The Guyana Civil Defence Commission (CDC) is working with its partners and national stakeholders to ensure all the administrative regions have an operational emergency plan by 2019, the Department of Public Information (DPI) has reported.
According to the CDC’s acting Director, Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig, “A number of years ago we have developed the system in seven regions and by the end of the year we should complete it in nine regions, and by next year all 10 regions.”
“The plan,” Craig says, “will provide a necessary guide with regard to the role of each individual and agency, when responding to a regional emergency.” That system outlines the roles and responsibilities of all the key players when the situation has reached a regional response level. he explained.
Further, Craig noted, despite the involvement of technical persons from outside the regions, in instances when epidemiological and other emergencies arise, the regional officials are critical to ensuring that the necessary resources are made available for a timely response, DPI reported.
He stated, “Despite the technical person coming from Georgetown, you are supposed to have the activation of the Regional Emergency Operating Centre. Despite having the command post, the regional authority is supposed to be here with the Chairman and the Regional Executive Officer (REO) and all of the senior representatives present at that Regional Emergency Operating Centre providing the resources. You cannot have an effective operation without resources and that is when the regional resources are supposed to be in play.”
According to DPI, Craig was at the time giving his assessment and identifying areas for improvement following the successful testing of the Emergency Response System to deal with an outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease held in Mabaruma, North West District, Region One, May 12.
