CDEMA Head meets President Ramotar

Guyana’s role in the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) was the topic of discussion when President Donald Ramotar and Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon met with the agency’s Executive Director, Ronald Jackson at the Presidential Complex on Wednesday.

In an invited comment to the Government Information Agency (GINA) of Guyana , Jackson said it was his first opportunity to meet with Guyana’s president and he used the occasion to discuss the comprehensive Caribbean Disaster Management Strategy. This is a 10- ear plan to achieve disaster risk resilience in the region, he explained.

I also shared with the president the main priorities of Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency for the next three years and how those priorities are likely to support the people of Guyana and their programme for disaster risk management”, GINA quoted Mr Jackson as saying.

The two also spoke about CDEMA’s management, he said, given that it is an instrument of Member States of CARICOM. There were also discussions on some of the global issues such as the post-2015 development agenda as he added that, “the global framework of action, which is a global blueprint for disaster risk management and how those are likely to impact on Guyana”.

GINA said that the Guyana’s Civil Defence Commission (CDC) was described by Jackson as a one of the Region’s “bright performers”, particularly over the last three years. The CDC has done a lot of work which he noted was a credit to its leadership, “in looking at its context a very strategic way and there have been various strides on both sides of the coin, looking at the prevention side and setting the fundamental groundwork to achieve that but also strengthening the response coordination” the Caricom official further added.

According to GINA, Jackson also said the CARICOM Region has to accept the fact that, especially in the areas of climate variability and climate change, “the Region is still going to have to be responding to adverse effects of disaster events, not here in Guyana, but supporting the Regional response”. CDEMA draws on capacity across its Member States and to respond to their needs, and since the CDC is building its capacity, he explained this is going towards supporting a Regional response.