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CHIEF SECRETARY Farley Augustine says the THA intends to launch a humanitarian effort to assist the islands that were ravaged by Hurricane Beryl within the past few days.
“We will announce the coordinating team that will coordinate the response,” he said on the Tobago Updates morning show on June 3.
Augustine, who was accompanied by new Secretary of Finance, Trade and the Economy Petal-Ann Roberts, said Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) director Allan Stewart is expected to lead the team.
“Essentially, we are going to choral Tobagonians to give and give generously through our family in Grenada, in particular Carriacou, and St Vincent through Union Island.
“I saw where the Prime Minister of Grenada (Dickon Mitchell) indicated that about 92 per cent of all properties in Carriacou were either damaged our completely destroyed. That is a staggering amount for a country that experienced Ivan not so long ago.”
Jamaica was also badly affected by the category four hurricane, which killed two people after its passage passage between June 3 and 4.
Saying the devastation in Carriacou is a “massive setback’ to the island, Augustine said, “I want Tobagonians to not see themselves as just being lucky. I don’t want Tobagonians to see this from an arrogant perspective, that God resides here. But I want them to appreciate the mercies of God.
“I want them to appreciate that we might have gotten away this time but this might have just been dress rehearsal for the next time and that we ought to remain vigilant and when we say, ‘Look, a hurricane is coming ,’ these are the steps we take and we ought to be vigilant and adhere to those instructions. We should not be liming and trying to fish out a goat on the day of a hurricane. We should be prepared always.”
Augustine said the members of the THA would have discussed the issue at the executive council meeting.
“I wouldn’t want to take the liberty of going into great details without having the benefit of the executive council’s approval policy wise. That would be improper. But we certainly should give.”
He said he learnt from an elderly citizen that Grenada had provided food for Tobago after Hurricane Flora struck in 1964.
Augustine said boats came to Bloody Bay with roasted breadfruits.
“Tobagonians felt a sense of gratitude and they came forward. So it is time to give back to them.”
He urged Tobagonians to give generously when the arrangement is finalised.
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