KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The Jamaican government Wednesday doubled down on its defence in providing the island’s leading electricity company with a US$150 million loan to speed up post-Hurricane Melissa power restoration.
Less than 24 hours after Finance Minister Fayval Williams urged Opposition legislator, Dr Alfred Dawes, to consider the plight of patients still awaiting electricity, Energy Minister Daryl Vaz said the loan to the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) was necessary.
“One (Opposition MP) went on social media and hit out against the JPS loan, and one in Parliament yesterday grilled the minister of finance about the prudence of this, yet still one of them on social media up to recently, crying crocodile tears in one and then fighting against it,” Vaz told the post-Cabinet press briefing.
On Tuesday, another opposition legislator questioned how the government will ensure repayment of the loan, given that JPS’s licence is set to expire in 2027.
JPS had previously indicated that it required more than US$350 million to restore power, with the earliest projected dates for complete restoration in April-May 2026. Williams says restoration is now expected by the end of January 2026
Vaz told reporters that he had looked up the term “crocodile tears” in the Oxford dictionary and found it to mean “tears are expressions of sorrow that are insincere,” adding that the term originated from the belief that “crocodiles wept while devouring or luring their prey.
The Energy Minister said this definition was fitting for the legislator who criticised the loan on social media, and that the phrase “dry cry” would best suit the other opposition legislator.
“Dry cry often refers to pretending to cry or shedding fake tears to gain sympathy, attention, or manipulate a situation. It implies a false display of sadness without being genuine,” he said, adding that he would leave the matter to the Jamaican people to judge.
“God always knows best, and that is why the Andrew Holness JLP government was chosen to lead this recovery and rebuilding,” Vaz told reporters, noting the pace of restoration efforts following Hurricane Melissa that killed at least 45 people and caused damage estimated at nine billion US dollars.
“We are five weeks into Melissa, and we have restored 82 per cent of JPS customers. First-world countries have had less than Category 5 and have taken six months to a year to do so.
“I stoutly defend the recommendation of the loan to the JPS cabinet and the approval given rather than an extension of the existing electricity license to JPS, and I have no regrets or apologies as it’s the best option for the people of Jamaica to allow for a return to normalcy in the shortest possible time,” he said.
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