Jamaica to Spend Millions on Water Procurement as It Grapples With Drought Situation
KINGSTON, Jamaica -Jamaica's government says it will spend an estimated J$150 million to facilitate the trucking of water and procurement and distribution of water tanks to areas as the island combats a persistent drought situation.
Drought situation in Jamaica (File Photo)Prime Minister Andrew Holness told the House of Representatives that Jamaica is in the throes of a meteorological, hydrological and agricultural drought with the western parishes of Hanover and Westmoreland particularly affected.
He said an initial amount of J$1.5 million will be allocated to each of 50 constituencies with J$2.5 million each going to the parishes of Hanover, Westmoreland, Clarendon and St Elizabeth. T
Holness told legislators that the municipal corporations in Clarendon, St Elizabeth and Westmoreland will each receive five million dollars while the Hanover Municipal Corporation will receive $7.5 million.
Holness said that a meteorological drought occurs when dry weather patterns dominate an area, while hydrological droughts occur when low water supply becomes evident, especially in streams, reservoirs, and groundwater levels, usually after many months of meteorological drought; and agricultural droughts happen when crops become affected.
He said the funding will allow the government, through the National Water Commission (NWC) and other stakeholders to respond to needs for critical infrastructure, and the worst affected communities, over the next four weeks.
“I wish to assure citizens of Westmoreland and Hanover, particularly Negril and environs, that we will continue beyond this allocation if as projected, dry conditions persist into the summer,” said Holness, noting that the impact of the drought on the citizens of some parishes had been compounded by system failure with the virtual collapse of the existing well system.
He told Parliament that the NWC had been mandated in March to allocate J$30 million to facilitate emergency response in the areas of Hanover, Westmoreland and Brown’s Town, St Ann.
Holness said that the measures should not beregarded as the sole response related to potable water provision and that the Ministry of Local Government & Community Development will continue its trucking interventions from an allocation of J$100 million.
Meanwhile, Holness has condemned the theft of a water tank from the Negril Primary School in Westmoreland over the Easter holidays, saying he was speaking “on behalf of all members in this House when I express my utter disgust at those who would’ve perpetrated this act”.
Holness said the police must thoroughly investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice.
“There is no excuse to harm our children’s future. As such, I have instructed the Rural Water Supply Limited to provide and install sufficient water storage tanks to avoid any further learning loss at this institution. I have further instructed Rural Water Supply Limited to partner with the Ministry of Education to conduct a national assessment of water storage at our nation’s schools, which will guide capital investments in the near future,” Holness added.
