Govt, private aircraft operators agree to evacuate Guyanese

Hurricane relief efforts

Following a meeting on Thursday with Government officials, private aircraft operators in Guyana have agreed to fly out Guyanese desirous of being evacuated following the recent spate of hurricanes that devastated a number of Caribbean islands.
Roraima Airways, JAGS Aviation, Air Services Limited, Hopkinson and Fly Jamaica have all agreed to coordinate evacuation efforts for affected Guyanese in St Maarten, Antigua, Tortola, Dominica, St Kitts and Anguilla.
Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, said he is glad that the aviation operators have chipped in to provide relief efforts and noted that the Government would probably be providing aviation fuel to the operators. He noted that at this point, the airlines are scheduling the flights and having the logistics worked out to evacuate approximately 80 persons.
Most of the affected Guyanese have no documents to travel and the Ministry of Citizenship is working with the various Immigration Departments to have that issue sorted out.
Nagamootoo made the revelation when he, along with Minister of State Joseph Harmon, inspected four containers designated for the hurricane ravaged Caribbean islands.
According to the head of the Guyana Civil Defence Commission (CDC), Chabilall Ramsarup, the four containers are loaded with over 30 tonnes of supplies worth approximately $18 million.
Six containers of relief supplies were shipped on Tuesday to hurricane-affected islands. The first six containers carried important items such as rice, sugar, flour, biscuits, macaroni, water and tarpaulins, and are being sent to Dominica. The other three containers will be sent to Antigua.
The items in these containers were the result of donations, mostly from the Private Sector and other donors, including Government, and weighed in excess of 80 tonnes. During an informal gathering at the Guyana National Shipping Corporation (GNIC) on Tuesday, CDC Director General, Colonel (retired) Chabilall Ramsarup told the media that the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) would be responsible for the distribution of these relief items.
Following the devastating hurricanes, President David Granger had summoned a meeting with his Cabinet to discuss how Guyana could respond to the crisis. Prime Minister Nagamootoo was tasked with heading a ministerial task force responsible for oversight of the efforts to respond to the crisis.
Government had also pledged an initial sum of US$50,000 to aid urgent relief efforts through the Caribbean Community’s (Caricom) regional mechanism, coordinated by the CDEMA in partnership with the Association of Caribbean States.
In the immediate aftermath of the hurricanes, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo had called on Government to act swiftly to initiate steps to evacuate Guyanese desirous of coming home. The People’s Progressive Party General Secretary noted that Hurricane Irma has practically reduced some of these islands to ground zero. “It is, therefore, incumbent upon the Government of Guyana to take immediate action,” he had urged.