CARICOM will be putting its money and all available resources at the disposal of the government and people of the Bahamas in the island chain’s most dire time of need.
Secretary General of CARICOM, Irwin LaRocque, told the NATION yesterday that he and chairman, Prime Minister of St Lucia, Allen Chastanet, will head to the island chain as soon as an all-clear is given from the battering the Bahamas continues to take from the behemoth of a storm named Dorian That first-hand look at the devastation will determine on how much assistance will be needed.
“I have spoken to the Prime Minister (Dr. Hubert Minnis) and I have a very good idea of the early devastation, so we plan to get into the Bahamas as soon as possible to see how we can help,” a concerned LaRocque said yesterday.
“Any financial aid will be coordinated through member states and there are mechanisms in place to deal with that. We can also call on international players through the United Nations. There will be a massive coordination effort taking place to deal with this,” he promised.
Speaking by telephone link-up from Georgetown, Guyana, the Secretary-General revealed CARICOM’s overall response to assisting Bahamas would be coordinated from Barbados, where the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) is headquartered.
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