Govt’s priority is to protect lives, safety of Guyanese – Min. Teixeira

Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Hon. Gail Teixeira has reaffirmed Government’s commitment to preserve the health and safety of Guyanese following the unprecedented nationwide flooding.

The Minister’s statement comes on the heels of another statement, this time from former President David Granger, in which he called for a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the Government’s response to the natural disaster.

“The fact that is in the period of this natural disaster, the mobilization and support by the Government, by the President himself, by Ministers in the field, trying to rectify the problems; trying to pump the water out of areas and to reduce the damage and to protect people’s safety; the first phase to protect lives and health and ensure that people were safe,” she said.

Mr. Granger’s statement also accused the PPP/C Government of “ignoring human suffering”.

To this end the Parliamentary Affairs Minister said, “instead of Mr. Granger calling for a commission of inquiry, he should be looking at in what way can he as a former President support the efforts of the Civil Defense Commission, the National Task Force and the President of Guyana in protecting out people; making sure their health is safe, particularly in a Covid environment so that we recover quickly as possible from this natural disaster.”

Meanwhile, data shows that 52,000 households or 25 per cent of all households in Guyana were severely affected due to the unprecedented nationwide flooding. As part of the Government’s commitment to bring relief to those affected, the administration, along with support from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have distributed 63,000 food hampers and 25,000 cleaning agents.

There are currently 258 persons in shelters. In Region Ten (Upper Demerara-Berbice), the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) has established nine shelters. These shelters serve as a temporary housing facility for those persons whose houses have ben completely inundated by the floodwaters.

Notably, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) in collaboration with Guyana’s Civil Defence Commission (CDC) are conducting extensive flooding assessment across the country.

Earlier this week, both teams met with Prime Minister Hon. Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips and a high-level Government team. They were informed about the preliminary findings by Executive Director of CDEMA, Ms. Elizabeth Riley.

The findings indicated that the floods were severe. The team found that all impacted areas experienced damage to crops and livestock. Further, they noted that livelihoods have been disrupted and that the losses have created a decrease in supply, which have substantially increased market prices.

Prime Minister Phillips had said that the overall report, which will be submitted to the Government, will identify the impact of the floods on various sectors and will be a guide in the Government’s recovery process.