I often say that organizations are very much like people, they go through stages in their life. They are created with a mission, but over time circumstances change, and sometimes those organizations must be renewed or refocused to remain effective. As Prime Minister, it is my responsibility to review the institutions of government and ensure they are still delivering on the purpose for which they were created. With more than 200 public agencies supported by taxpayers, we must always ask whether they are truly serving the Jamaican people. That is why we took a close look at the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM). There is no doubt that Jamaica needs a strong disaster management agency. It must ensure that we are prepared before disasters happen and that there is proper coordination when they occur. However, we recognized that ODPEM needed to be re-energized and strengthened. To improve coordination and effectiveness, we brought ODPEM under the Office of the Prime Minister and aligned its operations more closely with key response agencies such as the Jamaica Defence Force. These changes are part of an ongoing effort to make our disaster response system stronger. We have already seen improvements, including in the response to Hurricane Melissa.(Andrew Holness)