SVG Appeals to Contractors as Reconstruction Work Continues Following Hurricane Beryl

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent – Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, saying that he has over 4,000 houses to repair or build,  is pleading with contractors to apply for work with the government to repair buildings across St. Vincent and the Grenadines damaged by Hurricane Beryl in July.

A house in Mayreau damaged by the passage of Hurricane Beryl on July 1, 2024, (CMC Photo)Speaking on the state-owned NBC Radio, where he read a report from the Housing Minister Orando Brewster, about the recovery effort, Gonsalves said the challenge is that the ministry is still looking for contractors.

“After putting out the call for two weeks, we received only 24 new contractors,” Gonsalves said, citing the report, adding “contractors, you’re out there, skilled workers, unskilled workers involved in construction, please contact the Ministry of Housing if you want to get involved in the housing programme.

“Please, contact BRAGSA if you want to get involved in the building programme in relation to government buildings, schools and the like and further, clean up and everything. Please,” he said, adding “there is no contractor in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, building contractor, who should be out of work today.

“There is no skilled worker, no unskilled worker who is involved in construction, nobody should be out of work today in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, we have work for you to do. Please come forth. I can’t make it any clearer than that.”

He said Brewster had reported that there were 135 contractors in all the constituencies registered with the Ministry of Housing.

“We need more,” Gonsalves said, adding that some people might say that 135 contractors is a lot.

“But I have over 4, 5,000 houses which I have to repair and build. I don’t have all the money in hand yet, but day by day, sweet Jesus, we will get to it. But the money which I have, I want to spend it. I don’t want to keep it.

“And in big block letters, Brewster writes here, ‘we need more contractors, builders and skilled tradesmen and women, urgently. Come to the Ministry of Housing to register. Please bring with you a valid ID, NIS number and banking information.’

“Because we want to make sure you get your NIS (National Insurance Service), and we want to make sure that we could pay the money straight into the bank, rather than you have to come and line up for your money.”

The authorities said that people whose homes were damaged but were yet to see an assessor from the Ministry of Housing, should go to the ministry and register, taking a valid identification document with them.

They said full-scale repairs and reconstruction of homes were to begin on Union Island at the end of last week, into this week.

Gonsalves said that building materials had been taken to the southern Grenadine island but the bulk of it was to be delivered on Thursday or Friday, depending on when the vessel was available to facilitate the shipment.

Another shipment is  scheduled for this week.

The assessment team was slated to be on Union Island last Friday to identify and assess more homes for repairs and/or reconstruction and to track the progress of the reconstruction efforts.

“They’re going to work with Ian Wace and his organisation. In Mayreau, work is moving apace with Mr. Bruce Wagner and his team,” Gonsalves said, adding that material was sent to address roofing of the essential services buildings on Mayreau.

The Ministry of Housing was preparing a second shipment of building materials to start addressing individual roofing and housing needs, the prime minister quoted the report as saying.

Those materials were to be sent to Mayreau today (Sunday), with an assessment team arriving on Monday to do further assessment.

The reconstruction efforts In Canouan were way ahead of all the other Grenadine islands, the prime minister said.

Hurricane Beryl caused widesread damage on Union Island as well as Mayreau and Gonsalves had said earlier the government would need millions of dollars (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) to help with the reconstruction efforts.