KINGSTON, Jamaica — Some 162 residents of St James and Hanover were presented with cheques totalling $21 million on Thursday by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security to assist in the rebuilding of their homes, which were damaged during the passage of Hurricane Beryl.

Speaking at the cheque presentation ceremony at the Montego Bay Cultural Centre in St James, Labour and Social Security Minister Pearnel Charles Jr warned recipients that the funds are to be used solely for their intended purpose.

The disbursement formed part of the $1 billion Rebuild Jamaica Programme, which provided residents whose homes sustained minor damage with J$50,000, those with severe damage J$150,000, and those whose homes were totally destroyed J$400,000.

“I don’t want to hear MP Tamika Davis (MP for Hanover Hanover Western) saying to me that people who get the $400,000 cheque end up at her office. I don’t want to hear MP Homer Davis (At James Southern MP) telling me that him hear about a lady who gone to buy weave or a man who gone a the bar,” cautioned Charles Jr.

“You have the responsibility to make sure that if you putting on zinc, you don’t just put on the zinc and use a little tack nail. Use a hurricane strap. Put the screw into the hurricane strap so that it is firmer and more resilient,” he added.

Charles Jr revealed that following the hurricane, some 1,200 assessments were conducted between Hanover and St James.

“For Hanover and for St James, more than 600 assessments were done for each parish, meaning that between those two parishes, at least 1,200 persons were impacted. That’s a lot. That’s a lot of children, a lot of elderly, a lot of people in vulnerable situations. Today, we don’t have all here, but we have a select few who will represent both parishes,” he said.