NaRRA Vital for Building A More Sustainable Jamaica After Hurricane Melissa – PM Holness

Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says the establishment of the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA) is vital to rebuilding a more sustainable Jamaica at the scale and speed required in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, and to deliver visible results for the citizens who need them most.

“Melissa has forced the reconstruction of roads, schools, health facilities and housing at a scale that would otherwise have taken us decades to do. The question is whether we do this with the systems and standards of the past or whether we use this moment to embed digital infrastructure, resilient design and modern governance into the foundations of the Jamaica we are building forward. That is the obligation of leadership – to ensure that the Jamaica which emerges from this is stronger, more connected, and more prepared than the one that existed before Melissa,” he said.

Dr. Holness was addressing Thursday’s (April 24) launch of the World Bank Report on Digital Financial Inclusion and Transformation in Jamaica. The event took place at Jamaica House.

NaRRA will function as the central coordinating authority for post-hurricane reconstruction, designed to eliminate bureaucracy, reduce fragmentation, and prevent project delays.

It will also serve as a hub of technical excellence for project preparation and delivery, ensuring that the quality of national plans matches the scale of Jamaica’s ambitions.

Dr. Holness noted that this approach will drive greater investment, foster genuine innovation, and transform new ideas into new industries, thereby creating jobs and opportunities for the Jamaican people.

“It means refusing to be constrained by systems that no longer serve us – outdated processes, unnecessary friction, governance that moves slower than the economy it is designed to support.

“It [also] means ensuring that growth, when it comes, is not concentrated in the hands of few but reaches across communities and generations. That is precisely why we are establishing the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority,” he said.

The Prime Minister emphasised that reconstruction at the scale and speed required in the wake of the Category Five hurricane cannot be managed through ordinary administrative channels or at the pace of routine procedures.

“NaRRA’s mandate is clear… move fast, coordinate across institutions, cut through bureaucracy without cutting corners, and deliver results that are visible to the people who most need them,” he said.

Prime Minister Holness stated that national resurgence is imperative to building a stronger, more resilient country.

“Jamaica understands resilience. It is not an abstract concept to us. It is a lived experience, embedded in our national story. But resilience alone is not enough. Resilience allows a nation to withstand difficulty… it does not, by itself, guarantee progress. The true test of leadership is whether moments of disruption are transformed into opportunities for advancement. To recover is necessary. To advance is imperative,” he said.

Dr. Holness emphasised that recovery is about restoring what was lost, while resurgence is about creating something greater than what previously existed.

“That distinction is not rhetorical. It has practical consequences for every policy choice we make, particularly in the context of how we approach post-Melissa reconstruction. A nation that is rebuilding has a choice that every stable nation has but rarely gets to execute. We can restore what existed or we can decide to build what should have existed,” he said.

The legislation to establish the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority is currently before the House of Representatives.