A report by the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) says Jamaica's recovery from Hurricane Melissa is still falling short almost a year after the Category 5 storm, The Rio Times reports, citing the Jamaica Gleaner's account of the study.
The report repeats an earlier Auditor General's finding that by February only J$26.2 million, or 1.8%, of J$1.44 billion in cash donations had been spent. The disaster agency ODPEM said in May that about J$135 million had since been used, mainly on roof repairs, and that donated materials had reduced the need to buy supplies.
CAPRI estimates Melissa's total cost at about US$12.2 billion, with some 85,000 homes damaged or destroyed, and says around 80 public schools were still teaching in tents or on rotation. The full report is due out in Montego Bay on 28 October.
Source: The Rio Times
