Hurricane relief alarm

WESTERN BUREAU:

Councillors at the St Elizabeth Municipal Corporation are raising a growing concern that the government’s move away from traditional care packages, towards a voucher-based assistance programme, could leave many hurricane-affected residents without meaningful support as assessment delays continue across the parish.

The issue was raised during the corporation’s general monthly meeting last Thursday, where Christopher Williams, Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) councillor for the Santa Cruz Division, cautioned that while the policy shift may be well-intentioned, the realities on the ground demand urgent review.

“Chairman, you would have heard the prime minister say that they are moving away from care-packages, and we know some persons might think they are not needed, but they are needed. Persons still need the assistance of those care-packages,” Williams said.

Assessments bottleneck

He noted that access to the proposed voucher system is dependent on assessments that many vulnerable residents have not yet received.

“They are looking at giving persons vouchers, but in order for persons to benefit from that, they have to be assessed first,” he said. “There are a lot of persons out there right now who need food assistance and won’t get it because the Ministry of Labour and the Social Development Commission have not reached them as yet to do the assessment.”

Responding, Mayor Richard Solomon, JLP councillor for the Newmarket Division and chairman of the St Elizabeth Municipal Corporation, acknowledged the concern, citing limited human resources as a major constraint in the post–Hurricane Melissa recovery process.

“Councillor Williams, the human resource issue is a huge challenge, as you have alluded to, especially in relation to the teams on the ground assessing the damage caused by Hurricane Melissa,” Solomon said.

However, he agreed that the delays were problematic.

“The truth is what you are saying makes a lot of sense. We do want the process to be expedited as best as possible,” Solomon added.

The chairman informed that the Ministry of Labour and Social Security has being reaching out to neighbouring parishes for assistance.

“They have reached out to neighbouring parishes seeking additional support, and they continue to do so,” he said, noting that continued dialogue was necessary to strengthen the programme.

“This is a genuine concern, and we are feeling the pinch. As councillors on the ground, persons are reaching out to us wanting to know when they are coming,” Solomon said.

Everton Fisher, People’s National Party councillor for the Balaclava Division, said the issue could not be allowed to remain confined to the council’s chamber and required urgent escalation to the central government.

“I have to stand in solidarity with Councillor Williams on this. I don’t want to leave it within these walls as if what he has raised is not profound and not something that requires urgency.”

While acknowledging that personnel have been sourced from other parishes, Fisher argued that more decisive action was needed.

“I hear you, Your Worship, that persons are coming from other parishes, but some more emphasis needs to be placed on it,” he said. “If we are to speed up the assessments in Westmoreland, St Elizabeth and St James, it is going to require additional funding.”

Fisher suggested that the matter be addressed at the budgetary level.

“Probably we may have to put it into a supplementary budget before the main budget in March, but it needs something,” he said.

He warned that delays were taking a psychological toll on residents.

“What we are hearing from our people here in St Elizabeth is that many are becoming hopeless because they are not seeing the process moving,” Fisher said.

While acknowledging early relief efforts, he said those measures were no longer sufficient.

“Yes, they got their little bag of flour and two tins of mackerel, but that phase has passed,” he said. “People now need something more tangible to help them get back to their normal lives.”

Fisher urged the chairman to formally raise the issue with the central government.

“I am suggesting that if it has not been done yet, you need to write to Minister Pearnel Charles ( the minister of labour and social security) and say we need a pep-up in the assessment process,” he said.

He added that additional staffing could be key.

“Maybe the minister can find other budgetary support to inject fresh people into the system, because right now the delays are hurting real people on the ground,” Fisher said.

The debate comes as St Elizabeth continues to grapple with the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, which caused widespread damage to homes, livelihoods and infrastructure across the parish.

Up to December 31 last year, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness says more than 50,000 damage assessments across the affected parishes were completed, including residents living in sections of St Elizabeth.

He said the level of assistance will be guided by a structured and transparent assessment framework, ensuring support reaches those most in need.

“The assistance has to be done on assessment. We have to come and look at your house and look at your needs, because at the end of the day this is about helping the needy and not the greedy,” Holness said while speaking at the Urban Development Corporation’s Firework Festival in Black River.

According to the prime minister, the Cabinet will finalise categories that will classify homes as having suffered minor, major, or severe damage, with corresponding levels of support attached to each category.

He stressed that eligibility will require proper identification and clear evidence of hurricane-related damage as the government is determined to avoid duplication and inequity in the distribution process.

“We are not going to be doing it in a way where people get multiple benefits. We want everybody to get a benefit, so it will be managed in a transparent and well-run way,” he noted then.

albert.ferguson@gleanerjm.com