Government urgently needs rooms to relocate displaced hurricane victims

Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves is appealing to Vincentians with guest houses, apartments and rooms to rent, to register with the Ministry of Tourism, as the government seeks accommodation for persons from the Southern Grenadines displaced by Hurricane Beryl.

Speaking on radio on Sunday, August 11, 2024, Gonsalves said the government is seeking to relocate persons from emergency shelters to guest houses and private homes but the number of rooms they have currently is not enough.

He said the government will cover the cost of the accommodation for displaced persons for as long as it is necessary.

“I am appealing to persons with guest houses and apartments to contact the Ministry of Tourism and register, say what you have…I’m asking you to show some solidarity…any repairs, any damage done to your property, the government will fix…I am relying on the people who going inside there not to mash up the place,” the prime minister said.

Most of the emergency shelters which currently house displaced persons from the Southern Grenadines are schools, and the Ministry of Education needs to do repairs on these facilities in time for the new school term which begins on September 2, 2024.(API).