MINISTER of State, Dawn Hastings-Williams, on Tuesday, handed over building and cleaning supplies to residents of Region 10 who were severely affected by a freak storm last week.

The communities that were mostly affected were West Watooka, Central Mackenzie, Blue Berry Hill Squatting Area, Silver City, Silver Town, One Mile and Victory Valley.

The freak storm caused residents of these communities to lose sections of their roofs, fences and walls, while others were affected by flooding caused by the storm.
Approximately 25 families were affected by the storm while damage was also evident at the Silver Town Community Centre, the Mackenzie High School LICHAS building and the E-Governance Tower.

According to a needs assessment conducted by the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) in conjunction with the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) on August 24, 2019, items such as zinc sheets with screws and cleaning agents were requested to start repairs on the damaged buildings.

The Minister of State said, “as a caring government, we have responded and so we are here to deliver to the people because we believe that this will bring [relief] in some way to them. As a caring government, we will always respond to the calls that we receive from our citizens irrespective of where they live.”

Chairman of the RDC, Rennis Morian, said that while he is happy that the government has responded, he is even more pleased that it has provided the items that the residents of Region 10 requested.

In addition, he noted that most of the zinc sheets which were blown off were held together by nails for decades. However, the CDC was requested to provide zinc sheets with screws to prevent a reoccurrence and this was done.

“I have to thank the government and the CDC and also the residents for cooperating and helping each other. This is a powerful expression of the confidence the people have in the government to come to their rescue when things go wrong,” he said.

Compton Fraser, a resident of Silver Town, said he is happy to receive the assistance from the government through the CDC since he lost his entire roof during the storm.
“I feel happy that they have responded promptly and this shows some good signs that we are in a cooperative mode,” he said.

Ingrid Thomas, a resident of Blue Berry Squatting Area, echoed these sentiments, saying, “I feel good because I have gotten some relief. My roof area from the kitchen to the bedroom was blown off, so this is good,” she said.

In addition to the cleaning and building materials, the National Frequency Management Unit of the Ministry of Public Telecommunication is working to ensure that the damaged tower is fully operational in the shortest possible time, since it provides internet access to the communities.

Supplies were also handed over to the region to facilitate repairs to the Silver Town Community Centre.

The Minister of State was accompanied by Director General of the CDC, Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig and Senior Response Officer, Captain Salim October.