Prudent Management Of Economy Enables Country To Respond To Hurricane – PM

KINGSTON, Aug. 5 (JIS):

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says the prudent management of the country has enabled the Administration to respond to and provide relief and recovery help related to Hurricane Beryl.

“When we were hit by [Hurricane] Ivan [in 2004], we had to rely on $3.3 billion of grants; most of it would have come from the European Union, and from our American and Canadian partners. Today, by virtue of the change in our fiscal management and fiscal arrangements, we have put in place buffers and insurance for which we can draw down, for the immediate response, $5 billion of your own funds, in addition to insurance funds, so that we can respond to our own management of the disaster,” the Prime Minister said.

“I want you to think on that because this is what it means to be independent. I make these points because it is important for us to reflect on where we are coming from and where we are, so when the merchants of gloom and doom and ‘nutten nah gwaan’ peddle their falsehoods in the public square, those falsehoods must be confronted by the facts. Jamaica today is a different place than it was 20 years ago,” Mr. Holness said.

He was addressing the launch of the Rebuild Jamaica Initiative whereby the Government started providing grant assistance to families most severely impacted by the passage of the hurricane on July 3. The launch was held at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security in Kington, on August 5.

Under the Rebuild Jamaica Initiative, Jamaicans whose homes were damaged or destroyed by the recent passage of Hurricane Beryl will receive relief grants from the Government.

Persons whose houses were destroyed will receive a grant of up to $400,000, those whose homes were severely damaged will receive up to $150,000, and those who experienced minor damage will receive up to $50,000.

The Government has allocated $1 billion to assist impacted householders to recover and rebuild.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister highlighted the importance of the national identification system, which would assist in identifying and verifying the recipients while enhancing privacy and accountability.

He urged the staff at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security to “put in the effort” to ensure that the assistance is provided as quickly as possible to those in need.

For his part, Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., encouraged the recipients to use the grants wisely.