$50 million to battle drought

The national response to the meteorological drought now impacting Jamaica has been boosted with a $50-million commitment from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.

Portfolio minister Desmond McKenzie said the provision will complement the $100 million announced by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, earlier this month, to ramp up drought mitigation measures.

"The $100 million [is] to be spent by the National Water Commission, working with the Ministry of Local Government, to get water to communities across the country affected severely by drought," the minister said.

McKenzie advised that the ministry has already started to access the $50 million.

"There's an additional amount that I will speak to [this week] that will be made available to further assist [with] the trucking of water right across the country," he added.

He was speaking during the commissioning of a water shop in Commodore district, east Portland, on the weekend.

McKenzie said the drought is particularly concerning, given that "this is probably the worst period of rainfall that we have had in the last 30 years".

"It is forecast that we will not have any rain until April. [Consequently] it is the Government's responsibility ... to provide water," he added.

The new water shop in Commodore, built at a cost of approximately $13.5 million, will provide 22,000 gallons of water to support the domestic needs of residents.

This follows a system that was previously built in another section of the community, at a cost of $9 million, which provides 20,000 gallons of water.

"When we came into Commodore and I listened to the various complaints, they weren't talking about roads, light, [or] jobs ... they were talking about water... the need to have water in their respective communities, and we took a conscious decision to bring water to Commodore," he said.

McKenzie also announced that an additional $8 million will be provided to the Portland Municipal Corporation for further trucking of water in the parish.

"We are [also] going to be building two more water shops in east Portland to help to provide more water for areas that need water ... as soon as the lands have been identified and all the procurement is completed," he indicated.