President Danny Faure chaired a meeting with key public bodies involved with disaster management at State House this morning. The meeting was focused on reviewing existing structures in place, assessing their effectiveness, auditing current disaster cases, and establish a clear way forward.

A national steering committee together with three technical committees will oversee and spearhead the implementation and follow-up of existing and future disaster management cases. The committee will also be responsible for reviewing and making necessary recommendations to the Cabinet of Ministers on any policies or frameworks required to better manage risks and disasters.

During discussions, the President affirmed that there is a need for a more coordinated work approach at all levels, between the government and all relevant authorities. He urged the representatives present to establish clear reporting structures and funding mechanisms that will ensure actions are taken within an acceptable timeframe and that the needs of citizens are placed at the forefront of all decisions.

Other areas discussed included the need for budget allocation, public prevention and outreach programmes on disaster management, as well as the implementation of a communications mechanism to ensure all stakeholders are informed and updated on the progress with various cases and projects.

Present  for the meeting this morning was the Minister of Environment, Energy and Climate Change, Mr Wallace Cosgrow, the Minister for Housing, Infrastructure, Land and Transport, Mrs Pamela Charlette, the Principal Secretary for Infrastructure, Mr Yves Choppy, the Principal Secretary for Energy and Climate Change, Mr Wills Agricole, the Principal Secretary for Local Government, Mrs Marie-Céline Vidot, the Principal Secretary for Risk and Disaster Management, Mr Paul Labaleine, the Chief Executive Officer of SLTA, Mr Parinda Herath, and officials from the Ministry of Finance, Ms Irene Croisée and Mr Jude Commettant.

The Terms of Reference for the new high-level national steering committee is expected to be presented at the next meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on 7 August 2019, following which actions for implementation will be finalised.