Prudent economic management enables country to cope with hurricane – Prime Minister – Jamaica Information Service

Kingston, August 5 (he):

Prime Minister Andrew Holness said prudent national management had enabled the Government to respond to Cyclone Beryl and provide relief and recovery assistance.

“When we were hit by Hurricane Ivan (in 2004), we had to rely on $3.3 billion in aid; most of it came from the European Union and our American and Canadian partners. Today, with changes in fiscal management and fiscal arrangements, we have built in buffers and insurance, and in addition to the insurance fund, we can draw on $5 billion of our own funds for emergency response so that we can deal with disasters on our own,” the prime minister said.

“I want you to think about this because this is what independence means. I raise these points because we must reflect on where we came from and where we are, so when those pessimists and ‘nutten nah gwaan’ peddle lies in the public square, those lies must be countered with facts. Jamaica today is a very different place than it was 20 years ago,” Mr Holness said.

He was speaking at the launch of the Rebuilding Jamaica Programme, under which the Government began providing grant assistance on 3 July to families worst affected by the hurricane. The launch took place on 5 August at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security in Kingdon.

Under the Rebuilding Jamaica plan, Jamaicans whose homes were damaged or destroyed in the recent Hurricane Beryl will receive government disaster relief grants.

Those whose homes were destroyed will receive up to $400,000, those whose homes were severely damaged will receive up to $150,000, and those whose homes were slightly damaged will receive up to $50,000.

The government has allocated $1 billion to help disaster victims recover and rebuild.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister stressed the importance of a national identification system that would help identify and verify recipients while enhancing privacy and accountability.

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

Labor and Social Security Secretary Pearnel Charles Jr. encouraged recipients to use the grants wisely.