‘Lives and livelihoods at stake’ - Opposition MPs demand urgent action after Hurricane Melissa

The Parliamentary Opposition has sharply criticised the Government's handling of recovery efforts in western Jamaica following the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa, calling for urgent and coordinated action to address the severe hardships faced by residents.

"We need a coordinated way and not a hodgepodge, patch-patchy way of distribution," said Heatha Miller Bennett, member of parliament (MP) for Hanover Western.

"These are lives and livlihoods we're playing with. These are families," Miller Bennett said.

She was among a group of representatives who spoke at a People's National Party (PNP) press conference held the Office of the Leader of the Opposition in Kingston on Tuesday.

"The Government not doing enough. And it seems like they don't business about Hanover. They have a responsibility to the people of western Hanover. I'm asking the Government to step up," she said.

"This is not politics. This is humanitarian. People are hurting. Their lives and livelihoods have been damaged and lost," she said.

Andrea Purkiss, the MP for Hanover Eastern, said the scale of devastation "has been systematically under-reported and, in many cases, completely ignored by the media coverage".

"Every single board house in eastern Hanover has been affected, damaged, destroyed," Purkiss said, adding that approximately 5,000 houses are without roofs.

"Every farm in the constituency suffered severe damage. Half of our health centres sustained significant structural damage; our schools, our schools are so badly affected... . All of our schools have been affected. Most of the schools in eastern Hanover, they have no roof," she said.

The Opposition's representatives said the Government's response to the crisis has been marked by slow, inadequate planning, and limited resources, leaving tens of thousands of constituents without homes, roofs, or basic necessities. Ian Hayles, the MP for Westmoreland Western, said that were it not for the various charitable organisations, persons in Jamaica would be even more disadvantaged.

"I beg the Government to come on board to play a role with us," he said.

"The caretaker is not the MP. Nobody elected the caretaker. He's a private citizen. Nobody elect him or her. But it seems like the election is still going on. Enough is enough, man. It's time this foolishness cut out," Hayles said.