Abka Fitz-Henley says NHT billions supporting Hurricane Melissa housing recovery

State Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Senator Abka Fitz-Henley has defended the Government’s use of National Housing Trust funds, saying major spending has been directed to housing challenges across Jamaica after Category 5 Hurricane Melissa damaged parts of the country.

Fitz-Henley gave the figures during Friday’s Senate debate on a Bill to allow the administration to keep drawing on NHT money for budget support. He noted that the policy of taking funds from the trust started in 2013, during the Portia Simpson Miller-led Government, as part of efforts to steady Jamaica’s economy.

He told the Senate that, since the hurricane, the NHT has paid out $1.9 billion in home grants to 5,078 households, with each beneficiary receiving about $500,000. He also said the agency granted six-month mortgage moratoriums, suspending payments for 36,000 mortgages in affected communities, and waived peril insurance premiums.

“Additionally, the NHT gave mortgage moratoriums for six months, pausing payments for 36,000 mortgages in affected areas, while peril insurance premiums were also waived. Two hundred and thirteen special roof loans have also been disbursed at a value of $6.6 million. The NHT has processed 3,835 insurance claims with a total value of $7 billion, and $2.8 billion of the sum has been paid out so far as part of a phased process,” Fitz-Henley said.

The junior minister said the trust has also bought 2,500 semi-permanent modular housing units at an overall cost of $4.6 billion. He further cited the Government’s $10 billion ROOFS programme, while rejecting claims from Opposition senators that the Holness administration has moved too slowly in using NHT resources to respond to housing needs islandwide.

“On the matter of housing, our posture on this matter is characterised by humility. We are always seeking to invest more heavily in housing and deliver greater margins for the people of Jamaica. But the Opposition’s suggestion that the current administration has been under-investing and falling short in the area of housing compared to what obtained when we came into office is categorically false,” Fitz-Henley commented.

Fitz-Henley then presented figures which he said showed the Government’s housing record since assuming office. He said that from 2016 to 2025, 31,540 housing units were started under the NHT.

“This averages an increase of 1,194 more housing starts each year compared to the PNP administration, which preceded 2016. That’s a 57 per cent increase in annual housing starts under the Government of Prime Minister Andrew Holness. Since 2016, this administration has delivered 21,166 housing completions and issued 67,249 mortgages. These numbers far exceed — in fact, they exceed by double digits — housing completions delivered by the PNP during their last two terms in office,” Fitz-Henley stated.

After the debate, the Senate passed the measure. The approval allows the Government to continue taking $11.4 billion each year from the NHT under the National Housing Trust (Amendment) (Special Provisions) Act, 2026, for budgetary support over the next five fiscal years.