Roads caved in. Zinc roofs twisted into the shape of regret. Schools locked their gates not for summer, but for survival. In parish after parish — Manchester, St Elizabeth, Hanover, Westmoreland, St James — the scars of Hurricane Melissa were not abstract budget lines. They were visible, tangible, personal.
And so the national question emerges with familiar force: Should Jamaicans pay more to rebuild?
At first glance, it feels like a political landmine — the kind of query that divides radio talk shows and fuels social media debates. But perhaps the better question is not whether Jamaicans should pay, but how Jamaica intends to pay — and what it plans to become in the process.
Because any country that endures severe disruption — whether from hurricanes, war, or a pandemic — must find a way to recover, recalibrate, and prepare. When COVID-19 shuttered economies worldwide, governments did not ask whether rebuilding would cost money. They asked how to mobilise resources without collapsing th…
