Holness says NARA ready to drive Hurricane Melissa recovery work

Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness says Jamaica is better placed to accelerate rebuilding after Hurricane Melissa, following the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority Act becoming law. Speaking on Wednesday, he said the legislation gives NARA its formal identity, authority, responsibilities and functions.

Holness also named retired Major General Ambassador Anthony Anderson as NARA's chief executive officer, with the appointment effective June 1. He said Anderson had already been asked to review the State's response to Hurricane Beryl, including the work of agencies involved and, in particular, ODPEM, leaving him close to the issues NARA will now manage.

Cabinet has settled a priority list of NARA projects, which is to be made public shortly. Holness said the immediate focus will be work tied directly to restoring lives and livelihoods, with a target for completion by 2027. The terms of reference and membership of the Jamaica Reconstruction and Resilience Oversight Committee, JAMROCK, are also expected to be released soon.

NARA is being set up as the main coordinating body for post-Melissa reconstruction, intended to cut red tape, reduce fragmented action and prevent delays. At Wednesday's National Disaster Risk Management Council meeting, Holness, as chair, called for stronger hurricane-season readiness by the State, communities and the private sector.

He said disaster preparation must begin in homes, schools, farms, clinics, police and fire stations, not only in government offices. The Prime Minister directed the Ministry of Local Government and Municipal Corporations and parish disaster committees to organise, record, test and share local plans before emergencies occur.

Holness said ODPEM must become more technical, operational and data-led, while security forces, emergency services, health facilities, the labour ministry, schools, utilities, telecoms providers and scientific agencies must tighten continuity, restoration, communication and warning systems. He also urged businesses to prepare continuity plans and be integrated into national arrangements for supplies, storage, movement and pricing.

In Mandeville on Wednesday, Holness handed out land titles to 124 residents under the Government's programme to formalise ownership and promote orderly development. He warned that abuse of adverse possession laws was helping some persons illegally occupy, subdivide and sell government and private lands, leaving buyers exposed and communities without proper roads, water, sewage and other infrastructure.

Holness also paid tribute to former Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller as the Ministry of Labour and Social Security's North Street building was renamed in her honour. He said further recognition will include a bust, a documentary, the naming of the Three Miles overpass, and the Western Children and Adolescent Hospital in St. James. In a Labour Day broadcast, he called on Jamaicans to unite in rebuilding after Hurricane Melissa.