Lime gives $11,685 to NEMO

Telecommunications provider LIME has made a timely donation towards the Government’s relief effort in the aftermath of Hurricane Tomas.{{more}}

On Friday, January 21, LIME’s senior staff handed over a cheque valued at $11,685 to Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves, who accepted the funds on behalf of the National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO).

The presentation was done at Cabinet Room and was witnessed by Acting General Manager of LIME Sandra Matthews; Marketing and Cooperate manager Fitz Huggins; Anthony Balcombe, Technical manager and other members of LIME.

On October 30, 2010, Tomas struck this country, causing extensive damage to the North Windward and North Leeward areas.

Matthews said LIME saw it fit to run a Christmas relief promotion with the help of their customers to assist in the relief efforts.

The promotion, which ran from November 15, 2010 to January 1, 2011, involved a texting segment where customers texted the word “TOMAS” to the number 4345, at 50 cents per text.

LIME contributed 50 cents from each top up, where Customers topped up $20 or more to their mobile phones.

Before the official handover of the cheque, Gonsalves said although it is not a large sum, it will go a long way to assist in helping those still suffering from the effects of Tomas.

Gonsalves thanked LIME for their contribution and noted that significant resources have been set aside in the national budget for Tomas relief. He said there is $3 million for support to banana farmers and $6 million to address post-Tomas housing.

“Tomas has been a very expensive venture, where we have spent enormous monies on housing… Although the final figure has not been tallied, I know that it would be in excess of $10 million, with work still to do,” Gonsalves revealed.

Stating that the coastal erosion on the eastern and western sides were the two most expensive areas to rehabilitate from Tomas’ destruction, the finance minister said if the problem is not arrested now, it will persist for the next 20 to 30 years. “We are going to have a serious problem 20 to 30 years from now and tourists are going to make a comparison between what facilities we have here to what is elsewhere,” Gonsalves said.

Despite the unavailability of a resident expert in St. Vincent and the Grenadines to conduct a proper assessment of the coastline, Gonsalves told reporters that discussions have already been held with the World Bank, and its representatives have agreed to provide assistance with the technical experts.

Acting Director of NEMO Michelle Forbes also thanked LIME for the donation and stated that the money will go a long way in assisting them in small areas.