Minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation (MEGJC), Senator Pearnel Charles Jr. this morning (Thursday, February 6) announced a multi-sectoral approach to deal with drought management.

Minister Charles says the Ministry has activated the Drought Management Committee “to manage in a proactive way the execution of the drought management plan…the plan that we have to manage the drought is a multi-sectoral approach to sustainable drought management.”

The Drought Management Committee includes the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation (MEGJC), the National Water Commission (NWC), Water Resources Authority (WRA), Rural Water Supply Limited (RWSL), as well as the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Local Government and Community Development (MLGCD), Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) and other key private sector stakeholders.

Minister Charles Jr. further noted that “the drought management plan was extracted from the National Water Sector Policy and that the Committee is a sub-committee of the Integrated Water Resources Management Council (IWRMC)”.

The Drought Management Plan is also a sub plan of the national disaster plan being developed by the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) which is also the chair of the Drought Management Committee. Minister Charles Jr. was speaking at a Drought Management Press Conference at Jamaica House, convened by the MEGJC.