NaRRA getting UK boost, says PM

As the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA) continues recruitment to build a permanent team, the Government will next week sign a co-funding agreement with the United Kingdom to source technical experts to beef up the authority’s delivery capacity, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness disclosed on Tuesday. Speaking at a special press briefing at Jamaica House in St Andrew on the eve of Hurricane Melissa’s anniversary, Holness said the contract will be signed at next week’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua.

“Under this arrangement Jamaica and the United Kingdom will co-fund, on a 50/50 basis, the cost of deploying technical expertise from three firms — Arup Limited, Mace Limited, and Gleeds International Limited which formed the UK delivery team supporting Peru’s highly successful reconstruction programme following the devastating 2017 El Nino floods that affected that country,” Holness told the briefing. He said earlier this year, a delegation of Government officials, led by Works Minister Robert Morgan, visited Peru to see first hand the infrastructure delivered by the UK team and examine the methods used to accelerate reconstruction. Holness said drawing on specialists with directly relevant reconstruction experience is the fastest way to strengthen NaRRA’s delivery capacity while the permanent team is being built. “They will work alongside Jamaican professionals with capacity building and knowledge transfer built into the arrangement. Our objective is to get projects moving faster now while equipping Jamaicans with the skills and systems to lead delivery over the long term,” the prime minister said, noting that NaRRA’s principal focus is reconstruction and resilience while other responsible ministries, departments and agencies…