Member of Parliament for Central Westmoreland, Mr Dwayne Vaz, says most residents of Westmoreland who lost their homes, businesses and livelihoods during Hurricane Melissa still have not received a red cent from the Government, despite commitments to provide replacement and semi-permanent housing.

Addressing the House of Representatives during the State of the Constituency Debate yesterday, Mr Vaz said residents needed more than announcements and promises. They needed clear timelines for when they could expect to receive the keys to their new homes. He stressed that recovery must be measured by the number of homes restored or replaced, rather than by contracts signed or promises made.

The MP noted that whenever disasters strike, the most vulnerable are often the hardest hit. He said that with nearly a year having passed since Hurricane Melissa, the critical questions must now be whether Westmoreland is being rebuilt quickly enough and whether the rebuilding process is delivering stronger, more resilient communities.

Mr Vaz also raised concerns about the state of the constituency’s road infrastructure and the slow pace of work under the Government’s SPARK Programme. He pointed out that work has commenced on only three of the ten roads identified for rehabilitation, with contractors reportedly indicating that they are still awaiting designs. He further noted that several bridges which sustained significant damage during the hurricane have not been included in the accelerated bridge programme.

Turning to education, Mr Vaz said the children of Westmoreland could not afford to wait for the slow pace of recovery. He noted that eight of the constituency’s eighteen public schools are undergoing major construction work, while children continue to endure temporary learning arrangements nearly a year after the hurricane. Many of these facilities, he said, are overcrowded, excessively hot and unsuitable for effective teaching and learning.

The Central Westmoreland MP also renewed his call for an increase in the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), describing the current allocation as woefully inadequate to address the realities facing constituencies. He called for a comprehensive review of the CDF and proposed the introduction of a tiered allocation system that takes into account population size, the number of registered voters, geographic size, the number of communities and vulnerability to natural disasters.

Mr Vaz argued that such a system would provide a fairer and more equitable distribution of resources, allowing Members of Parliament to respond more effectively to the needs of the communities they serve.