Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines Dr Ralph Gonsalves made a number of announcements which will seek to bring relief to hurricane victims in the form of transportation to the Southern Grenadines and the ease of acquiring supplies. Â
In a national address on Thursday in relation to the passage of Hurricane Beryl, Gonsalves announced a fast ferry will be chartered five days a week starting right away, to go Monday to Friday, inclusive of Union Island. Two of those days the ferry will go to Mayreau and three of those days to Canouan, to transport people. The government will cover the cost. Â
The ferry will leave Kingstown at 9 am and leave Union Island at 4 pm everyday Monday to Friday. Further announcements will be made on the days for Canouan and Mayreau. Â
This fast ferry will operate for the first two weeks after which it will be assessed to be a rolling programme of transportation. Â
The prime minister made it clear the fast ferry should not be used for ‘disaster tourism’ whether external or internal, as the service is not an excursion but meant to connect families. Â
Another major announcement was that duty free barrels will take effect from July 1 to December 31, 2024. Gonsalves says he is aware persons overseas will want to help people who need individual supplies. Â
The prime minister also announced a 100 per cent duty waiver on chainsaws, jack hammers, generators and water tanks and a duty-free waiver on all relief supplies. Â
Earlier this week the prime minister got a look at the destruction Beryl caused in the Southern Grenadines which he described as terrible. Â
Screengrab of Union Island from API SVG.
Screengrab of Canouan from API SVG.
Screengrab of Palm Island from API SVG.
The National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO) puts the disaster on Union Island at 98 per cent. The prime minister says basically the entire island with 2,500 people is homeless. Â
In Mayreau, 95 per cent of buildings are gone and a similar number was given for Canouan. Gonsalves says it is possible 700 houses will have to be dealt with on these three islands alone.Â
There is no assessment for Bequia where some persons say 20 per cent of houses have been damaged or destroyed, while the local community says it looks closer to 50 per cent. Â
There is no indicative number yet for mainland St Vincent, but Gonsalves believes the number of damaged homes will run into the hundreds. Â
The prime minister says the government will have to go to Parliament with supplementary estimates and a Supplementary Appropriation Bill, with that sitting scheduled for June 18, to begin cleaning up and rebuilding.Â
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Publish date : 2024-07-04 17:06:10
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