WITH the Government’s waiver of customs duty and General Consumption Tax (GCT) on Hurricane Melissa relief items to end in a matter of hours, Alexander Williams, Jamaica’s high commissioner to London, says the mission is now working closely with Jamaican businesses, Diaspora organisations, and other stakeholders, “to ensure that the cost of shipping does not become a barrier to aid”.

Speaking at a recent virtual town hall meeting for the Diaspora in England — one of several held since the passage of Hurricane Melissa on October 28 — Williams said, “Our collective goal is to maintain the steady flow of relief supplies from the UK Diaspora to Jamaica.”

Noting that the Government’s special duty waiver on import duty and GCT, which runs from October 29 to December 31, 2025, “provided critical relief in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Melissa”, Williams said the arrangement played a vital role, “in enabling the Diaspora’s generosity to reach Jamaica”.

The waiver, which was originally set to expire on November 28, 2025, was extended as a result of ongoing recovery efforts after the powerful Category 5 storm devastated much of Jamaica’s south-western and north-western parishes, leaving an estimated 45 people dead and extensive damage to infrastructure, buildings, and agriculture.

He said the mission is, in the meantime, contemplating the use of air freight arrangements to help plug the gap that will be left.

“We are now in the process of making arrangements to that end and hope to make an announcement early in the new year. I extend heartfelt thanks to the shipping companies that have stood by us from the outset. Their commitment and generosity have been instrumental in ensuring that supplies reach Jamaica during the most critical phase of recovery,” he told the town hall.

In the meantime, Cyeth Denton Watts, Jamaica’s deputy high commissioner, in acknowledging the donation of an, “overwhelming amount of clothing”, emphasised that Jamaicans in the most affected parishes were now more in need of items to rebuild than clothing.

“In essence, what we’re trying to do is to obtain tools and tarpaulins… that will be necessary. So we’re encouraging people, not necessarily to send clothing but we do have a needs list, and on it you would have things like tarpaulins, generators, lanterns, flashlights, solar lighting tools, hammers, saws, nails, screws — those are some of the things that we will need. So in terms of clothing, we have sufficient of that,” she stressed.