KINGSTON, Jamaica — Prime Minister Andrew Holness says that the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa has created the opportunity to rebuild Jamaica better and stronger than before.

“So yes, it [hurricane] created a crisis, but every crisis presents an opportunity and we must not waste the opportunity that this crisis has given us. We will rebuild Jamaica much better than we ever thought it could be,” he pledged.

The prime minister was speaking at the presentation of over $200 million in tools and building materials from housing developers New Era Developments Limited and Kemtek Construction, at the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) Forward Operating Base in Luana, St Elizabeth on Friday.

The supplies are to facilitate the Government’s programme to restore roofs in hurricane-impacted parishes.

The prime minister noted that the corridor leading from Westmoreland to St Elizabeth, which was devastated by Hurricane Melissa, needs to be realigned and reconfigured.

“This side of the island has long been crying out for massive investments. The roadway that connects these parishes clearly is not sufficient to carry the level of traffic that uses the corridor,” he pointed out.

“The urban infrastructure, the towns, they need to be reconfigured and built smarter. Our hospitals, they need to be rebuilt and built in areas that are not susceptible to weather and climate change events. Our police stations, our municipal buildings, all of those have to be rebuilt, but it will not only be a rebuilding of infrastructure. What we are planning, is to build a new economy for these damaged parishes, because you can’t build a road to nowhere,” he noted further.

Holness said that the objective is to support the emergence of a stronger economy not just for the affected areas, but the entire Jamaica.

He noted that agriculture, which is a key economic driver will be made more resilient.

“We can’t continue with agriculture that is susceptible to the vicissitudes of climate and weather events. We have to introduce technology to make agriculture more robust and enduring, and we will be looking at introducing agriculture more on a planned, structured, industrial scale, because we have the capabilities here in this region,” Holness said.

“The future of this area and these parishes that have been damaged, will be quite different but much better than anticipated or hoping for before Hurricane Melissa,” he added.

Holness thanked New Era and Kemtek for the significant contribution, which highlights the value of public-private partnership in strengthening Jamaica’s disaster response.

He also expressed gratitude to the engineering troops from Ghana, Rwanda and Guyana, who are working with the JDF in the rebuilding process.

–       JIS