Haiti quake…
– President Jagdeo
PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo, before departing Guyana yesterday for the Middle East, promised that Guyana’s effort to assist Haiti during this time of crisis will be “a national one” involving all of the Parliamentary opposition parties, all religious faiths and both local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

“I have put together a national committee that will lead the relief efforts, and I say national because this has no partisanship. All the political parties in Parliament are represented on that committee, the religious faiths and NGOs. We will work together as Guyana to bring as much relief to the people of Haiti as possible,” he stated.

The Head of State expressed deep sadness at the disaster, and urged all Guyanese to be generous in their assistance. He also stressed that the response by the international community to assist Haiti must be swift to reduce the loss of lives.

“There are still tens of thousands of people who are trapped in buildings. Those people could live or die, depending on the pace and movement of the international community. I urge everyone, nationally and also internationally, to move swiftly to assist Haiti.”

He further noted that the capacity of Haiti’s Government to respond to the crisis, which was diminished because it is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, has been totally destroyed, and there is also a need to rebuild that capacity

“We have to assist the Government to rebuild that capacity and also, to respond to the needs of the people,” the Government Information Agency (GINA) quoted the President as saying at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri immediately prior to his departure.

The Government of Guyana has pledged US$1M (Gy$200M) towards the Haiti relief effort and has established a national multi-stakeholder committee, headed by Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Priya Manickchand, to oversee Guyana’s assistance.

This committee was established on Wednesday when President Jagdeo organized a meeting with stakeholders at the Office of the President, less than 24 hours after the earthquake had struck.

Afterwards, several of the persons present at the meeting were full of praise for the President’s swift action and urged the Guyanese population to lend their support to the people of Haiti in whatever way was possible.

The earthquake which struck Haiti, a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 on the Richter scale, was centered approximately 15 kilometres from Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, and struck at around 17:00 hours local time on Tuesday.

Most of Port-au-Prince’s major landmarks were significantly damaged or destroyed in the earthquake, including the Presidential Palace, the National Assembly building, the Port-au-Prince Cathedral, the main jail and at least one hospital.
Reports are that tens of thousands of people may have died.