St. George's, November 5, 2010 (GIS) – Prime Minister Hon. Tillman Thomas is preparing to lead a Grenada delegation to St. Lucia and St. Vincent to see firsthand damages caused by Hurricane Tomas and to meet with leaders of the two CARICOM countries.
The decision on the visit was made at an emergency Cabinet meeting called Friday, November 05, to discuss the situation in St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which suffered millions of dollars in losses to its economy and infrastructure.
"If any country is to show lead in these circumstances, it's Grenada, given our experiences and the support we received after hit by Hurricanes Ivan and Emily in 2004 and 2005,'' said Senator Arley Gill, Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister.
At Friday's meeting, Sen. Gill was appointed to head a Cabinet subcommittee that began immediately working on plans to coordinate assistance to St. Lucia and St. Vincent.
Among other committee members are Terrence Walters, Deputy Coordinator of the National Disaster Management Agency; Chief Technical Officer (CTO) in the Ministry of Works, Cecil Harris; Policy Advisor in the Ministry of Youth Empowerment and Sports, Kenrick Fullerton; and Osbert Charles of Ministry of Health.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials, who are on the subcommittee, are the focal point for the coordination between Grenada and the CARICOM countries. They are working on getting the Prime Minister and his team, which will include Sen. Gill, Health Minister Ann Peters and CTO Harris, to the two affected nations as soon as possible.
Sen. Gill, at a briefing with his subcommittee Friday afternoon, said that St. Lucia is "badly in need of water.''
He said if possible, water should be airlifted to St. Lucia. "That is of critical importance,'' said the Senator, who is the Minister
Responsible for Information and Culture.
The subcommittee will be hosting a Mediathon on behalf St. Lucia and St. Vincent on Tuesday, November 9, 8 pm – 10 pm, on FLOW. Other television and radio stations are also expected to broadcast the Mediathon. Information on a bank account for making cash donations to St. Lucia and St. Vincent will be announced at Tuesday's Mediathon.
Additional areas of assistance discussed included providing health service professionals to the islands, and supplying them with building material.
The subcommittee intends to reach out to officials of the private sector and other non-governmental organisations to seek the highest coordination in Grenada's relief efforts to St. Lucia and St. Vincent.
"The government also wishes to express its solidarity with the people of Barbados and Tobago, which were affected by Tomas but not as badly as St. Lucia and Vincent,'' Sen. Gill said.
"We know that the hurricane has been heading in the direction of Haiti and Jamaica, and we pray that they will be spared major damages and loss of lives.''
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