Govt sets up $25M flood fund

Young said Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley put a proposal for the fund to Finance Minister Colm Imbert. “Today (yesterday) at Cabinet, the Prime Minister requested of the Minister of Finance with concurrence of the rest of Cabinet, that we move to establish immediately, a relief fund for the flooding and other off-shoots of what has taken place as a result of Tropical Storm Bret, over the past 48 hours, of $25 million,” Young said.

The money will be disbursed among the Ministries of Social Development and Family Services; Local Development and Rural Development; and Works and Transport.

“It is envisaged this fund will be disbursed through the various programmes to assist those who have been adversely affected by the effects of Tropical Storm Bret,” Young said.

To minimise the possibility of fraud, Young said Cabinet decided to utilise, “already-in-place” procedures at the three ministries with respect to dispensation of monies.

“It is going to be a fluid situation.

There are procedures in place to access various grants (within these ministries) and once you go and get through these processes and procedures, the money will be provided from the Ministry of Finance,” Young said.

Young revealed that on Tuesday, after Bret’s passage, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Finance reached out to him saying funds could be made available for emergency situations.

Minister of Social Development and Family Services Cherrie-Ann Crichlow-Cockburn, one of four ministers who addressed the briefing yesterday, said her ministry offers a range of benefits to distressed citizens, moreso those affected by natural disasters. She said in cases where people have lost food supplies, a temporary food card will be issued.

In instances where the roof of houses have been blown off, Critchlow-Cockburn said a sum of $20,000 will be provided per applicant.

In addition, a $10,000 grant can be accessed to replace furniture such as refrigerators, stoves, beds and dining tables. Crichlow-Cockburn said individuals must submit their claims to the ministry.

“The ministry is currently working on the basis of individuals submitting applications and we are also partnering with the ODPM (Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management) and regional corporations so that where they would have conducted assessments, we would then process the applications,” she said.

“But in instances where individuals may not have been able to interact with the ODPM or the regional corporations, they can submit an application directly to one of our regional offices.” (See Page 5)