Dominica PM wants support civil servants to support CREAD

Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has appealed to public servants to support the Climate Resilience Execution Agency of Dominica (CREAD).

The body, formed after the passage of Hurricane Maria in September, is in place to coordinate all reconstruction work after the hurricane and to ensure all reconstruction activities are focused on Climate Resilient Recovery Plan developed by Dominica.

A number of senior civil servants have been seconded to the CREAD but the Prime Minister assured it will not replace the public service.

Speaking at a special strategic session of the Committee of Permanent Secretaries at the Office of Disaster Management, he said the support of civil servants is important.

“It is important to have the support from you because if we as a country fail on this attempt, we will not have another opportunity.”

He said in addition to CREAD, the government will be setting up a trust fund.

“And one donor in particular at the donor’s conference met me privately and said we to put in $5-million into the CREAD to advance it because as I said to you there is exceptional buy-in by the donor community,” he said.

PM has oversight

He noted that Dominica has become relevant because of its clearly articulated policy to become the first climate resilient country in the world.

“And it is about ensuring that if we are visited by another storm, another hurricane and the science is showing that these storms are becoming more ferocious and more frequent then we will be able to bounce back quicker…” Skerrit explained.

He explained that the new agency will be housed in the office of the prime minister.

“I will have portfolio oversight of the CREAD, and the CREAD will report to the prime minister and of course the cabinet.”