THE Civil Defence Commission (CDC) is currently working with a volunteer from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in order to incorporate the input of the public on several documents which are expected to be sent to Cabinet for approval in six weeks’ time.

This was disclosed yesterday by Director General of the CDC; Colonel (retired), Chabilall Ramsarup, in an interview with the Guyana Chronicle done at the CDC in Thomas Lands, Georgetown.
The CDC recently held public consultations on the following documents: the National Early Warning Systems (EWS) in Guyana; Disaster Risk Management Policy; National Multi Hazard; as well as the flood preparedness and response plan. These consultations were held in order to receive public input before the document is presented to Cabinet for approval, and saw participants from various governmental and non- governmental organisations, as well as concerned members of the public, making inputs.
According to Ramsarup, the feedback received at these consultations, which were all held at the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture Club on Carifesta Avenue in Georgetown, was very good; and some persons even emailed their comments, for which the CDC is very appreciative.
He explained that after these public responses have been incorporated into the documents, they will then compile executive summaries which will be sent to Cabinet.
These documents will form various components of a comprehensive disaster risk management plan, and the CDC has been involved with other partnering agencies, such as the UNDP and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), in an effort to further its mandate in regard to disaster risk management.
Apart from the documents for which consultations were held, the CDC has several other documents which it has worked on, and continues to work on.
These documents include the damage assessment and needs analysis policy, sector preparedness and response guidelines, the application of the IDB indicators and a country risk evaluation, Design of an investment programme in flood prevention and mitigation, and the design and implementation of a national disaster public education campaign.