Finance Minister Dr. Nigel Clarke says the government will be making policy changes aimed at strengthening Jamaica’s response to natural disasters.

This will facilitate the availability of dedicated resources for recovery.

Dr. Clarke explained that this will help maintain fiscal stability when a natural disaster occurs.

“There is a certain amount of the natural disaster risk that we have to retain ourselves. We can’t give that to anybody to deal with and the financing of that could come in the form of having a natural disaster fund possible, to which we save on an annual basis…it could include having budgetary allocations… and other means of retaining,” he asserted.

Natural disasters cost Jamaica an estimated US$1.2 billion between 2001 and 2010.

http://rjrnewsonline.com/local/govt-making-policy-changes-for-natural-disaster-response