By Lincoln Depradine
Castries, St. Lucia, November 9, 2010 – Grenada's Prime Minister, Hon. Tillman Thomas, is heading a three-member delegation that arrived in St. Lucia this morning for a firsthand look at the damages caused by the recent passage of Hurricane Tomas.
The other members of the delegation, which leaves later today for St. Vincent before returning to Grenada, are Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Officer, Senator Arley Gill, and Chief Technical Officer in the Minister of Works, Cecil Harris.
The first stop of Hon. Thomas was at the official residence of St. Lucian Prime Minister, Stephenson King.
"We felt it was important to make this visit to see for ourselves and to let you know Grenada is willing and ready to help,'' Prime Minister Thomas told his St. Lucian counterpart.
He also alerted Prime Minister King to the Mediathon that Grenada is hosting tonight to raise funds for hurricane reconstruction efforts in both St. Lucia and St. Vincent.
Mr. King said Hurricane Tomas dealt a "severe blow'' the St. Lucian economy, with the banana industry almost "one hundred percent wiped out.'' Although electricity has largely been restored, water remains a "critical'' need, Prime Minister King added.
The estimated cost of damages, he said, is US$500 million. The Prime Minister also said there have been seven "confirmed'' deaths as a result of Tomas, with a few other people still missing.
Mr. King described the visit by Prime Minister Thomas as "commendable'' and a "statement of regional brotherhood.''
Before leaving St. Lucia, the Grenadian team was taken on a tour of Marc, Bexon, Barre D' Lisle and other areas on the east coast hardest hit by Tomas.
Mr. Thomas arrived in St. Vincent just after noon on a LIAT flight that also included Dominica's Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit.
Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent & The Grenadines, left a sitting of the House of Representatives to meet with Prime Ministers Thomas and Skerrit in the Cabinet Room of government.
The Vincentian leader, in his statement in parliament on Tuesday, said "the damage, loss, suffering and dislocation caused by Hurricane Tomas'' include "the almost total destruction of the agricultural sector. The estimated cost of this damage is EC$67.2 million. The cost of rehabilitation of the agriculture and income support for the farmers amounts to EC$61.7 million.''
Dr. Gonsalves added that "although the computation of the loss and damage is yet to be fully determined, it is evident that it amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars.''
No loss of lives was reported in St. Vincent & The Grenadines in the wake of Tomas.
Prime Minister Thomas and his delegation are due to return to Grenada Tuesday evening.
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