A sum of $3 billion will be allocated to the Civil Defence Com-mission (CDC) for the social relief of citizens affected by natural disasters or emergencies including the ongoing Corona-virus (COVID-19) pandemic, Prime Minister Mark Phillips on Friday announced during his national budget presentation.
“The Government has allocated $3b to the Civil Defence Commission to provide social relief to persons impacted by COVID-19 and to also respond effectively to the impact of floods, droughts and other natural and man-made disasters across the country,” Phillips told the National Assembly.
He said the sum is separate from the $4.5 billion relief which was announced by President Irfaan Ali at the beginning of this month for COVID-hit citizens.
During the first week of this month, the president had announced a slew of relief measures including a $25,000 per household cash transfer to cushion the effects of COVID-19.
The CDC’s 2020 budget, according to Phillips, will “develop and cater” for the continuous provision of relief to the most vulnerable groups during the final quarter of 2020.
Phillips said the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in persons being unable to earn due to the loss of jobs, closure of industries and restrictions to various sectors. As such, he said there has been an increase in the number of households locally categorized and living in poverty and thereby warranting government’s support and relief.
“…It is increasingly evident in Guyana that the Coronavirus pandemic has an impact on the economic circumstances on individuals and households with many households losing large amounts of income,” he said.
“Further the closure of schools and offices and restrictions to movement in an attempt to curb transmission have resulted in additional persons being confined to their homes for extended periods thereby increasing the consumption of foods and other essential supplies,” Phillips added.
As it relates to national disasters, Phillips noted that the majority of the country’s population is prone to flooding since they reside on the coastal plain.
Apart from the coastal regions, he said the interior regions such as Regions 7, 8 and 9 have been experiencing severe flooding due to heavy and persistent rainfall.
Phillips further stated that Guyana is also prone to droughts that significantly affect the agriculture sector.
“Guyana is also susceptible to droughts that significantly affect Agriculture…forest fires, diseases such as Zika, Chikungunya and now COVID-19 and of course high winds which cause severe damage or complete loss of homes as in recent cases in Regions 7, 8 and 10. These are all threats that impact our country,” he said.
According to Phillips, there has been an increase in the frequency and severity at which natural disasters have been occurring around the world and as such Guyana is not “spared”.
“Mr Speaker , the current disaster risk management and reduction strategy to reduce the country’s vulnerabilities to therefore be enhanced with a renewed focus and greater emphasis placed on disaster risk reduction…This approach is necessary because hazards impact communities first, so they must have the capacity to reduce their risks and to respond efficiently while awaiting additional support from regional and national levels,” Phillips highlighted.
