Opposition Leader Mark Golding has criticised the Government’s Restoration of Owner or Occupant Family Shelter (ROOFS) programme, arguing that the level of financial support being provided is too small to meaningfully rebuild homes destroyed by Hurricane Melissa.

Making his contribution to the 2026/27 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, Golding said the scale of assistance being offered to affected households does not match the extent of the devastation caused by the Category 5 hurricane, which inflicted damage equivalent to a significant share of Jamaica’s economy.

He noted that the wider recovery effort must be viewed in the context of the country’s economic losses, pointing out that Hurricane Melissa caused damage estimated at up to 40 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), with total losses rising even higher when broader economic impacts are included. Against that backdrop, he argued that the housing response remains too limited.

“A $500,000 grant to households rendered homeless by the storm, while no doubt welcomed, is also clearly inadequate to rebuild those homes. The same is true for the households who suffered major damage and are receiving $200,000 grants towards their repairs, and the $75,000 for those who suffered less major damage. Welcome, no doubt, but clearly insufficient to repair the major damage to those homes,” Golding said, stressing that the financial support does not reflect the true cost of reconstruction.

The ROOFS programme, which provides grants based on the level of damage sustained, has been positioned as a key pillar of the Government’s post-hurricane recovery plan. However, Golding argued that the numbers suggest many affected families may not receive sufficient help.

“As $5 billion has been allocated to those whose homes have to be totally rebuilt, it implies support for only 10,000 households out of the 24,000 homes that were totally destroyed,” he told Parliament.

He said the situation is even more concerning for households that require repairs rather than full reconstruction, pointing to a significant gap between those affected and those likely to receive assistance.

“With $4 billion allocated to those needing major repairs and $1 billion allocated to those needing less extensive repairs, this implies support for only 33,333 households out of the 166,000 households who are estimated to have suffered damage,” Golding said.

He warned that insufficient funding could leave many families living in partially repaired homes for extended periods, creating ongoing financial and social strain.

“The upshot is that there is a real need for much more extensive investment in restoring decent, habitable shelter to Jamaicans who suffered housing damage, much of which is uninsured. Homes that receive only partial repairs and are not restored to full habitability will mean families that are hobbled by unplanned housing repair costs for months and years to come. This will only reduce their disposable income on the ordinary needs of life, and feed into further economic malaise, the various manifestations of poverty, and worsen the growing problem of mental illness,” Golding said.

He further argued that the design of the programme does not adequately account for the need to build stronger, more resilient homes, warning that short-term fixes could expose households to future risks.

“The ROOFS programme also appears to ignore the element of resilience in its design. Merely handing out grants of amounts which are manifestly insufficient to cover the cost of adequate repairs guarantees that households resort to the least-cost approaches to effecting their repairs. This is clearly short-sighted, as Jamaicans should be using construction materials and techniques that will make their homes more resilient to future climate disasters than they were before,” he said.

He questioned whether enough is being done to ensure that reconstruction efforts incorporate basic resilience measures that could reduce vulnerability to future hurricanes.

“Where is the guidance and supervision to ensure that basic but effective techniques to ensure greater resilience are followed? Where is the monitoring to ensure the use of bolts, straps, and other relatively low-cost construction inputs that provide greater resilience to hurricane winds and rains?” he asked.

Hurricane Melissa, which struck the island in late 2025, caused widespread destruction across a number of parishes, damaging an estimated 190,000 homes and completely destroying about 24,000. The scale of the disaster has had a severe impact on Jamaica’s economy, with projections indicating a contraction and significant strain on public finances.

Golding argued that in light of the scale of the economic shock, the Government’s recovery efforts, particularly in housing, must be more ambitious and better aligned with the needs of affected communities.