ST LUCIA has received a little over EC$10 million in insurance benefits for damages incurred by Tropical Storm Matthew last month.
Prime Minister Allen Chastanet renewed the government’s commitment to farmers of Saint Lucia against the backdrop of post-Matthew recovery efforts as he received the EC$10.2 million payout made by the CCRIF SPC (formerly Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility) yesterday.
He indicated that because of the changes which have been triggered by Global Warming, new emphasis has to be placed on disaster mitigation particularly in areas such as drainage, desilting, agricultural and infrastructural development.
Chastanet commended CCRIF SPC for its expeditious response following the significant toll of physical, infrastructural and revenue losses that the storm left behind one month ago.
The Prime Minister assured that: “This cheque will be going directly to strengthening and rebuilding our agricultural sector and to paying for some of the costs that we have. The government has also put in emergency requests through the World Bank and also the European Union (EU). We’ve already had teams to meet with those different entities to receive funding to be able to implement those redevelopment programmes.”
Chief Executive Officer of CCRIF SPC Isaac Anthony affirmed that Saint Lucia was in good standing with CCRIF SPC and that it is essential for countries to have some form of Disaster Risk Coverage. He indicated that the regional entity is on the brink of expanding its products based on the existing vulnerabilities of the region.