By Omar Anderson, Gleaner WriterPRIME MINISTER P.J. Patterson yesterday said preliminary estimates of damage to agriculture, roads, and low to middle income houses has surpassed $13 billion.
He said this figure is a far cry from the total damage Hurricane Ivan caused, as damage to other aspects of the country's infrastructure, such as the fire service, courthouses and
hospitals, has not been determined.
He said the agriculture sector has suffered the most with some $6.7 billion in loss to crops, livestock and facilities. Damage to roads and clearing blockages, the Prime Minister said, amount to $3.6 billion.
Mr. Patterson, speaking at the Jamaica Employers' Federation (JEF) Business Recovery Forum at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston, said it would cost between $2 and $3 billion to help some 100,000 low to middle income householders whose properties and personal belongings were affected.
"Notwithstanding the improved capabilities to handle the hurricanes and the fact that we did not encounter a direct hit, there has been widespread, significant damage to households and commercial enterprises...," the Prime Minister said.
PUBLIC EMERGENCY
He also referred to the controversial state of public emergency he called during the hurricane, stating that damage to commercial businesses would have been far greater if he was not proactive.
Last week, Mr. Patterson told Parliament that National Housing Trust (NHT) mortgagors will get a three-month moratorium on loan payments. In addition, he said to repair properties, NHT mortgagors could access up to $250,000 from a $400-million fund, at seven per cent over 10 years.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister also announced there would be special grants to small to medium-term farmers who had significant losses due to the hurricane. He also said there would be short-term incentive programmes for the tourism sector. He did not give details on the assistance programmes.
Meanwhile, Mr. Patterson disclosed that HEART/NTA has begun a special training programme for skilled artisans to help with the reconstruction efforts in Jamaica, as well as provide a pool of talent for other regional countries, and the United States, which hurricanes recently affected.
