Prime Minister Perry Christie yesterday facilitated Prime Minister of Dominica and CARICOM Chairman Roosevelt Skerrit on a tour of Hurricane Matthew-ravaged areas in Andros and Grand Bahama during which he announced the organization would be donating $100,000 to The Bahamas to assist with Hurricane Matthew recovery efforts.
“Very humbly we would have transferred today a small contribution to the response to Hurricane Matthew,” he said.
“It’s going to require several hundreds of millions of dollars for all of the homes that have been impacted so therefore we have to as a people exercise great patience because it will be a costly reconstruction.”
Mr. Christie told those in attendance during a press briefing at the Pelican Bay Hotel in Grand Bahama that there has been an establishment of a variety entities to ensure immediate response to Hurricane Matthew.
“I’m very heartened to hear that as many as 183 technical support persons will be coming in to augment the activity here towards providing in the shortest possible time electricity for the people of Freeport,” he said.
“Because we are challenged in the other islands by the same reality that no electricity is present and people need that for medicinal reasons. Moreover, there are some communities that have water powered up by electricity.”
The Prime Minister also noted that in comparison to what it cost to bounce back from Hurricane Joaquin, that amount would triple to at least $300 million.
Prime Minister Christie was accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell; Minister of Labour and National Insurance and the National Hurricane Coordinator Shane Gibson; Bahamas High Commissioner to CARICOM Picewell Forbes; Director of NEMA, Captain Stephen Russell other Cabinet Ministers, officials and members of the media.
Prime Minister Skerrit was accompanied by Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Ambassador Irwin LaRocque and advisors, Joann Persad from the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, CDEMA, and other officials.
The purpose of the visit was for the CARICOM delegation to get a first hand view of the damage to infrastructure, how many people are displaced and inspect critical facilities with a view to what kind of assistance Dominica and CARICOM at large, can give to The Bahamas.
Dominica is very familiar with what it takes for a country to rebuild following a catastrophe as Tropical Storm Erica back in August of 2015 cost the country billions of dollars as well as the complete relocation of at least two communities there.
Mr. Skerrit also commended Mr. Christie for all that has been done so far by the government to bring the country back to some sense of normalcy.
The delegation toured Eight Mile Rock, Holmes Rock areas where 95 percent of the buildings received significant damage from the Category 4 storm packing winds of more than 140mph.
West End also experienced significant flooding which soaked furniture, beddings and appliances and rendering residents’ homes unlivable in the aftermath of the storm.
In North Andros, particularly Lowe Sound, about 35 homes were completely destroyed; 40 received major damages and 100 received minor damages. Lowe Sound has a population of just about 700.
Mr. Christie said he remains inspired by the uplifting spirits of those individuals on those islands who lost everything but still fond the heart to be thankful.
