Gov’t adopting holistic strategy to strengthen Jamaica’s resilience – Holness

The Government is adopting a holistic approach to strengthening Jamaica’s resilience framework by prioritising long-term investments across key sectors, says Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness.

Speaking during a recent National Commercial Bank (NCB)-hosted event titled ‘The Hurricane Beryl: Building a Better Jamaica Fund – National Tribute to Partnership and Recovery’ at the S Hotel in Kingston, Dr Holness emphasised the Government’s increased focus on capacity-building to better withstand severe environmental events.

He noted that, to support this effort, the Government has focused on integrating buffers and insurance mechanisms into Jamaica’s fiscal management framework to strengthen its ability to respond to crises, including adverse weather events, environmental disruptions, and external shocks such as economic and health-related challenges.

“Resilience must never be seen as a one-time event. It is a long-term investment rooted in good governance, modern legal frameworks, institutional reform, and local capacity-building. Resilience – that is now a feature of the Jamaican economy … what we want to do is to make it a feature of the Jamaican society,” the prime minister said.

Acknowledging Jamaica’s vulnerability due to its location in a hurricane zone, global economic conditions, rising sea levels, and adverse health events, Prime Minister Holness stated that these fiscal safeguards will enable the country to recover more swiftly and effectively from future crises.

He further emphasised the critical role of citizens in building national resilience, pointing out that the Government will intensify its focus on public education as a key tool in strengthening Jamaica’s capacity to withstand environmental and other adverse events.

Dr Holness said that by empowering individuals with knowledge and skills, communities can significantly reduce the risk of damage and loss of life during environmental crises.

“Resilience must begin where people live, work and worship. That is why we are scaling up efforts in public education, community engagement and early warning systems, ensuring that every Jamaican is informed, equipped, and empowered to act locally in the face of a national disaster,” Dr Holness maintained.

“We want to … get it down to the community level where the average household understands that hurricanes and other weather disasters and economic shocks are a part of life. How we structure our households [should be] such that when [these strike], not only the national economy can withstand and recover but also [individual] households can recover,” he added.