COLONEL of the Maroons of Accompong Town in St Elizabeth, Richard Currie, has reached an agreement with the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) regarding the military helping with reconstruction following the Category 5 Hurricane Melissa.

It’s a move that is being celebrated by residents in the Maroon village, after Currie initially bristled at the idea of having outside forces aid in the rebuilding.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness visited Accompong recently, and pledged the support of the JDF in helping to restore normalcy to the badly affected area.

However, after the visit, Currie took to social media, insisting that the full Maroon Council had met and decided against what he referred to as the “militarisation” of the Maroon village. That decision threatened to add fuel to pre-existing friction between the Government of Jamaica and the Currie administration.

But Currie’s decision did not sit well with some residents, who launched protests in the village. The residents told the Jamaica Observer that Hurricane Melissa left more than 95 per cent of houses damaged, and their chief was not helping with any major repair works. They said they could not fathom why the help was rejected.

Since Currie’s change of heart, soldiers have begun work on houses in Accompong, and one resident said she was very grateful that good sense had prevailed.

“I am feeling very great and wonderful,” said the resident, who asked not to be identified. “The soldiers are fixing the houses and they are comfortable in Accompong Town and we don’t have any problem with them. They are helping people who really cannot manage to fix their houses right now. A lot of people are grateful for it and I know they can’t do every house before Christmas but they are getting there and I appreciate that a lot.“

Another resident said he was glad that there was no more resistance against the ”valuable assistance“.

“I’m glad that Currie is not putting up resistance anymore. I don’t know why he was putting up resistance in the first place because a lot of people really need the help and he wasn’t doing it,” he said.

Another resident claimed that the Accompong Maroons receive a lot of funding from Maroons overseas as well as international agencies, but no money is being spent in the town.

“The January 6th Maroon celebration is like one week away and the roads are so bad. A lot of people send a lot of funding since the storm. Even the school, somebody funded the repairs. A lot of things are there in the community to be done,” he said.

In an Instagram post over the weekend, Currie said that on December 18, 2025 a meeting was convened at Accompong Primary School to address and clarify matters regarding military aid in the recovery process.

“The meeting was attended by members of the JDF and Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the Full Maroon Council. The meeting was a success and all major concerns were addressed, including ambiguities around communications, specific community liaisons, the presence of weapons, among other matters,” Currie said.

He added that the full Maroon Council was duly updated on the proposed days of work, among other details, which provided them much comfort.

“Together with the aid of the JDF Engineering Regimen, we aim to cover all homes damaged in Accompong during the storm. The regimen will be working from Luana/Maggotty and will be mobilising daily to assist with the recovery. We have been provided with key points of contact, and were given the assurance of maintaining full disclosure and open communication, with weekly update meetings throughout the execution of the planned scope of work,” Currie said.

Members of the Jamaica Defence Force work to fix the roof on this house in Accompong Town, St Elizabeth, after Hurricane Melissa.

Members of the Jamaica Defence Force working on a roof in Accompong Town.