Cabinet eases cement shortage and clarifies US third-country transit deal

Government ministers used a post-Cabinet media briefing on Wednesday, 17 June 2026, to address a national cement shortage and to clarify Jamaica's arrangement with the United States on third-country nationals.

Industry Minister Aubin Hill said demand collapsed after Hurricane Melissa in October, then surged as rebuilding picked up from late November. Production was also hit by equipment failure on a new kiln, heavy rains affecting clinker at Rockfort, and storm damage to warehouses in Montego Bay. After market checks with distributors, Cabinet approved temporary import quotas for several firms that had asked to bring in cement for six months. Allocations include up to 50,000 tons for the existing buying house, 100,000 tons each for Jamaica Logistics International Limited and Rockhard Cement Jamaica, 60,000 tons each for Tankwell Metals and Island Concrete Company Limited, and 20,000 tons for Gore Development. Hill said supply was returning to balance and that large future projects under NAR would need separate planning.

Deputy Prime Minister and National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang said Jamaica accepts only Jamaican deportees from the United States, roughly 100 per month under a long-standing arrangement, and has no deal to receive thousands of illegal migrants. He said Cabinet approved an understanding, signed in the days before the briefing, for up to 25 third-country nationals to transit Jamaica at any one time while the US covers initial costs and the International Organization for Migration handles accommodation. No one would be detained, operational details remain unsettled, and either side may end the arrangement. Chang said English speakers are the main criterion under discussion, that return rates in similar programmes elsewhere run near 94%, and that the programme would stop if all 25 chose to remain in Jamaica. He stressed the plan differs from handling undocumented Haitian arrivals and denied any government talks about accepting 10,000 third-country nationals.

Information Minister Dana Morris Dixon, moderating the session, said yesterday's detailed release aimed to correct leaked misinformation. Ministers also fielded questions on school violence after recent gun deaths affecting students and teachers, human rights policy, and progress on a new prison site in St Catherine.