CDC hosts Disaster Risk Management Stakeholders Workshop
– DRM Bill will strengthen govt’s capacity to respond to disasters and emergencies
– recommendations from civil society, private and public sectors welcomed
By Rebecca Ganesh
DPI, Guyana, Thursday, May 30, 2019
The Civil Defence Commission (CDC) under the “Sustainable Management of Natural Resources and Resilience” Programme, through the European Union (UN), embarked upon a Stakeholders’ Workshop to provide further consultations for the Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Bill for Guyana.
The workshop was held at Pegasus Guyana Hotel. According to Director-General of the CDC,6 Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig, the development of the bill started in 2013 and recently, approval was granted for the proposed legislation. The approval, Craig explained, will implement and update the existing architecture of DRM in Guyana and will also strengthen the government’s capacity to respond to disasters and emergencies.
This bill, Craig stated, will also enable the country to meet its commitments as a member of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA).
Taking the participants back some 15 years, the CDC Director General explained that Guyana during that time experienced one of its worst disasters. Since then several measures were put in place by all stakeholders. However, having a DRM Bill in place will further enhance our response, as a country to disasters.
Craig noted that comprehensive consultations were done on the draft bill by international consultants and a CDC team. He urged all Guyanese to support the bill and to engage the CDC with their recommendations. “The team visited all 10 administrative regions and met with key stakeholders. The draft bill has been published on the CDC’s website to give civil society, public and private sectors an opportunity to engage the CDC and make recommendations,” he informed.
Consultations will come to an end on June 3, 2019 and the draft bill is to be submitted on June 7, 2019, after which it will be sent to the Chief Parliamentary Council at the Ministry of Legal Affairs. “Craig is hopeful that the bill will be read in parliament by the end of June.
EU’s Programme Officer/Attaché Federico Suárez noted that he has been engaging the CDC and the team of consultants for almost a year. He highlighted that while all consultations and feedback have been very good so far, the bill needs more public engagement by citizens.
Present at the stakeholders’ workshop were participants from government ministries, the Guyana Telephone Telegraph company (GTT), Guyana Power and Light Incorporated (GPL), Red Cross, Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) and Office of Climate Change, among others.
Images: Ameer Sattaur