Opposition Spokesman on Finance, Julian Robinson has questioned when the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA), the vehicle that Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness has stated will drive the post-hurricane reconstruction effort, will be up and running.

“We are now past the immediate relief stage and into rebuilding. I note the prime minister’s announcement, but NaRRA is still without a legal foundation.

“No legislation has been brought to Parliament to formally establish it, and the public still has no clear picture of what it will do, how it will operate, or when it will be functional,” said Robinson on Thursday during his contribution to the Budget Debate.

“We cannot rebuild a country on announcements alone. Similarly, in light of the destruction in the west of the island, the $10 billion ROOF Grant programme, while important, is simply insufficient,” he said.

Robinson, the Member of Parliament for St Andrew South Eastern, noted that Hurricane Melissa devastated Westmoreland and St Elizabeth, huge parts of St James, Hanover and Trelawny, with homes in sections of St Ann, Clarendon, and Manchester experiencing significant damage as well.

“Almost five months since Mellisa, there are still thousands of Jamaicans who go to sleep with no proper shelter. What is the plan for them?” he asked.