it is a real challenge to organize goodwill because there are some people who want to come and go on their own. There are some people who are saying, tell me what to do, and there are some who will tell you what to do, and it can become very confusing, bearing in mind that government operates by law on a particular structure, and it is very difficult to get people who have to operate by law to operate outside of that. Meaning that you could have people with goodwill coming and say, do that, do this, but the agent who has the legal responsibility say, I can’t take an instruction from you, or I have to see something in writing, or it has to go through a process.

And so I have had to be spending my time in structuring the Cabinet, in structuring how our permanent secretaries and others in government operate to bear in mind that whilst we have the legal framework, there is an emergency and therefore we have to operate with more speed and alacritcity because there is human suffering that we are trying to minimize.

That in itself is a task that the public will never see and probably will not understand but that is why you have government. That is government business, Government must deal with that, and that is what I have been doing. And yes, we recognize the calls that have been made about establishing that committee.

Of course, we know that. We have never operated outside of that framework. We should, however, recognize that the history of our country is that the government does not stand on its own, never has. Constitutionally, we’re probably the only country where the leader of the opposition is entrenched in the constitution. It means that I can’t go off on my own as Prime Minister. We’ll take a ride together, but it is the nature of our democracy.

Our churches play a fundamental role in governance, so too our private sector. The question now is, how do you bring all of that together in a framework that satisfies everyone’s purpose for participating, but at the same time delivers the best result for the people? That takes a little time to work out.

We have people who have international reach, international influence, people in high offices all over the world. We have to put in place a structure so if they were to use their office, it’s meaningful. They don’t meet up on red tape and bureaucracy and then get frustrated and say, I can’t bother with Jamaica. Before I pull people in, I have to make sure that when they come in there is something meaningful for them to do and we have been building that out.

I’ve had a discussion with Prime Minister Patterson and Prime Minister Golding. Yes, they are former prime ministers, but I always refer to them as prime ministers because that is the respect I pay to them. I’ve had a discussion with them and they’re eager to help, but we have to find the right mechanism as to how they can give support and we are in dialogue as to how that could happen.

There are other Jamaicans in high offices all over the world calling me up, I want help. We’re working out how that can be. In the phase that we are, which is the relief phase. There’s not so much to do other than to make sure the logistics work because in the relief phase, what you need is that aid comes in, it moves to a storage area which is central, you record it, which is what ODPEM does, and then the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the Ministry of Local Government says here are the communities, here are the people, and the JDF works out the logistics for movement where private sector vehicles and other vehicles and trucks and whatever can assist in moving them to the hub in the region. And then they are broken down into spokes into various communities and that is what we are trying to establish now because that supply chain operation has to stand up for at least two months.

And then, of course, Parliament has to have oversight on it; why is this community getting and not that community? Hey, you forgot that community. Hey, you should put some more. That’s what the oversight committee will do, and that’s how that relief I’m expecting will operate but we will have to immediately, almost in parallel transition to recovery where we have to answer difficult questions.

Should Black River be where it is? How do we build a resilient town in Black River? What are we going to do with Falmouth? Precisely what are we going to do with the hospitals? Should we rebuild these hospitals with zinc roofs and schools? All of these are questions that we have to work out, and there are political issues involved and so it really does need that kind of senior experienced politicians/ statesmen who have been in the system long, who can help that conversation along in order to make these massive changes that are needed to make Jamaica resilient.

So as we get into those discussions, you will see the importance of having persons like our statesmen, people of influence and high regard in the society guiding debate, convening and giving support, and that is being structured as we speak.

This is a crisis, Madam Speaker, and it is one thing that we must never do is waste a crisis. The other word for crisis is opportunity, and this is an opportunity, Madam Speaker, to make Jamaica stronger.

As I close Madam Speaker, I want to thank all Jamaicans who have participated in the national effort to ensure that we are recovering, that our brothers and sisters in the other half of the island that was struck, that they’re getting relief. It is not perfect. I’m certain that as I speak there are communities now that have not yet been reached, that there may very well be bodies that have not yet been collected. I’m certain that there is a child that is hungry as I speak, but as I speak, I know Madam Speaker, that the systems are being rapidly put in place to ensure that that human suffering comes to an end very quickly. And I know that with genuine unity and togetherness, Jamaica will recover and recover stronger.

Madam Speaker, there is the National Partnership Council. Again, has become a feature of our Government. I intend to call the partnership council either this week or early next week, depending on diaries and availability. And in that, under that umbrella, we will have the churches and all the other civic organizations to have this discussion around national unity for recovery. And it can’t only be a discussion, there has to be commitment to unity. And as I stand here, Madam Speaker, I am committed to a unified approach to the recovery.

So Madam Speaker, I want to thank the House and thank listeners and thank Jamaicans for paying attention to this presentation.

God bless Jamaica.