Caribbean News
Guyana facing worst disaster in country’s history – President Ali tells oil investors
says investments would be made to secure nation’s future
By Kemol King, Guyana Department of Public Information
June 7, 2021 – His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Dr. Irfaan Ali says Guyana is facing the worst natural disaster in its history and it must make investments now to implement an adaptation plan to deal with the adverse effects of climate change.
The President made this statement on Saturday at the launch of an offshore construction facility in Water Street, Georgetown for Italian multinational, Saipem.
The President relayed his harrowing experience seeing first-hand how the floods have affected families.
“Just returned from Olive Creek, Kurupung bottom, Jawalla, Kamarang, spoke to people in Jawalla and Kamarang where their entire life has been destroyed. Everything they worked for all their lives have disappeared.
This is occurring as we celebrate World Environment Day. Natural disasters historic in nature, hundreds of homes completely destroyed. Tens of thousands of farms completely destroyed.”
President Ali spoke of one instance during which a distressed farmer relayed that his avocado farm was completely destroyed and that the trees would no longer be there after the floods. The President said that the man, a father, gestured to his son, asking, “What is this boy going to do?”
Meanwhile, mining camps are empty as infrastructure in some areas have been destroyed, the President said, noting that seeing the devastation first-hand provides a much better understanding of the gravity of the situation.
Dr. Ali recalled flying over Black Bush Polder in Region Six where hundreds of livestock were seen stranded and would eventually die, with one case involving a farmer who lost everything on his farm, which had been operating for four generations.
“Going to those communities today reinforces the risk we face as a country. We have tremendous risk as a country. Never forget we are below sea level.
What is happening now is that the volume of water that has to be drained will create another havoc for those communities when the rain is gone. We have had the opportunity to look at the volume of water that has to come down. It’s frightening in some instances.”
The President said it is a very sensitive time for the country. Region Four communities have faced flooding, but it is not as severe as the disaster in Region Seven and the more remote areas. Dr. Ali said the scale of the disaster is misunderstood in Region Four, noting that the Hope Canal, constructed in response to the devastating 2005 floods, have shielded this Region from the worst effects of the flood.
He has asked his staff to collect contact data from the poorest affected farmers in every community as he intends to engage them directly to assure them that the Government will return their livelihoods to them and secure their futures. The President said it is the same message the Government would take to Linden, to the bauxite workers and to Kwakwani, Region 10.
Additionally, President Ali said Guyana cannot secure revenue and not implement a climate adaption plan.
“As President, I would not allow it… We have to make those investments now and the resources that will come our way will have to help us together, to make those investments to secure the livelihood of the people of this country.” The President plans to travel to Region Two to assess the flood damage there.
Imagine an Atlantic Bridge connecting the Caribbean Region to the African Continent
Deandrea Hamilton | Editor
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — When CARICOM leaders convened with African counterparts and Afreximbank officials in Ethiopia, the outcomes were savory and exactly what many Caribbean people want to see materialise as the islands become uniquely reconnected to the African continent.
At the Second CARICOM-Africa Summit, held at the African Union headquarters, leaders moved beyond symbolic language to agree on a draft communiqué that, if finalized, would anchor this partnership in practical action. While not yet officially published by the AU or CARICOM, the document points to an agenda that blends history with urgent twenty-first century priorities.
The draft outlines commitments to improve air and sea transport links, including the pursuit of a multilateral air services agreement to break down the barriers that still keep the Caribbean and Africa physically apart. It also calls for visa facilitation and simplified entry regimes, making it easier for citizens of both regions to travel, study, and work across the Atlantic.
Equally significant are pledges to advance double taxation treaties that could remove one of the most stubborn obstacles to investment.
With Afreximbank’s Caribbean headquarters already established in Barbados and the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF) gaining momentum, leaders now want to lock in the financial and legal frameworks that will drive new business.
Reparatory justice also featured prominently, with the draft communiqué sharpening a joint call for coordinated advocacy. CARICOM’s long-standing Reparations Commission is expected to work more closely with African institutions to demand global recognition and redress for the shared traumas of slavery and colonial exploitation.
CARICOM’s incoming chair, Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew of St. Kitts and Nevis, captured the spirit of the gathering when he urged that the Atlantic Slave Trade be reimagined as an “Atlantic Bridge — a bridge of hope, a bridge of advancement, a bridge that will ensure our people take their rightful place in this world.”
For Secretary-General Dr. Carla Barnett, the meeting was a “homecoming,” but also a reminder that concrete steps like the Health Development Partnership for Africa and the Caribbean (HeDPAC) and improved transportation links are needed to transform rhetoric into results.
For citizens back home, wrestling with inflation and economic uncertainty, the Addis outcomes — transport, visas, investment, health, and reparations — are precisely the kinds of measures that can validate leaders’ journeys and rekindle faith in South-South cooperation. What was once only rhetoric now hints at the beams of an Atlantic Bridge, connecting the Caribbean and Africa in ways that could finally turn history’s tragedy into tomorrow’s advantage.
