WHILE acknowledging that thousands of Jamaicans remain without assistance in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness has again firmly rejected claims that his Administration has failed to respond to the devastation, insisting that such assertions are false and must be challenged.

“I will continue to say it over and over again, and I don’t care who vex. Go make a song of it,” Holness declared in what appeared to be a pointed jab at dancehall entertainer Beenie Man amid their public disagreement over the Government’s handling of hurricane relief.

Speaking during the National Housing Trust’s (NHT) Construction Scholarship awards ceremony which was held at Jamaica House in St Andrew on Wednesday, the prime minister acknowledged that questions surrounding the pace of recovery and the adequacy of assistance were legitimate, but insisted that these concerns should not be conflated with allegations of Government inaction.

“That’s a perspective. We can debate that. You may feel $500,000 isn’t enough. Another one may feel, ‘I’m grateful’…We understand that, but don’t say the Government has not done anything,” he said.

“That’s false,” Holness insisted, warning that the repeated circulation of such claims threatened to undermine public confidence in the Government and, by extension, the stability of society.

His remarks come amid a public spat with Beenie Man, whose given name is Moses Davis, after the entertainer questioned — during an interview with British broadcaster ITV News — whether donated hurricane relief funds were reaching those who needed it most.

The dancehall artiste subsequently released a song titled Weh Di Money Deh, drawing attention to Jamaicans still struggling to rebuild their lives after the Category 5 storm which struck Jamaica a year ago.

Holness pointed to the NHT, which he said had spent approximately $13.3 billion on hurricane-related assistance, including $2.9 billion in grants distributed to 7,600 Jamaicans. Individual grants, he reminded, ranged from $75,000 to $500,000.

Holness also disclosed that the Government had spent close to $12 billion on direct assistance, with another $9.6 billion being sought to support outstanding needs.

He said the scale of destruction caused by Hurricane Melissa had presented an unprecedented challenge, with approximately 110,000 households identified as requiring assistance and just over 50,000 having received support so far.

“You would see that just the NHT alone has spent significant resources trying to assist Jamaicans. That is true, but it is also true that there are still many Jamaicans who have got no assistance,” he acknowledged.

Holness said the Government was working to secure the resources necessary to reach the remaining households, stressing that the magnitude of the disaster must be considered when assessing the pace of recovery.

“Did it happen quickly? That’s legitimate. Is $500,000 enough? We can debate that. That’s a legitimate debate. But it is patently untrue, false, to say the Government hasn’t done anything,” he said.

The prime minister further cautioned against the dissemination of misinformation, especially on social media, arguing that it could create widespread public distrust and undermine the country’s progress.

“And what that does is to undermine and destroy the legitimacy of Government. And in undermining the legitimacy of Government, your society ends up in chaos,” he said.

Addressing the 50 NHT scholarship recipients, Holness charged that they too must dismiss illegitimate claims against their country.

“I’m not asking you to defend the Government. But defend your society…Don’t believe that you can step out of the society and succeed in spite of the society. If you tear down your society, you are tearing down yourself. You must be vested in building your society,” he said.

“Ultimately, you will be in charge of the society. And what kind of society will you have if you tear it down?” asked Holness.

He maintained that while he is open to criticism over pace of recovery, he would continue to challenge what he described as inaccuracies presented as facts.

“As I’m talking to a group of young Jamaicans who are native to social media, you will see all kinds of untruths being spread. And the only way to deal with darkness is to shine the light. And at every opportunity, we must elucidate. We must shine light, challenge falsehoods and incorrectly held positions,” the prime minister said.

“Yes, we will always challenge falsehoods. Because in the current landscape of information, it is so easy to put things out which are not true. And it is so easy to have compelling perspectives which may have truth in them but are not contextually correct,” Holness added.