KINGSTON, Jamaica— The Government has announced what it calls the Relief Emergency Assistance and Community Help or REACH programme to drive the post-Hurricane Beryl recovery efforts.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness who made the announcement in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, said the main elements of the programme include:

*the distribution of food and essential supplies

*utility; water, electricity and telecommunications restoration

*housing and reconstruction support

*economic recovery and restoration of livelihood

In terms of the distribution of food and essential supplies, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security has been handing out care packages.

“These care packages contain enough food for a family of four for four days. By today (Tuesday) approximately 5,000 families would have received care packages,” Holness stated.

He said the government was coordinating the continued distribution of food, water, medical sundries and other essentials to citizens in the most affected areas. That work is being done in collaboration with agencies such as Food For The Poor, Salvation Army and the Red Cross.

The prime minister said the government was also focused on dengue mitigation activities “to ensure that we do not have an outbreak at this time”.

Meanwhile, the administration will be making an additional $4 million available to each of the 63 constituencies through the Constituency Development Fund. This is on top of the $5 million that was previously allocated. The hardest-hit constituencies will get an extra $3 million. The additional $4 million will be focused largely on helping persons replace their roofing.

Holness cautioned Members of Parliament that “everyone who receives a benefit must sign for it. He also said “a disaster and an emergency does not suspend accountability”.

The prime minister emphasised that the distribution of relief must be done in a non-partisan manner, stating that “there’s no colour or affiliation in a catastrophe and a disaster”.

In terms of utilities, the prime minister noted that significant efforts have been directed towards restoring water, electricity and telecommunication services. He lauded the teams, both in the public and private sectors, for working around the clock to bring services back online, even while acknowledging that much work was left to be done.