Jamaica, UK to sign agreement for post-Melissa reconstruction support
Key Points(5)
- Jamaica and the United Kingdom (UK) will sign a government-to-government agreement next week to deploy technical experts to support the island’s reconstruction following Hurricane Melissa, Prime Minister Andrew Holness has announced.
- The agreement is to be signed during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua and Barbuda, with both countries sharing the cost of deploying specialists from three UK firms.
- “Under this arrangement, Jamaica and the United Kingdom will co-fund on a 50-50 basis the cost of deploying technical experts from three firms – Arup, Mace, and Gleeds,” Holness said during a special press briefing at Jamaica House on Tuesday, October 27.
- The three firms make up the UK Delivery Team, which supported Peru’s reconstruction program following devastating El Niño-related floods in 2017.
- The agreement follows a visit to Peru by a delegation of Jamaican government officials led by Robert Morgan, minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Infrastructure Development, with responsibility for works.
Jamaica and the United Kingdom (UK) will sign a government-to-government agreement next week to deploy technical experts to support the island’s reconstruction following Hurricane Melissa, Prime Minister Andrew Holness has announced.
The agreement is to be signed during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua and Barbuda, with both countries sharing the cost of deploying specialists from three UK firms.
“Under this arrangement, Jamaica and the United Kingdom will co-fund on a 50-50 basis the cost of deploying technical experts from three firms – Arup, Mace, and Gleeds,” Holness said during a special press briefing at Jamaica House on Tuesday, October 27.
The three firms make up the UK Delivery Team, which supported Peru’s reconstruction program following devastating El Niño-related floods in 2017.
The agreement follows a visit to Peru by a delegation of Jamaican government officials led by Robert Morgan, minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Infrastructure Development, with responsibility for works. The delegation examined infrastructure projects delivered by the UK team and the strategies used to accelerate reconstruction.
Holness said bringing in specialists with proven reconstruction experience would strengthen the delivery capacity of the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA) while the agency builds its permanent workforce.
Several positions within NaRRA have already been advertised, and recruitment is progressing, he added.
The technical experts will work alongside Jamaican professionals, with training and knowledge transfer built into the arrangement to strengthen the country’s long-term reconstruction capacity.
“Our objective is to get projects moving faster, while equipping Jamaicans with the skills and systems to lead delivery over the long term,” Holness said.
NaRRA will focus on rebuilding infrastructure and strengthening resilience, while the relevant ministries, departments and agencies continue to oversee immediate relief and household recovery assistance.
“NaRRA is designed to reconstruct better infrastructure and systems that will allow us to withstand the next disaster that may come, so that another generation doesn’t have to go back and start again,” the prime minister said.
He added that the authority was being established to avoid placing additional demands on an already burdened public bureaucracy, which must continue delivering existing projects and services.
Holness described NaRRA as the lead agency for what he expects to be one of the largest public infrastructure programs in Jamaica’s history.
Through NaRRA and the wider public investment program, the government intends to rebuild roads, bridges, water systems, schools, health facilities, town centers and communities to better withstand future disasters.
The prime minister said the reconstruction effort would also seek to improve economic productivity, create new sources of economic activity and accelerate national economic growth.
“We are using the massive reconstruction effort to also improve productivity, create new engines of economic activity, and put Jamaica on a higher growth trajectory,” he said.
