Opposition presses Government on stalled rollout of Melissa hurricane container homes

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Professor Senator Floyd Morris, the Opposition's spokesman on housing and sustainable living, has taken the Government to task for failing to hand over containerised homes meant for Hurricane Melissa survivors, even as officials maintain that the units are already in the country.

In a statement issued Monday, Morris called it indefensible that, nearly nine months after the hurricane left thousands of Jamaicans homeless, no household had taken possession of any of the 5,000 containerised units the administration pledged to buy.

"It is a disgrace," Morris said.

He noted that officials first said the homes would reach Jamaica by January 2026, but later shifted that timeline on multiple occasions. "Since then, there have been several revised arrival dates until, in May 2026, we were informed that more than 500 houses had arrived on the island. This announcement came only after I asked at an Opposition press conference, 'Where are the houses?'" he said.

Morris said he raised the same issue during Senate debates on the bill that created the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA), and again during discussions on the ongoing annual withdrawal of $11.4 billion from the National Housing Trust (NHT). "On each occasion, we were assured that the houses were already in Jamaica. Yet, to date, not a single one has been delivered to any citizen," he said.

The Opposition spokesman said Jamaicans deserve a full account of why distribution remains stalled. "Why, after indicating more than a month ago that the houses had arrived in the island, has not a single citizen in the affected areas received a containerised house? This is both scandalous and disgraceful," he said.

Morris is also pressing the Government to spell out what is holding up delivery, when and where units will go, how the rollout will operate, what part MPs will play in selecting recipients, which eligibility rules will apply, and whether the homes will be sold or given at no charge to those hit by the storm.

"The people affected by Hurricane Melissa deserve more than promises. They deserve action, transparency and the dignity of knowing when they will finally receive the assistance they were promised," Morris said.