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Contact:
Virnet St. Omer-Fontenelle
Wednesday, September 15, 2004 – Prime Minister Honourable Dr. Kenny
Anthony visited Grenada Sunday September 12th, five days after the passage of
Hurricane Ivan which blasted the island.
Describing the scenes he confronted in Grenada Dr. Anthony said it was
unimaginable destruction never before seen in the Caribbean. He said while Saint
Lucia lived through Hurricane Allen a dangerous storm, it does not compare to
Hurricane Ivan in Grenada.
Dr. Anthony and Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines conducted a
joint visit of the island. The two Prime Minister’s met with a shaken Grenada
Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchel still reeling from the shock of the scale of
the disaster.
Dr. Mitchel told his colleagues his immediate priorities was to restore
security, rebuild housing and feed the thousands of Grenadians who have been
displaced after the storm.
Hurricane Ivan is the most dangerous hurricane to hit the Caribbean. Forty-six
deaths were recorded in the spice island. The hurricane slammed everything in
it’s path, levelling homes, knocking down power lines and trees.
Dr. Anthony says it will take a lot of resources to begin the process of
rebuilding the island. The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the World Bank
visited the island in the immediate aftermath of hurricane Ivan and have pledged
support for the recovery effort through loans and grants.
The CDB made available US$100,000 to the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Recovery
Agency (CDERA) for immediate relief supplies for Grenada and has made available
a US$500,000 dollar loan facility to each island struck by Ivan.
Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony says what Grenada needs now is not more loans
in managing its economic recovery following hurricane Ivan. He says there must
be a readiness to provide grants which would not burden the island as it seeks
to recover from the worst disaster ever experience in the Caribbean region.
Forty six Grenadians died as a result of hurricane Ivan, the island’s
infrastructure received a battering with the islands two stadium demolished. All
communication was cut, and there were reports of widespread looting.
Dr. Anthony says with the disaster in Grenada has come the need for a revamping
of the Regional Security System RSS. The RSS proved to be a big asset in Grenada
in the aftermath of the storm which crippled the operations of the Royal Grenada
Police Force.
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