Disaster office defends limited cash draw on Hurricane Melissa gifts as ministries expand farms, irrigation and health services

Kingston, 15 May 2026 — The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPM) says the small share of Hurricane Melissa relief cash spent by late February does not mean recovery work stalled, but that officials are controlling spending with care. The position comes after the Auditor General’s Hurricane Melissa Relief Initiative audit found that, of about $1.44 billion received in cash gifts, roughly $26.2 million—about 1.8 percent—had been used up to 23 February 2026.

The agency states that close to $400 million worth of contributed building supplies and general items were already on hand for the state-led roof-repair drive, so leaders chose not to pay twice for the same need and to hold the cash for other cleared recovery uses. It reports that near $135 million has so far backed the roofing scheme, with 461 roofs finished, and that $600 million is set aside for concrete foundations for modular homes for people who lost housing in the storm. ODPM adds that in February it asked for formal steps to bring the donated funds in line with public-money rules and the approved budget before wider payouts continue, and that around $500 million from sums brought into that framework could help government and partner shelter initiatives. It pledges transparent handling of relief assets and tighter rules on how aid is delivered and tracked on the ground.

Separately, Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining Minister Floyd Green says the state is reclaiming idle plots in agro parks to lift output, noting that 120 acres were recovered last year from people who did not put the land to proper use, while another 280 hectares could face similar action this year if production does not follow, supporting a path toward about four-fifths of park land being put to work. He names new park works at New Pen, St Mary, Low Leyton, Portland, and at Litford and Hinds Town, St Ann, and points to a five-year push to push irrigation past half of the island’s arable area, including 600 hectares targeted for new watering capacity and a major Pedro Plains expansion meant to cover more than 4,000 hectares with smaller add-ons for another 2,000. Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, he promises Essex Valley farmers their supply by year-end 2026, Amity Hall and Bridge Pen by the second quarter of 2027, and says, “We are building a better Jamaica through irrigation.” The National Irrigation Commission is also due to study desalination and treated greywater to stretch supplies.

Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton, at Wednesday’s launch, announces a Citizens Charter and Wait Experience programme with a new ministry unit to lift how patients are treated across facilities, insisting people need clear ways to complain when standards slip. He blends announced spot checks, reviews, and firmer action on weak performance with a call to make queues kinder through information and empathy, arguing “therapy really should start at the gates, not by the under prescription part.” On Tuesday he tells the sectoral debate that a national menopause and andropause policy is almost ready for Cabinet this month, then legal drafting, citing survey figures that about 240,000 women over 40 and 145,000 men over 50 face related difficulties among roughly 400,000 Jamaicans affected, and outlining public education, training for health workers, and a consultant to help professionals speak more openly about care and medicines, crediting ongoing work with UWI public-health and ageing professor Dr Denise Eldemire Shera and a ministry ageing committee.

Finance and the Public Service Minister Fayval Williams, addressing Wednesday’s 2026 Government of Jamaica Service Excellence Conference at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, urges permanent secretaries and agency heads to lead with fresh, strategic thinking to ready the public sector for shocks, saying in a direct appeal to leaders: “Today, I issue a clear charge to every leader in the public sector. Our country, Jamaica, has come a long way, and we're now at a decisive stage in the evolution of our public sector. We're no longer simply building systems for efficiency. We are building systems that must perform under pressure, adapt in real time, and continue to serve our citizens regardless of circumstances. This requires a shift in how we lead.” She ties the forum to wider modernization and notes 53 ministries, departments, and agencies now running the 2022 service-excellence programme.