Purkiss raises alarm over delays in aid to tourism workers

WESTERN BUREAU:

Seven and a half months after Hurricane Melissa battered Jamaica's tourism belt, Opposition Spokesperson on Tourism Andrea Purkiss has accused the Government of failing industry workers who remain without adequate income, housing support, and recovery assistance.

Making her maiden contribution to the Sectoral Debate in Parliament on Tuesday, Purkiss said hundreds of hospitality workers continue to face uncertainty as hotels remain closed or operate at reduced capacity following the passage of the hurricane.

"Tourism is not an abstraction in Jamaica. It is the school fees. It is the mortgage. It is the food on the table," Purkiss said, arguing that behind the industry's visitor arrival and earnings figures are workers struggling to make ends meet.

The Hanover Eastern member of parliament said she wrote to Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett in December 2025 outlining seven demands on behalf of workers affected by the hurricane but received no response.

According to Purkiss, when Hurricane Melissa struck, hotel operators initially projected closures of about 120 days and workers benefited from six-month mortgage moratoriums. However, she said reopening timelines were repeatedly pushed back while financial relief measures remained unchanged.

"Hotels announced reopening in August, October, and November. Nine months. Twelve months. But the moratorium remained at six months," she told the House.

Purkiss also questioned the effectiveness of the Tourism Housing Assistance and Recovery Programme (THARP), which was launched by the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) to assist tourism workers whose homes were damaged or destroyed during the hurricane.

She said 30 names were submitted to the programme from Hanover Eastern, but only three individuals had received assistance.

"Thirty names from Eastern Hanover. Three helped," she said.

Purkiss further disclosed that 20 applications submitted through the office of St James Southern Member of Parliament Nickeisha Burchell had reportedly yielded assistance for just one person.

"One out of 20. That is not a recovery programme. That is a press release with a name," she charged.

She went on to recount the case of a female cost-control clerk whose home was destroyed during the hurricane and who, she said, remains without assistance.

"Today, Madam Speaker, that woman is sleeping in her car. Her family of three’s living under a tent. Waiting. Waiting for a programme that carries the name of the very industry she gave her nights to," Purkiss said.

Her comments come as the tourism sector continues its recovery from Hurricane Melissa, which caused widespread damage to hotels, attractions, homes and public infrastructure across western Jamaica.

The Gleaner contacted the TEF and the Ministry of Tourism for a response to the concerns raised by Purkiss and was told Minister Bartlett will address the concerns when he speaks on June 23rd. Bartlett is currently in Spain attending the United Nations tourism executive council meeting.

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com