CDEMA Executive Director and some DDSA team members leave Guyana

Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency Executive Director, Ms. Elizabeth Riley, and several other officials were presented with tokens by the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) on Thursday morning when they departed Guyana from the Eugene F. Correira International Airport.

CDC Director General, Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig, was present at the airport to send off the officials, and present them with the small tokens of the CDC’s appreciation for the diligent work and contributions that CDEMA has been making to assist Guyana with its flood situation.  

Colonel Craig awarded Ms. Riley with a plaque, while each of the other members were also presented with a token. The Director General also congratulated Ms. Riley on officially assuming her role as CDEMA’s Executive Director.

Ms. Riley’s appointment as the substantive Executive Director took effect on Thursday, following her having acted in the post since 1 May, 2020.

“I think it’s fitting that your first day should start in Guyana,” Colonel Craig commented.

Ms. Riley was moved by the Director General’s words and the plaque she received to commemorate her confirmation.

“I’m so touched by the gesture from the CDC,” she said.

Ms. Riley, and the other officials, were in Guyana due to the Detailed Damage Sector Assessment (DDSA) on Guyana’s flooding, which is being conducted by CDEMA. Members of the DDSA teams have been in Guyana for just over a week now coordinating the mission and conducting field work.

Ms. Riley arrived in Guyana on Wednesday to present the preliminary findings of the DDSA to the Prime Minister, Hon. Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips, and other government Ministers. She also held a meeting with the CARICOM Secretary General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque.  

Following her surveying of the work being done by the CDC in Guyana’s flood response, Ms. Riley lauded CDC’s efficiency in all aspects of the flood response and noted how impressed she was.