Charles Jr. ties roof delays to chaotic post-Melissa assessments

Labour and Social Security Minister Pearnel Charles Jr. says overcrowding of the first wave of damage checks after Hurricane Melissa has helped keep roof repairs in limbo for households still seeking help under the owners or occupants family shelter roofs programme.

Speaking with residents in western Jamaica as the ministry presses to move the roofs initiative faster, Charles Jr. argued that too many players took part in those early assessments in storm-hit communities. He said the scramble that followed Melissa left victims unsure whom to trust, including cases where criminals posed as assessors.

"There's a whole heap of people were doing assessments. Church, person, thief, politician, all manner of people are doing it. The only assessment that matter here is the assessment by the Ministry of Labour or the persons working with us," Charles Jr. said.

He stressed that the roofs programme itself has not shut down and that ministry teams are still on the ground to clear up conflicting messages residents have been hearing.

"The program is not closed. The program is active. That's why we are here. What is closed is new assessments and you wouldn't fall in that batch because you have already interacted with the Ministry. So, whatever the issue is that you're having in terms of being told one thing and another, we will rectify it today," he said.

Under that clarification, households that have already dealt with the ministry remain in the active caseload. Fresh assessment intakes are what have stopped. Charles Jr. framed the western Jamaica outreach as part of a push to resolve outstanding roof cases and restore confidence that only ministry-linked evaluations will determine who qualifies.