SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland — Industry, Investment and Commerce Minister Senator Aubyn Hill says efforts will be made this week to tie down funding for Hurricane Melissa-hit micro-businesses that need help to recover. “The prime minister at the time directed Minister [of Finance and the Public Service, Fayval] Williams and myself to work with DBJ [Development Bank of Jamaica)] to get $1 billion Jamaican dollars to just start to help businesses. And again, not the ones that are established — the ones that really, really need help to come back up,” stated Hill.
“We now have the data; we’re going to try and get the money this coming week to make sure we begin that process,” added the minister, who was addressing a Westmoreland Chamber of Commerce and Industry meeting last Wednesday night. The meeting was held at Hotel Commingle in Savanna-la-Mar. Hill said different methods of disbursing payments to business operators in need are being explored.
“We are looking at ways to make sure we can get the money quickly to people, because if you start to open bank accounts, you know, that’s another issue. It takes a long time before you get people into the banks because that’s the way it is,” explained the minister. According to Hill’s figures, during 2025 to 2026 the National Export-Import Bank of Jamaica — which falls under his ministry — distributed $2.1 billion to ordinary micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises.
The plan for 2026 to 2027 is to loan approximately $1.7 billion. “That’s apart from the $1 billion that I’m seeking to go directly to the small businesses that have not yet found a way to restore themselves but are important to the communities in which they reside,” the minister explained. During the meeting, members of the business community listed issues that make it difficult for them to survive, let alone thrive.
Internet service was one of the major points raised. While some improvements have been made on the mobile side of the network, business owners complain that nine months after the Category 5 storm, most enterprises are still without landline or fibre Internet service from the country’s largest telecommunications provider. Hill has instructed his team to draft a letter to Flow Jamaica General Manager Stephen Price to bring the issue to his attention.
“I want a follow-up four business days after we send it because…
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