Holness Defends $1.4 Billion Hurricane Relief Reserve for St Elizabeth Housing Push

Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness has pushed back against public criticism over the Government's failure so far to spend $1.4 billion in hurricane relief donations, saying the money is being reserved for longer-term recovery work.

Speaking in Malvern, St Elizabeth, on Thursday at a handover ceremony for National Housing Trust service lots, Holness defended the handling of the funds while outlining a housing and relocation programme for communities in western Jamaica damaged by the storm.

He said the donations have been set aside for a practical, multi-agency housing response, including plans to move residents from Parottee, the badly hit coastal community in St Elizabeth.

"There was some concern that the Government of Jamaica did not spend the $1.4 billion that was gifted to it. Now, anyone who understands finance, will immediately look at that and say, funds are fungible. So that shouldn't be an issue in the public domain, but we make an issue of it," Holness said.

The prime minister said the donated money has not yet been drawn down, but argued that almost $67 billion has already gone toward immediate assistance.

"We took a decision that the resources that were contributed would be matched with needs that are tangible, visible, traceable and meaningful – lasting. We make no excuse for that. And that is what distinguishes my administration from administrations of the past. We make wise financial decisions," he said.

Holness said people who contributed to Jamaica's Hurricane Melissa relief programme would be pleased to see the money reflected in houses being built, rather than absorbed into less visible forms of support.

"It's quite different from saying, 'Well, all of it was used to buy food or give another grant', where nobody's going to come up front and say I got it. There is no testimonial. The house that is erected, it is there, it is visible," he said.

He added that the Government was determined to show the public how the donations were being used, saying the funds are accounted for and Jamaicans will be able to see the results.

According to Holness, semi-permanent modular housing units are to be placed in St Elizabeth, with many Parottee residents in South West St Elizabeth who lost their homes expected to benefit.

He said affected residents would be included throughout the process. The National Housing Trust, the Urban Development Corporation, the municipal authority and the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority will work together on the relocation effort, with NaRRA carrying out a central coordinating role.

Holness also said some of the units will be allocated to people who were housed at Petersfield High School in Westmoreland after being displaced.

The prime minister said the rollout of the housing model in Jamaica will be closely assessed. He said the Government wants to determine whether the units can be used more widely and whether an appropriate financing arrangement can support that expansion.

The issue follows a real-time audit which found delays in the State's disaster response system. The audit showed that most of the more than $1 billion in cash donations collected for hurricane relief was still sitting in government accounts up to April.

The Auditor General's Department reported that, of the $1.4 billion gathered after the Category 5 storm, only $26.2 million had been spent by April.

The report also said funds donated after Hurricane Beryl passed in July 2024 had not been used. The findings triggered concern about the speed of recovery efforts and how emergency donations are managed during national disasters.