CARICOM leaders have recommended that financial assistance to Grenada be in the form of “grants and aid and not loans,” and they agreed to support a call for a moratorium on Grenada's debt repayments.
At the conclusion of an emergency meeting of Heads held Wednesday 15 September, in Trinidad and Tobago, the Heads agreed on a number of arrangements and made several recommendations including an urgent call for the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to hold an emergency board meeting to “consider appropriate flexible arrangements” to assist Grenada.
In addition, the Regional leaders agreed to re-apportion Grenada's contribution to regional organizations to other Member-States, and may convene a special meeting to discuss the establishment of a pool of budgetary resources to assist the devastated Member-State in meeting its financial obligations for the next three months.
They suggested the setting up of a CARICOM-Grenada unit to engineer the reconstruction of the hurricane-hit CARICOM Member-State. Against this backdrop, the Regional leaders committed to liaising with international institutions and foreign governments to solicit extra-Regional assistance for Grenada whose reconstruction requirements are beyond the capability of CARICOM, the leaders noted.
The Heads mandated that the next Meeting of the CARICOM Council for Finance and Planning (COFAP) discuss a sustainable approach to the underwriting of catastrophic risk and universal coverage with insurance industry leaders. This is in addition to a further agreement among the CARICOM leaders to approach the World Bank to undertake a feasibility study on the provision of insurance coverage for public infrastructure in CARICOM Member States.
With security placed as a high priority on the spice isle in the wake of Ivan, Heads sanctioned the staging of an early meeting among Regional Security Chiefs to address “clear lines of military and security command, ” and a Cooperation Agreement between the Regional Security System (RSS) and non-RSS States with respect to coordinating security in Grenada.
In the meantime, several Member-States have already deployed security teams to Grenada in the wake of Hurricane Ivan, and others have pledged to participate in similar efforts.
CARICOM Heads also discussed the effects of Ivan on the education and health sectors. They conceded that health issues including sanitation, water quality and waste disposal should be addressed in the context of ensuring the adequacy of shelters and in post disaster relief efforts, and offered to accommodate Grenada's CXC and advanced level students in sister CARICOM countries.
The CARICOM Heads have mandated officials to prepare a technical document to effect the decisions taken at the emergency meeting.
Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Hon. Patrick Manning and Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, Dr. the Hon. Kenny Anthony will liaise with Grenada's Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Keith Mitchell and his Government and Opposition on a number of concerns.
Contact: carisec3@caricom.org
or carisec4@caricom.org
