The CARICOM Private Sector Organization (CPSO) held its first Coordination Meeting today, July 1st, 2024, for the mobilizing of the regional private resources to provide assistance to Member States, which may be impacted by the passage of Hurricane Beryl, currently affecting the Windward Islands.

The CPSO Coordination Meeting was held within the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) framework in which the organization participates on behalf of the regional private sector. The meeting, chaired by CPSO Executive Committee Member, Dr Thackwray Driver, and supported by Chief Executive Officer and Technical Director, Dr Patrick Antoine, sought to ensure coordination and alignment of the private sector response and that participating entities were on standby and in a state of readiness to provide the required aid. This first Meeting, convened against the backdrop of Hurricane Beryl’s destructive path through Grenada, Carriacou, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, was attended by private sector firms, and Business Support Organizations from Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, Suriname and Guyana, and CARICHAM.

“Ultimately, the assistance and support that we aim at providing must be informed by a Needs List,” Dr Driver stated. “Sometimes, unfortunately, well-meaning private sector and other persons may wish to share a variety of items, but we want to ensure that the support we extend matches the needs of the persons and private sectors in the affected countries as much as possible.”

Thus far, pledges have been confirmed from regional bottled water manufacturers to ensure that an emergency supply is ready and on hand, if required. Additionally, several manufacturers and conglomerates have been approached for the provision of required relief items. Warehouse space has been identified for the staging of relief items, regional marine vessel providers are being engaged to provide the required marine, and outreach is being made for ground transport services.

“To ensure that the support we provide matches the needs of the affected countries, we are in contact with CDEMA, and the disaster coordinating agencies in the respective countries, coordinating with regional private sector associations through CARICHAM, and are awaiting information from them,” Dr Antoine said. “At this point, we are pooling all of the resources at our disposal and confirming the logistics so that we will be ready to mobilize, move ahead and lend the required support at short notice.”

Hurricane Beryl, which intensified to a Category 4 hurricane on Monday, is moving through St. Vincent and the Grenadine Islands, Grenada, and Carriacou. The CPSO joins with the Community in demonstrating our support for the Member States and CARICOM people who are being so badly affected by the wrath of Hurricane Beryl at this time. We will continue to work assiduously in contributing to the critical needs of those affected and to support the rapid recovery of the private sector and the Communities in affected Member States.

Private Sector actors interested in assisting can contact the CPSO (kbaltimore@thecpso.org; 868-387-2233 ) to make their contributions consistent with the needs of affected States. Further updates will be provided as information becomes available.…[+]