Gov’t Moving to Standardise Hurricane Melissa Relief Distribution

The Government is taking steps to standardise the Hurricane Melissa relief distribution process.

Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) has currently established 22 staging areas across the island, operating under a hub-and-spoke model, to support national relief and recovery efforts.

“So they will move from big warehouses to these small hubs, and then from these small hubs to smaller areas of distribution. That might not be enough. Eventually, we will have to move from this operation of us moving items. The physical distribution of the relief is an expensive operation, and it poses some risks to us as well,” he said.

“I’ve seen videos circulating, where I’ve seen a Jamaica Defence Force truck and people are there waving and, you know, it wasn’t too bad. But even in a disaster, we must maintain our dignity. Even in a disaster, we must never give the view that there is lawlessness. Even if we are hungry and there is suffering, we must maintain our dignity. The way in which the relief operation is done, must be… in a way that protects the dignity of the people,” Dr. Holness added.

The Prime Minister was speaking during a special press briefing at Jamaica House on Thursday (November 6).

Dr. Holness said the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) and JDF have been tasked with implementing a standardised relief distribution process that safeguards the dignity of recipients.

“But as I was saying, we can’t carry this on forever or for too long. At some point, we will transition to a voucher or a coupon system where, instead of carrying the bag of relief items, you will get something that is equivalent to cash and you can go to your nearest shop in your area where we will stock and supply them and you get your items,” he stated.

“But to do that, we have to… provision [the shops], give them electricity, give them internet connection. So we’re working on that plan and, in the coming weeks, you will start to see that plan come to fruition so that, for the foreseeable future of the next few months, there is an effective and robust system to deliver relief as we pivot to the recovery stage,” Prime Minister Holness added.