The government has suspended the withdrawal of Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) troops from Haiti as the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) confirmed that it will send J$40 million to cover expenses incurred up to January 30.

Minister with responsibility for information, Daryl Vaz, says, "CDEMA has committed to send us J$10 million and approved an additional J$30 million to cover our expenses up to January 30. Their represen-tative will attend a meeting in Jamaica to discuss further assistance to sustain the troops in Haiti. We have put the withdrawal on hold pending that meeting and the final decision will be made by the prime minister when he returns on Saturday. It is important that we get firm commitments on recovering our expenses as Jamaica is not in a position to continue our assistance in Haiti without the requisite funding."

The JDF base in Port-au-Prince has been open since January 14, two days after an earthquake all but destroyed the capital city. The base facilitates Caricom troops and Jamaican health workers to provide daily aid to hundreds in need. The Government announced last Wednesday that it could not sustain the J$773,000 expense per day to maintain a base on the island.