Caricom gets moving on Haiti

BY INGRID BROWN Observer staff reporter browni@jamaicaobserver.com

Saturday, January 16, 2010

A Caribbean Community (Caricom) team yesterday flew to Port-au-Prince to get a first-hand view of the devastation in the Haitian capital, as the regional body begins to formulate a relief plan to help the neighbouring territory ravished by Tuesday's massive earthquake.

The team -- Caricom Chairman and Prime Minister of Dominica Roosevelt Skerritt, Barbados Prime Minister David Thompson, Secretary General Edwin Carrington, Archbishop of the West Indies Rev John Holder, and representatives of the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) -- was scheduled to meet with Haitian Government officials to finalise plans for the regional relief efforts.

Jamaica has been designated as the central co-ordinating point for all relief assistance coming out of Caricom to Haiti.

"We believe that throughout the Caricom community we will be able to get and put together a good contingent of doctors and other medical officers to assist in the situation in Haiti," Daryl Vaz, Jamaica's information minister, told journalists at a post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House in Kingston yesterday.

Haitian President Rene Preval, he said, had indicated in a meeting with Jamaica's Prime Minister Bruce Golding Thursday that the priority needs were for doctors, medicine, food and water.

The information minister said a combined US$5 million has already been pledged towards the Caricom relief efforts.

In the meantime, Ronald Jackson, director general of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, said additional personnel would be deployed through the CDEMA to work alongside members of the Jamaica Defence Force, which will handle the region's relief operations on the ground in Haiti.

JDF Chief of Defence Major General Stewart Saunders said the Jamaican army had already established a base camp, which will facilitate all other aspects of support coming from Jamaica.

"After that we will start taking in critical supplies that are needed for the Haitian people and start distributing from our location," Saunders said.

Trinidad, Barbados and Antigua are also expected to deploy troops there to work in conjunction with the JDF team.

Jamaica will be facilitating the refuelling of planes carrying humanitarian supplies to Haiti. "We have waived all navigation and landing fees for all humanitarian aid," Vaz said.

In addition, Jamaica has offered the Reynolds Pier in Ocho Rios, St Ann for all humanitarian vessels en route to and from Haiti to restock with potable water.

And Vaz said the Jamaica Public Service has committed to offering assistance in the rehabilitation of electricity to Haiti.

Vaz said, too, that telecommunications giant, Digicel, had assembled all equipment and food here in Jamaica to leave for Haiti as soon as possible. Technical and security personnel were also to be accommodated by the telecoms company.