Container homes for Melissa survivors nearing handover as Montague cites foundation works

The Jamaican government says foundation work is underway for containerised homes meant for Hurricane Melissa survivors in western Jamaica, and that handovers should begin within weeks, even as the parliamentary opposition presses for answers over what it calls unacceptable delays.

At issue is a sharpening political clash. Critics argue the state is preparing to accommodate foreign nationals under a third-country national deportee arrangement with the United States while many Jamaicans remain without adequate shelter after Melissa.

On Monday, opposition spokesman on housing Professor Floyd Morris called for clarity and swifter help for affected residents.

“We want the citizen to get the assistance as soon as possible. It cannot be that the government is moving provide support through overseas individuals through the third-country national uh situation and providing accommodation for them. And our people out here cannot get uh assistance,” Morris said.

He argued that the government should account for the lag in delivering the container dwellings and said it was “very scandalous” that, nine months after the hurricane, people whose houses were completely destroyed had still not received the promised support. He described himself as “very appalled and disgusted” by the situation.

Later Monday, Cabinet Minister Robert Montague, who leads the container-home programme, said construction and assembly are in progress and that the work started last week. Officials indicate distribution of the units will commence in the weeks ahead.

“The project is ongoing and will be rolled out in phases because we are following the guidelines and the guardrails, governance guardrails that are set out in law. And as we try to strike that balance between the urgency of building out the units and abiding and observing our governance guidelines, we ask for patience and understanding. But we do have units in the country, in Western Jamaica. Bases are being built and more units are being shipped,” Montague said.

Authorities report that nearly 1,500 containerised units are already in Jamaica, with additional shipments due this month that would raise the total to 2,724.