THE Government will be providing $1 billion in grants and other forms of assistance to people whose homes were damaged by the impact of Hurricane Beryl, which hit the country on July 3.

Making the announcement on Tuesday, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said the money will go towards the restoration, reconstruction, and relocation of houses.

Giving an update on the Administration’s relief and recovery efforts in a statement to Parliament on Tuesday, Holness said a total of 5,153 household damage assessments have been completed.

He said that, with the exception of Manchester, Clarendon, and St Elizabeth, assessments have been substantially completed, and it is anticipated that the exercise will be done in another week.

The prime minister noted, however, that under the initiative, which will be channelled through the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, not every house that was damaged will qualify for grants, restoration, reconstruction, and relocation, and that assistance will be based on the assessment done.

“The condition that we have agreed is that all potential beneficiaries must be assessed…The Ministry of Labour and Social Security will explain further what the criteria [are]. We have established them but we haven’t finalised [them]. We can’t finalise them until we have the full assessment, because you want your criteria to match what you have assessed,” he said.

“In other words, you wouldn’t want to have a criteria that doesn’t fit what you have actually observed in the field. So clearly income is going to be a parameter that will gauge who qualifies and for persons who have income. For persons with insurance, there are programmes that I’ll announce shortly,” said Holness.

He said a standard grant will be assigned based on the classification of the damage. This, he said, hinges on the completion of the assessment so the damage can be properly categorised. In addition, he said another criterion which must be fulfilled by all beneficiaries is that they must be properly documented and they will be placed in a single database.

“In a crisis, you cannot have double-dipping. You cannot have someone come and get a benefit under this programme and then come back and get a benefit under another and then somebody else gets nothing. That is totally unfair. So everybody goes into a central database,” he said.

He said that for Members of Parliament (MPs) who are assisting using their Constituency Development Fund (CDF) will require the submission of the names of individuals and possibly their tax registration number (TRN) as well, “so that we are able to crossmatch”.

Turning to other initiatives that will be channelled through the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Holness said that under the rehabilitation grants programme, grants amounting to $200 million will be provided to micro business operators affected, noting that small shops were…totally wiped out as they lost their stock because of the hurricane.

“You will have to show that you actually had a shop, that you had a fridge, that you had damage. This is not going to be a general grant that everybody can apply for. I want to make that absolutely clear that you would have had to suffer loss and the loss must be assessed, and then based upon the assessment a grant will be approved, and I will leave the further details to the minister of labour and social security to explain how this process will be implemented,” he said.

In terms of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), he said that the life certificate requirement for August payments will be waived generally across the island to help with the quick access of pensions.

The prime minister also advised that, along with additional recovery measures, the National Housing Trust (NHT) will be providing another $200 million towards the national restoration effort.

He said that the NHT has outlined a multi-pronged response to support the immediate recovery efforts for individuals directly impacted by Hurricane Beryl and to bolster the long-term disaster resilience of communities.

The assistance being offered include:

* Peril insurance for NHT mortgagors: All NHT mortgagors are covered under the NHT’s blanket House Owners Comprehensive Policy, which includes coverage for damage caused by (not limited to) fire, hurricane, windstorm, storm, tempest, cyclone, tornado, hail, full flood, impact damage (however caused), bursting of pipes and the overflowing of water tanks, et cetera.

* Moratorium for NHT mortgagors: Mortgagors who have been affected by Hurricane Beryl and may need to prioritise urgent repairs to their property may apply for a moratorium of three to six months.

* Special home improvement loan for roof and home repair: The NHT will facilitate a special home improvement loan for existing NHT mortgagors to assist in necessary repairs and home improvements to improve disaster resilience. This is a special facility aimed at supporting mortgagors who may need to supplement insurance arrangements in order to adequately complete repairs. This facility is also intended to support NHT contributors, including those who do not currently have a mortgage but may have suffered property damage due to the hurricane.

* Special grant for vulnerable NHT contributors: NHT contributors who sustained damage to their homes in the wake of Hurricane Beryl may apply for a special home grant to assist in home repairs. This grant will be available subject to need and level of impact. Both contributors and mortgagors may apply.