Kamla calls for urgent response and leadership from the Govt in the aftermath of Bret
Leader of the Opposition of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago & Political Leader of the United National Congress Kamla Persad-Bissessar is calling on the Government to move urgently to mobilise national human and technical resources to expeditiously deal with the effects of Tropical Storm Bret.
Such resources must be assigned to assist homeowners with lost roofs, to alleviate floods, clear drains and other water courses, remove fallen trees and other debris and, in other ways, respond to the widespread damage caused by the extensive rainfall and strong winds.
In addition, an emergency fund should be established to aid relevant State agencies to finance such vital and pressing operations.
Persad-Bissessar, the Member of Parliament for Siparia, has been in her constituency since early this morning surveying the damage done by Tropical Storm Bret.
She has also visited and other areas in South Trinidad that have been hard-hit by this storm.
Most of south Trinidad remains covered with water; houses are flooded out; crops and livestock have been lost and the fear now is that the rising waters will continue to reap havoc of the citizens of these areas.
Last evening, Persad Bissessar activated the Party’s disaster management systems and all UNC MPs, Councillors and Aldermen have been out in their various constituencies surveying the aftermath of Tropical Storm Bret.
The former Prime Minister said she was struck by both the extensive damage and by the resilience and the commitment of families to improve their condition.
Persad-Bissessar also was very critical of the stark absence of leadership from Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley and his Cabinet. “Through this national crisis” she maintains, “the Government have remained distant and aloof of an emergency that is seriously impacting hundreds of thousands of people.”
Trinidad and Tobago requires hands-on and decisive leadership through the allocation of relevant resources in order to ease the pain and hardship caused by Tropical Storm Bret and assurance that the relevant agencies will stay involved until circumstances are normalized.