‘Gov’t neglect has left Jamaica unprepared for this drought’ — PNP

KINGSTON, Jamaica — The People’s National Party (PNP) is accusing the Holness administration of failing to adequately prepare Jamaica for the ongoing drought, arguing that years of underinvestment and neglect in the water sector have worsened the current crisis.

In a release on Thursday, the PNP said it was “gravely concerned” by what it described as the Government’s “slow, reactive and inequitable handling” of the drought, which it said was not an unforeseeable act of nature but the result of longstanding failures in the water sector.

The party pointed to the Hermitage Dam, which it said is now at 31.4 per cent of capacity, and warnings from the Meteorological Service that Jamaica is on course to surpass the historic 2022 drought.