An EC$10 million cheque from the CCRIF SPC will go toward strengthening the agriculture sector, Prime Minister Chastanet said.
Prime Minister Hon. Allen M. Chastanet on Wednesday, received an EC$10.2 million payout from the CCRIF SPC (formerly the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility) that will be used to rebuild Saint Lucia’s agriculture sector in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Matthew.
The Prime Minister commended the CCRIF SPC for its expeditious response toward mitigating Saint Lucia’s physical, infrastructural and revenue losses due to the storm.
He indicated that because of the changes triggered by global warming, emphasis has to be placed on disaster mitigation particularly in areas such as drainage, de-silting, and agricultural and infrastructural development.
“This cheque will be going directly to strengthening and rebuilding our agricultural sector and to pay for some of the costs that we have,” Mr. Chastanet said. “The government has also put in emergency requests through the World Bank, and the European Union (EU). We’ve already had teams meet with those different entities to receive funding to be able to implement redevelopment programs.”
CCRIF SPC Chief Executive Officer Isaac Anthony, affirmed that Saint Lucia was in good standing with the insurance facility. He added that the agency is expanding its product offerings, because it is essential for countries to have some form of disaster risk coverage.
“In addition to the products that we currently offer for tropical cyclones, earthquake and more recently excess rainfall, we are currently working on developing additional products. Right now we are building a drought model because drought has emerged as a major phenomenon in a number of countries especially Saint Lucia.”
The cheque presentation took place at the Office of the Prime Minister on Oct. 19, and was attended by Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Sen. Hon. Dr. Ubaldus Raymond; Minister for Local Government and Culture, Sen. Hon. Fortuna Belrose; Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Physical Planning, Natural Resources and Cooperatives, Sen. Hon. Jimmy Henry, and Director of Finance in the Ministry of Finance, Cointha Thomas.
The CCRIF SPC’s payouts to member countries impacted by the storm total almost US$8 million.
