PM Pledges Fiscal Discipline, Transparency in Hurricane Recovery and Rebuilding

Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says the Government is committed to fiscal discipline and transparency in the Hurricane Melissa recovery and rebuilding process.

He said that every dollar spent, including private contributions, will be accounted for and measured by tangible results.

“One of the reasons we are able to galvanise the multilateral community is because of the sacrifice and great effort that we, as a people, have collectively made in ensuring that we have fiscal discipline rooted in our political culture, in our economics and in our civic and social affairs,” the Prime Minister noted.

“It is well appreciated and understood that the Government of Jamaica must be fiscally responsible and that as a country we will use resources from the international community and our own taxes in the best and most frugal way, in the smartest way. So, we intend to continue this through the development process,” he added.

The Prime Minister, who is Chairman of CARICOM, was speaking during a tour with CARICOM Heads of Government and international donor partners in Whitehouse, Westmoreland, on Monday (November 17).

Dr. Holness said it is regrettable that having struggled to reduce the high debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio, which was on track to fall to 60 per before the storm, the country is faced with a situation where half the country has been devastated in terms of its infrastructure, and the Government has to spend on relief and recovery.

He noted, further, that with revenues lost as a result of the setbacks to business and commerce, the country’s financial situation has to be managed very carefully.

“We will spend to relieve human suffering, but every dollar that is spent will be accounted for… and not just from an accounting point of view, meaning adding up the dollar spent. It will be accounted for from an efficiency point of view, which is really the greater accountability. Every dollar spent, every aid given, every commitment made, will be used in a way that quickly advances the recovery, but at the end of it makes Jamaica stronger,” Dr. Holness declared.

The Prime Minister said that estimates of the physical damage from Hurricane Melissa are approximately US$8 billion, with approximately 900,000 lives impacted and around 100,000 homes damaged.

He welcomed the support from regional and international partners, noting that the Government is undertaking a coordinated, transparent process that prioritises the most vulnerable communities and ensures that reconstruction is resilient to future events.

Short-term measures will focus on shelter, food security, healthcare, and essential services, while longer-term plans address housing reconstruction, critical infrastructure, and climate-resilient development.