Jamaica government briefs nation on Melissa relief spending, agro parks, health service reform and public sector leadership

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPM) says the small share of Hurricane Melissa donation money paid out in cash up to 23 February does not mean response work stalled, but that spending has been kept tight on purpose as recovery moves ahead.

An Auditor General’s review of the relief effort shows donors gave about $1.444 billion in cash, of which roughly $26.2 million, or 1.8%, had been used by that date. In a written reply, ODPM says close to $400 million in contributed building supplies and other goods was already in hand for the state-led roof repair drive, so officials chose not to double-bill the same need and to hold the liquid funds for other cleared recovery uses.

So far, the agency reports about $135 million channelled into the roof programme, with 461 homes finished, while $600 million is set aside for concrete foundations for modular units for people who lost housing in the storm.

On audit concerns, ODPM says that in February it asked for formal steps to regularise the donations as public money within the approved budget before more cash goes out, and it aims to apply some $500 million of that regularised pool to government and partner shelter repairs once rules allow.

Looking ahead, it pledges open books and tighter checks on how supplies move during relief work.

On agriculture, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining Floyd Green says 120 acres of agro-park land were recovered last year from holders who were not farming it as required, and about 280 more hectares could be taken back this year unless they go into production. “This will increase our utilization closer to 80% of our agro parks,” he said. New park works are under way at New Penn in St Mary, Layton in Portland, and at two St Ann sites named in planning documents as Litford and Heintown. Separately, 600 hectares are lined up to extend irrigation under a five-year push he said should move more than half of Jamaica’s arable area under irrigation. Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, he highlighted the Pedro Plains expansion, expected to reach over 4,000 hectares, plus smaller schemes adding about 2,000 hectares. He told farmers in Essex Valley that supply should reach Amy Hall and Bridge Pen before the end of 2026, with a wider system for the area following in the second quarter of 2027. “We are building a better Jamaica through irrigation,” he said. The National Irrigation Commission will also study desalination and treated grey-water options this year.

The Ministry of Health and Wellness has rolled out a citizens’ charter and “wait experience” programme to sharpen front-line service and rebuild trust in public care. A dedicated unit will monitor how patients are treated. Portfolio Minister Dr Christopher Tufton said long-standing care standards now need uniform enforcement. “People must feel that they have recourse if they don’t get what they want. And that must happen as automatic and you have to drill that in through communication, public education, training, whatever it is … because otherwise they’re going to seek recourse elsewhere,” he explained on Wednesday.

He said audits without warning, performance reviews and stronger penalties for weak facilities or staff would anchor accountability. On queues, he accepted some delay is unavoidable worldwide, but said fear and uncertainty mean staff must communicate clearly and show empathy: “Now, when it comes to sickness, it’s a different kind of wait. People wait in anxiety, with uncertainty. We have now to appreciate … we always have to use the customer’s perspective as the benchmark for how we respond and we’re going to have to be as accommodating … therapy really should start at the gate not only on the prescription pad.”

Tufton, in a sector speech on Tuesday, also said his team is drafting a national menopause and andropause policy he expects to submit to Cabinet this month before legal drafting, citing figures that roughly 400,000 Jamaicans feel the effects—about 240,000 women older than 40 with menopause-related problems and roughly 145,000 men older than 50 dealing with andropause. Near-final text follows consultations. “The time has come for us to rightsize our health system to respond to this as a problem … these women face. But the men are not to be left out,” he said. Plans include nationwide education drives, clinician training woven into curricula, hiring a consultant to help professionals normalise clinic talk and prescribing, plus ongoing academic input led by ageing professor Professor Denise Elder Cheryl and a ministry-appointed ageing committee—wording echoed in briefing notes.

Finance and Public Service Minister Fayval Williams, addressing the 2026 Government of Jamaica Service Excellence Conference at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel on Wednesday, told permanent secretaries and agency heads to think creatively while steering a workforce able to endure shocks. “Today I issue a clear charge to every leader in the public sector. Our country, Jamaica, has come a long way and we are now at a decisive stage in the evolution of our public sector. We’re no longer simply building systems for efficiency. We are building systems that must perform under pressure, adapt in real time, and continue to serve our citizens regardless of circumstances. This requires a shift in how we lead.” The meeting backs the Service Excellence Policy launched in 2022; administrators say thirty-three ministries, departments and agencies are now running the programme.