The recently approved National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA) Bill seeks to eliminate bureaucratic red tape to enable rapid rebuilding in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa. However, concerns remain that the legislation grants excessive power to the executive by allowing the prime minister to create an autonomous body with broad authority to bypass existing regulations, weakening transparency, oversight, procurement safeguards, and accountability.

The concerns are valid for several reasons. Research has found that governmental corruption during disaster relief is common and more prevalent in developing countries such as ours. One mechanism is compromised transparency and accountability, which occurs when adjustments to procurement regulations, as in the case of the NaRRA bill, reduce oversight and leave room for exploitation. Corruption also remains a major issue locally. In 2025, Jamaica scored 44 out of 100 on the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), where scores below 50 indicate serious corruption problems. A 2024 Transparency International report also ranked Jamaica as the third most corrupt country in the English-speaking Caribbean.

At least 28 civil society organizations, church groups, and individuals have publicly raised the above-mentioned concerns about the bill, also citing insufficient public participation and stakeholder engagement in the legislative process, and calling for stronger protections for climate resilience and environmental impact. However, these concerns have been largely dismissed by the Holness administration. As expected, the Opposition has taken the Government to task about the bill, engaging them in rigorous debate. However, during the committee phase of the discussion on April 28, PNP Member of Parliament Angela Brown Burke rose from her seat, approached the parliamentary mace, lifted it and placed it back down, incurring the wrath of House Speaker Juliet Holness.