St. Vincent Volcano – Opposition NDP urges fair distribution of aid to displaced residents

St Vincent and the Grenadines’ main Opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) is calling for a greater level of transparency in the distribution of regional and international aid to communities reeling from the impact of recent volcanic eruptions at the La Soufriere.

Opposition Leader and NDP President Godwin Friday, on Wednesday morning urged authorities to “fully” investigate allegations of political partisanship, which is said to be preventing residents in hard-hit areas from accessing much-needed aid, based on their political affiliations. He did not present evidence to support the claims.

During a press briefing, the North Grenadines parliamentary representative also appealed for greater inclusion of the country’s Opposition and civil society organisations in the creation of a “national task force” to plan the country’s reconstruction and recovery effort.

On the issue of aid distribution specifically, Friday contends the concerns are strikingly similar to those expressed in the wake of other recent natural disasters and stressed the need for “urgent” and “vigorous” steps to remove persons causing the problems.

“This is not a party matter. The aid is donated by governments, regional and international organisations, local businesses and charities and numerous individuals here and throughout the Caribbean and North America in particular, also from the U.K. It is given to help the people most affected by the volcanic eruption and must be distributed on the basis of need only,” Friday declared, following recent tours of the most devastated districts.

“That must be the principal criterion upon which they determine who gets what, and when. No partisan consideration must be committed to determine these questions. Where they exist, they need to be stamped out. This is a repeating cycle in the history of this country when people across the world are making sure that the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines know that they are there to support them and will continue to do so going forward. It is of paramount importance that this transparency be there so that they will continue to give,” the Opposition leader added.

 As more than 20,000 people continue to contend with dislocation as a result of the volcano and the destruction of their livelihoods, particularly in agriculture and fisheries, Friday called for a “broad-based” and “inclusive” approach to rebuilding.

“The opposition, as the majority party in the country, has a role to play in this and we are willing to do so inclusively as part of the national team or we will do our part no matter what. We should also include people from civil society with special expertise to bring them to bear on tackling the immediate problems of safety, the cleanup and planning in a really forward-thinking and progressive way as to how to build greater resilience and sustainability in the communities of the north. That is really the only way to go as far as I am concerned,” Friday declared.

“We can’t wait until the scientists give the all-clear to say ‘okay, people can go back to their homes and then we start to figure out what to do when we get there. How do we assist people who have lost seven out of 10 sheep, whose crops are dead and whose roofs have fallen in. We have to start planning now as to how we will assist the recovery, but beyond that in the rebuilding,” he further contended.

The Opposition leader is also appealing for greater assistance from utility companies that have already agreed to suspend bills in the affected communities.