Prime Minister Andrew Holness is set to remain Jamaica Labour Party leader for another year, but attention now turns to whether political continuity can deliver more affordable homes, stronger communities and faster reconstruction.

Billions in insurance settlements, a deepening land ownership debate, expensive rebuilding decisions and an expanding north coast property market have exposed a difficult question: Is Jamaica building communities that ordinary Jamaicans can afford, maintain and call their own?

At least 44 church buildings destroyed in five denominations alone, hundreds more damaged, and a J$75 million state programme that averages under J$180,000 a church. Almost a year on, Jamaica’s congregations are still in tents and halls.

Jamaica recorded 675 murders in 2025, the fewest in more than 30 years, and killings are down another 24 per cent this year. But property crime rose, police killings have climbed, and the violence is moving west.

Kingston has begun moving homeless residents from Marie Atkins Night Shelter ahead of renovations. The temporary relocation raises questions about capacity and the timetable for reopening.

Jamaica’s churches shape the national landscape, yet census figures reveal contrasting fortunes for Christian denominations. Is faith in decline, or is religious life changing?