KINGSTON, Jamaica (AFP) — At least 60 people remain in eight shelters in Westmoreland, nine months to the day that category five Hurricane Melissa slammed into southwestern parishes, leaving 45 people dead and US$12.2 billion (J$1.952 trillion) in damage.

The hurricane made landfall at New Hope in the eastern section of the parish, ripping off roofs and flattening homes.

Mayor of Savanna-la-Mar, Danree Delancy, provided the update on Tuesday during a press conference hosted by the People’s National Party (PNP) to call attention to problems facing municipal authorities, including a lack of funding to carry out road repairs.

“We still have persons in shelters in the parish approximately nine months after the hurricane. We still have eight active shelters and these shelters are mainly concentrated in Central Westmoreland and Eastern Westmoreland,” said Delancy.

Regarding the shelter at Petersfield High School which has been in the news, including over allegations that shelterees were having sex in full view of students, Delancy said the municipal corporation was never contacted when a decision was taken to establish an area with 10 containerised homes to house the individuals sheltering at the school.

“It’s after work commenced that we were brought into the know. Another time we received a contract from the Ministry of Local Government with instructions for us to sign and send back to the ministry,” he said. But, the mayor said the municipal corporations saw flaws and grey areas in the contract which he stated, “had questions to be answered”.

Delancy said the municipal corporation responded in writing asking for clarity on a number of matters but noted that the response from the ministry was somewhat slow. “All they wanted us to do was just sign and send back,” he remarked.

“In this day and age, we’re not into any rubber stamping business. We’re there to serve the people and to serve as best as we can,” he added.

The mayor told the press conference that there were concerns about sewage disposal that were not adequately addressed in the contract. He pointed out that the location for where the houses are being located is a short distance from the Roaring River which he noted provides water to more than half of the parish and has a history of typhoid.

“We are not one to be careless or casual about this matter so we asked pertinent questions of course about sewage disposal and that sort of thing. We also asked about the involvement of NEPA (National Environment and Planning Agency) and whether a sub-division approval was granted”.

The mayor said questions were also asked about whether approval was granted for use of the land which he said belonged to Sugar Corporation of Jamaica.

“We can’t be out there discouraging squatting and the capture of land and then as a government agency we become part and parcel of the same actions,” he stated.

“As a result of us asking these questions and trying to get clarity it angered some persons but we prefer to anger persons while protecting the people and the good name of the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation”. He shared that the corporation recently received a letter of no objection from the public health department regarding the sewage system to be put in place, but is yet to hear from NEPA.

Meanwhile, Delancy said nearly two months into the hurricane season and it’s estimated that up to 40 per cent of the houses in eastern Westmoreland are still without a roof. “If you’re on the hill looking down all you can see is blue. You would have thought that the sea had come in land [but] all this blue represents tarpaulins,” he said.

The mayor said he was concerned at the “slow pace of the ROOFS programme and other initiatives of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security aimed at getting people affected by Melissa back on their feet. “People are really out there suffering. You have adults, when they see signs of rain coming they start to fret because after nine months they’re still without a roof, exposed to the elements. There’s no end in sight for these people and the plight they’re facing,” Delancy said.

-Lynford Simpson