JAMRROC to Drive Public Engagement in Reconstruction Effort

The Jamaica Reconstruction and Resilience Oversight Committee (JAMRROC) will undertake a programme of public education, engagement and consultation to keep Jamaicans informed throughout the post-Hurricane Melissa recovery and reconstruction process, while fostering greater public understanding and transparency.

The Committee, chaired by Professor Peter Blair Henry, will also provide oversight of the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA), which was established to coordinate the country’s post-disaster reconstruction and long-term resilience-building efforts following the hurricane.

Speaking during JAMRROC’s launch at Jamaica House on Tuesday (September 8), Professor Blair Henry said the entity will not operate in isolation but will work with communities, keeping the needs and interests of citizens at the forefront.

“This will include listening to public concerns, as well as explaining the roles of NaRRA and JAMRROC, the importance of the national project, and how it should work, the local context of Jamaica’s ongoing economic reform programme and development plans, and the global context of international best practice,” he said, adding that a website will be developed as part of a broader communication strategy.

Professor Blair Henry said JAMRROC will advise the Prime Minister and Cabinet on the selection of reconstruction projects for the fast-tracked NaRRA process.

The Committee will also monitor, critically assess and hold NaRRA accountable for delivering these projects in the most transparent and efficient manner possible.

Professor Blair Henry noted that, through periodic reports, JAMRROC will publicly hold NaRRA accountable for establishing a project management system that ensures selected projects are tendered and executed in a manner that upholds public trust, are completed on time, and remain within budget.

This will be done through NaRRA’s submission of its plans, deadlines, timelines and numerical targets. These submissions will be required within specified time frames and will be subject to independent assessments by the Auditor General.

“JAMRROC will leverage its knowledge base and relationships, as well as those of its partners from civil society, the local and international business and academic communities, technical personnel, and multilateral institutions. In the critical task before us, Government cannot think like the private sector in focusing only on economic returns.

“So, as we seek to sustainably upgrade Jamaica’s natural and man-made infrastructure, JAMRROC will advocate for social partnerships to drive economic and social transformation that balance people’s lives. But this must all be done in a fiscally responsible manner, because it takes cash to care, and we cannot stray from the economic reform path on which we remain,” Professor Blair Henry stated.

He added that Jamaica’s reconstruction must proceed with speed, foresight and trust, noting that confidence in the process will be strengthened through transparency and effective communication.

Meanwhile, NaRRA Chief Executive Officer, Ambassador Antony Anderson, said accountability and transparency will be embedded in the Authority’s DNA.

“NaRRA is about outcomes and delivery and, in the end, the real tragedy would be actually not getting this done or not optimising the outcomes that this opportunity presents,” he noted.

Ambassador Anderson pointed out that, at the core of the Authority’s work is a set of infrastructure and construction projects involving tangible, visible developments.

“But beyond that, we should have increased capacity, we should have created a foundation on which persons who are thinking about ‘why not something in Jamaica… they’re doing so much and they do it so well… they can actually do things quickly and efficiently’. So let’s go out there and do it, and hopefully that will be one of the effects that we will have,” he said.