THE Civil Defence Commission (CDC)’s $2M provision for disaster preparedness and response initiatives were voted down by the Parliamentary Opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance for Change, yesterday in the National Assembly.

The allocation formed part of the Office of the President’s $3.9B capital Administrative Services estimates.
One of the CDC’s signature undertakings is ‘Operation Floodgate’, which is a simulation exercise geared to test regional and national response systems in the event of widespread flooding.
Last year, the exercise was rolled out in Regions Two (Pomeroon/ Supenaam), Three (Essequibo Islands/ West Demerara), Four (Demerara/ Mahaica), Five (Mahaica/ Berbice), Six (East Berbice/ Corentyne) and Nine (Upper Takutu/ Upper Essequibo).
It was done in three-phases: The activation of response centres; the test of the response system’s functioning, which includes relocating affected persons, and collaboration among stakeholder agencies; and a test of procedures in deactivation of the response centres and management of the aftermath of flooding.
At the end of the exercise, a report was sent to the Cabinet and the National Coordinator for national disasters for consideration.
An assessment from the Economic Commission for Latin American and the Caribbean (ECLAC) placed economic losses after the 2005 floods at 60 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while development was pushed back at least 10 years. In light of the foregoing findings, ‘Operation Floodgate’ has been dubbed quintessential for Disaster Risk Management by a cross-section of stakeholders.
The CDC’s Director-General is retired Colonel Chabilall Ramsarup, and it is a full member of the Caribbean Disaster Emergence Response Agency (CDERA).
The CDC was established in 1982 to plan and conduct operations to deal with all types of disasters in Guyana. At the time of its establishment, the Commission operated under the authority of the Office of the Prime Minister.
Responsibility for the CDC was subsequently moved to the Office of the President in 1992.

(Vanessa Narine)