CARICOM Agrees to Bankroll Reconstruction of Grenada

Leaders of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) agreed to finance the reconstruction of Grenada for the next three months on the heels of a devastating hurricane that hit the island last week.

CARICOM members decided to join funds and efforts to rebuild the island after hurricane Ivan razed nearly 90 percent of all houses and buildings and inflicted serious damage to the nation’s crops and leisure industry. The decision was made within the framework of an emergency meeting held this week in Trinidad & Tobago.

Funds will be granted through the Caribbean Development Bank, an institution headquartered in Barbados.

”As we speak, there is no private cash flowing on the island,” said Richard Andrews, an aide to Grenada’s Primer Minister, in a press conference during the Caribbean Summit. “Our main export crop, nutmeg, is gone and tourism has to start from scratch.”

Ralph Gonsalves, prime minister of St. Vincent & the Grenadines, pointed out that Grenada needs all the help it could get right now. “There’s no government in place, the economy is gone and the population is traumatized,” he averred.

Mr. Gonsalves added that the kind of help that Grenada requires is far more than what countries in the region can actually provide. His remarks were intended to reach out to world nations other than CARICOM member states.

Trinidad & Tobago Prime Minister will speak about Grenada’s current plight during his upcoming speech at the UN General Assembly, scheduled to start next week in New York City.