KINGSTON, Jamaica — Prime Minister Andrew Holness is hitting back at recent criticisms surrounding the distribution of donated generators by the government following the passage of Hurricane Melissa, which left several people still without electricity.

“The number of generators we got, the last time I checked, was in the region of 600. The commander of ODPEM would give you specific figures. How do I share 600 generators with 150,000 people?” Holness questioned.

“You can’t share up 600 generators with 150,000 people or 42,000 homes. It is not possible, so what do you do with the generators? The first thing you do is you want to give it to areas where its use will be multiplied,” Holness added. Among the areas he outlined are police stations and other essential services.

“We have put a policy in place so whatever we have got, we are going to use it for resilience building… We give to the police, the JDF [Jamaica Defence Force], the fire brigade [Jamaica Fire Brigade], your municipal buildings, and the hospitals. We give them generators; that is where it is going,” Holness added.

He, however, noted that these essential services are required to provide the government with a plan to outline how the generators will be operated and replaced at the end of their useful life.

The prime minister also called for an end to what he described as the politicisation of the distribution of relief items to affected residents.

He added that the government will shift from the distribution of food packages to providing coupons or cards to purchase relief items. While acknowledging that some shops still have not reopened due to the lack of electricity, he said the government will loan generators it has purchased to shop owners.