Labour Ministry Finalising Agreement with Charity to Assist Beryl Victims

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security is far advanced in finalising the terms of a partnership with international charity, Global Empowerment Mission (GEM), to assist communities impacted by the passage of Hurricane Beryl.

The Ministry has been in discussion with the organisation to rebuild 500 roofs in some of the worst-hit areas.

“That partnership is projected to see GEM providing the material free of cost to the beneficiaries, and we provide the payments for the labour so that the support to the beneficiary is amplified,” said Portfolio Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., in a statement to the House of Representatives on Tuesday (September 17).

The Minister informed that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been drafted and is expected to be completed and sent to Cabinet within the next week.

Regarding the ‘Rebuild Jamaica Initiative’, Mr. Charles Jr. noted that the Ministry’s immediate focus is “on the full validation of all individuals affected by Hurricane Beryl to ensure that every person in need is accounted for and receives timely support”.

“The Ministry has implemented a streamlined verification process to avoid duplication and ensure transparency in the disbursements,” he noted.

He said that the team from the Ministry has been reporting challenges in validating some of the information that has been provided, noting that in some cases the Tax Registration Number (TRN) does not match the name provided or was lost during the hurricane.

He noted, however, that the Ministry has been able to use other means to validate more than 1,500 such individuals and process support cheques. He said that the Ministry still has approximately 3,500 cases to validate.

“We are working with Members of Parliament to make sure we can get the relevant beneficiaries. So, starting next week, we will be hosting a series of community meetings… in those areas where we are having a difficulty, such as St. Elizabeth and Clarendon, so we can do the validation face to face,” Mr. Charles Jr. said.

“Also, we will be providing the list to Members of Parliament who are in the affected areas, so you can also go through the list yourself to see how you can assist us to identify some of your constituents,” he added.

The Minister is urging persons whose houses were damaged and who have not been assessed, to attend the community meetings “and we will take your information and ensure that we get your assessment done”.

Mr. Charles Jr. said the Ministry has been “very careful to execute the [Rebuild Jamaica] programme as a national initiative with a deliberate effort to ensure that the relief benefits are distributed with fairness and transparency”.

“But we are not taking anything for granted. For the next phase of the Rebuild Jamaica initiative we will be doing our own audit, examining the mechanisms to identify any gaps in our operational procedures that need to be addressed, particularly in the identification of affected households, and in ensuring that we are equitably determining the level of support that individual households require,” he told the House.

Mr. Charles Jr. said the second objective of the audit is to ensure that the recipients of the grants are, in fact, using the funds for the intended purpose.