
Grants to assist with rebuilding, flood relief and replacement of roofs, school supplies, uniforms and appliances are available for members of the public who successfully apply for this, says Government Senate leader Franklin Khan
Khan detailed the relief measures in the Senate yesterday in reply to Opposition questions on what was available for the public who needed help following the passage of tropical storm Bret on Monday night into yesterday.
Khan complimented all agencies on management of the storm issues, which he said had shown a “level of preparedness by Government.”
“Government has taken an ‘all-of-Government’ approach on the handling of the storm; thankfully to the Lord, T&T was spared its full wrath,” he said.
Khan’s colleague, Works Minister Rohan Sinanan, told the media prior to Senate that Government had been better prepared for the storm.
“This was a serious storm and everything was in place; also people were very patriotic and came out to work (in Works),” he said.
Khan said no lives had been lost to Bret, to his knowledge. He had no estimates of how many people had been affected yet.
He said under the Disaster Management Plan, regional corporations, as first responders who collate the data, are assessing damage and “hopefully within the next 48 hours, will be in a better positions to indicate (how many are affected).”
The plan, Khan said, involved the Office of Disaster Preparedness, Works Ministry at infrastructural level clearing water courses, roads and other areas and Local Government corporations as first responders.
For those affected by the storm, he added: “There are a lot of social services, including grants, for building from the Housing Ministry to a maximum of $15,000 for those who qualify.”
He noted there were also a series of social development grants in various sums.
Grants up to $20,000 are available for minor house repairs such as roofs which have been blown off or homes which have been flooded out. Grants up to $7,000 are available for household appliances.
Similar grants were available to replace lost schoolbooks or uniforms once applicants qualify, he added.
Replying to Opposition queries on the level of preparedness by regional corporations for rainy season flooding, Khan thanked both PNM and UNC-controlled corporations for their work in Government’s clean-up campaign. He detailed work which was done.
Khan said a more co-ordinated approach was needed on drainage and acknowledged issues with unplanned development contributing to flooding. He noted such development, especially in the Northern reaches of the East-West corridor, were challenging.