Fitz-Henley rejects ‘untruthful’ allegation made by Beenie Man about Government’s Hurricane expenditure

KINGSTON, Jamaica — State Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, Senator Abka Fitz-Henley, is rejecting as untruthful and misleading a claim made by entertainer Beenie Man that monies spent by the Government of Jamaica on Hurricane Melissa relief and recovery have not been spent on people in need.

A video clip surfaced on Tuesday showing Beenie Man appearing on British television news programme ITV News and commenting: “this is nothing new that the Government get the money; the Government distribute the money the wrong way. The people who supposed to get the money haven’t been getting any. These things, it’s a regular thing that these things happens”.

Fitz-Henley responded during an interview with ITV News today and said  Beenie Man’s comments were irresponsible and untruthful.

“It is true that Beenie Man, during the recent General Election campaign, continued his well-known habit of campaigning for the Opposition PNP and referred to the PNP President as his boss,” Fitz Henley claimed.

He added, “However, that does not give him the licence to spread untruthful information about Jamaica’s relief and recovery efforts in the aftermath of an unprecedented natural disaster, Hurricane Melissa, which affected hundreds of thousands of Jamaicans. Beenie Man’s comments were irresponsible, mischievous and entirely false, but consistent with the untruthful narratives being peddled by the Opposition political party in Jamaica.”

Fitz-Henley says it is public knowledge that the approximately $1.7 billion in donations received after Hurricane Melissa has been largely committed to, and is being actively used for, the construction of bases for modular houses for people whose dwellings suffered major structural damage, as well as other sustainable recovery initiatives, including grants to assist with reconstruction.

“Of the funds received through donations, $750 million has been committed to rebuilding roofs on damaged houses. So far, 550 houses have been restored. This work included the purchase of construction materials and the reconstruction of roofs.”

The minister said a further $700 million is being used to build bases for modular housing, and $100 million was allocated to the Ministry of Local Government for works associated with the construction of semi-permanent housing under the Shelter Recovery Programme in Westmoreland.

“This represents real expenditure on the needs of the people”, Fitz-Henley commented.

The minister, emphasising that Jamaica remains grateful for the donations received, noted that they represent less than two per cent of the total amount committed and/or spent by the Government of Jamaica on the relief and recovery effort.

Fitz-Henley also said the Government has committed and spent around $85 billion on the Melissa relief and recovery effort and, this week, committed an additional $9 billion to accelerate assistance to people with damaged housing through the ROOFS programme.

According to Fitz-Henley, the key areas of expenditure include a payment in United States dollars equivalent to J$24 billion to restore electricity approximately four to six months earlier than originally scheduled.

Fitz-Henley says the $85 billion includes food items in the immediate aftermath of the hurricane; the clearance of blocked roads; the restoration of roads and assistance to communities that were marooned; the restoration of water systems; emergency assistance to the nation’s farmers; the restoration of hundreds of badly damaged schools; and the rebuilding of medical facilities. It also includes financing for two separate programmes that assisted Jamaicans in repairing their houses.

Fitz-Henley admitted that the Government is not satisfied with the pace of the recovery effort and has taken several steps, including the passage of legislation, to accelerate it, stressing that recovery should be assessed in the context of the unprecedented scale of the damage.