Work has begun on 571 homes damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Beryl, the category 4 cyclone that impacted mainly the Southern Grenadines on July 1.
Minister of Housing Orando Brewster told Parliament that as of Aug. 20, repairs had been completed on 171 homes which had suffered level 1 or 2 or minor damage.
Work was ongoing on 185 homes and 80 people were assisting themselves the minister said, adding that this gives a total of 571 people who have either completed work or the government has helped with material assistance.
Brewster gave the update as he responded to a question from Southern Grenadines MP, Terrance Ollivierre, which was read on his behalf by West Kingstown MP, Daniel Cummings as Ollivierre was absent from Thursday’s meeting of the national assembly.
The minister said the work that is carried out through the Ministry of Housing is separated into levels 1-4 with 3 and 4 representing homes that were severely damaged and those requiring reconstruction.
“And this will be carried out by the Housing and Land Development Corporation (HLDC),” he said, referring to the state-owned company.
He said that as of Aug. 21, HLDC had received its contract for 67 homes with level 3 and 4 damage.
“And work is expected to start immediately this upcoming week,” the minister said, adding, “This task is not one that requires a quick fix.”
Brewster said that the Ministry of Housing has realised that while many homes might seem to need a few sheets of galvanise, closer assessments have shown that they were built without the proper ring beams.
“And, therefore, sometimes, the scope of work is broadened,” Brewster said.
“So even though persons are expecting that some of these things should be done in a rapid manner, and we are doing our very best to try to see how quickly we can get many of these level 1 and 2’s and the 3 and 4’s as well sorted.”
In his question, Ollivierre noted that EC$12,500,000 of the EC$136 million hurricane relief budget approved on July 19 was allocated to buying building materials to repair homes affected by Hurricane Beryl.
He asked the minister to state the estimated commencement date of the rebuilding phase of these homes, the procedure involved in successfully accessing aid for the rebuilding phase, and if the government was conducting assessments of homes to allocate materials to people who are willing to rebuild their homes quickly and if so when would this begin.
Brewster said he travelled to the Southern Grenadines on July 8 to get an overview of the situation there as it was the area of the country hardest hit by the hurricane.
He said the actual rebuilding commenced within two weeks after the passage of Hurricane Beryl.
“The ministry began work on minor repairs with material that was in stock … and with the aid of EC$6 million special warrant, which we had to draw from immediately before we had the supplementary,” Brewster said.
“Work was done based on assessments carried out by our various assessors,” he said, adding that the team of assessors was enlarged and strengthened to handle the magnitude of the task.
Brewster said that the government put out a call for contractors and skilled men and 24 responded in the first instance.
“… the second instance, we got about another 35,” Brewster said, adding that his ministry decided to award multiple contracts to contractors.
He said that in cases where the government is providing assistance to homeowners directly, the homeowner signs an agreement stating the purpose for which the materials are provided.
The government would then monitor the progress of the work on the homes.
He said the government has also partnered with the Adventist Development and Relief Agency.
“They’re doing homes also in the Southern Grenadines. They have about 15 homes that they’re helping with the roofs,” Brewster said.
He said that in Mayreau, the ministry is collaborating with YWAM and Eden Rest and formed a local committee there that is helping to prioritise homes that require immediate repair.
He said that in Mayreau, repairs have been done on the health centre, the police base, and the basketball court, which is being used as a shelter.
Brewster said 67 homes had been identified, and six of the individual homes were being repaired.
“In both instances, the organisations will provide some of the labour. … We will supplement where there is a need for a contractor to be paid. We will supplement the labour as well. We will pay for those and we also provide the materials to these organisations.”
EC$1.7 million in building materials sent to Grenadines
Brewster said EC$1.7 million worth of building material had been sent to the Grenadines, adding that materials were being unloaded in Union Island as he spoke.
“It’s the third shipment going down to Union Island. We have sent already approximately two shipments to Mayreau …, apart from Eden Rest and WYWAM…”
The minister noted that while the Southern Grenadines was badly affected by the hurricane, it also damaged a lot of homes in St. Vincent.
He said that Coreas building supplies had provided $250,000 in material support to the southern Grenadines.
The ministry had identified 21 recipients in batch one and had given out materials assistance in partnership with Coreas in allocations of EC$10,000 or EC$5,000.
“So far in Union Island, 21 persons will be receiving that voucher from Coreas with six persons receiving $10,000 voucher, and 15 persons receiving the $5,000 voucher. And so far from that 250,000, … we have used up, basically through the voucher system, $140,000 worth of materials.”
Brewster said that the government was selecting people from Mayreau and more people from Union Island for assistance under the voucher system.
He said contracts were awarded for the first level 1 and 2 homes in Union Island.
“So, we are expecting to see some galvanise going back on the roofs in Union Island, starting from tomorrow,” Brewster said, referring to last Friday, Aug. 23.
“You have already been assigned these homes, so by tomorrow, we should see some action happening in Union Island.”
He noted that the government has also partnered with CK Greaves, which donated EC$500,000 primarily to buy galvanise sheets.
“This was done through the Eastern Caribbean Metals Industry Ltd. So, basically, this support will be provided ro those persons they have selected because they went in and they have some of their persons that they have identified, and we are making sure that we are not duplicating the efforts and we will provide from the government level, the transportation of these materials going down into the Southern Grenadines.”
The minister, however, noted that one cannot just put galvanise sheets on a house and call it a roof.
“There is need for lumber and in some cases, cement work. So, the government and the Ministry of Housing, we still have to supplement, even though we’re getting this donation from CK Greaves for some of the homeowners, we still have to supplement with lumber and the other needed materials. And also in some cases, we may have to pay the labour cost,” Brewster said.