Govt pledges initial US$50,000 to regional relief effort

…Opposition urges immediate assistance to affected Guyanese

In light of the massive destruction that has taken place in many Caribbean territories owing to Hurricane Irma, Government has pledged an initial sum of US$50,000 to aid urgent relief efforts through Caricom’s regional mechanism, which is coordinated by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) in partnership with the Association of Caribbean States (ACS).
Minister of State, Joseph Harmon told a special meeting convened at the boardroom of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) in Georgetown on Monday that this was agreed to following a high-level meeting convened by President David Granger at State House earlier in the day. He said further assistance would be determined subsequent to the completion of a needs assessment.

Harmon, who has responsibility for disaster relief, noted that needs assessments were being conducted at the regional level and added that regular situation reports were being monitored as Guyana continued to work with the Region to ensure a coordinated response. He said the President has also mandated a comprehensive response to the needs of Guyanese citizens who are residing in the affected territories.
At the meeting, some members of the PSC sought to find out whether there was a need to have a recognisance team on the ground in some of those affected islands to assist with a more proper needs assessment, but Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo did not forcefully object to the idea. He said at this point the Government would prefer to work with the CDEMA in its relief efforts. Nagamootoo, who is heading a Ministerial Task Force that will be responsible for oversight of the efforts of the Civil Defence Commission’s (CDC) National Risk Reduction Platform, which has since been activated, said too that both CDEMA and the CDC have the experience and knowledge to gather such information, and based on that, Guyana would continue to respond to the needs.

Assistance
In a statement issued on Monday, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo urged Government to immediately initiate steps to provide assistance to evacuate Guyanese living on the affected islands, who are so desirous of being evacuated, noting that the extent of damage was insurmountable.
“…buildings flattened and thousands of people without access to water, food and proper shelter. Hurricane Irma has practicably reduced some of these islands to ground zero. It is, therefore, incumbent upon the Government of Guyana to take immediate action,” he said.
The Prime Minister at that meeting also raised concerns about the safety of Guyanese nationals in these Caribbean territories ravaged by Hurricane Irma. “We want to reach out to them…The Task Force, first and foremost, will try to access information about the number of Guyanese affected and the places where they are affected and to make general appeals to Guyanese in the Caribbean to get in touch with the Consulates in those areas or in other parts, where they can access Consulate services. We need the information as to Guyanese who may want to be evacuated or who may want assistance at this point in time of a specific nature,” the Prime Minister explained.
He also informed that over the next few days, strenuous efforts would be made to keep an open line of communication to ensure that relatives of those residing in hurricane-hit zones were provided with the necessary information regarding their loved ones.
Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge said that Cuba has better infrastructure than many of the other Caribbean countries and noted that from current reports, the Ministry has no reason to believe that scholarship students were in any danger or have suffered in any alarming way. Nevertheless, the Ministry will be setting up a portal on its website to facilitate communication between those affected and their families as well as the authorities in Guyana.
Lack of communication is one of the major difficulties that the regional response effort faces. Minister Greenidge explained that while there was a basic framework of communication such as Honorary Consuls, Ambassadors and other diplomatic representatives, the storm has ravaged communications infrastructure, especially in places like St Martin, St Barts and Barbuda.
During the meeting, suggestions were made to have a bank account set up to allow persons to donate funds towards relief efforts. While the PSC was open to the idea of sending building materials, food and water and other essential supplies, it has asked Government to find out if these items could be transported to some of these affected countries via air or sea. Recommendations were also made to have the Guyana Power and Light Inc and GTT be put on standby to assist. One businessman also came forward, stating his willingness to donate prefab homes to Barbuda’s rebuilding efforts.