Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica

 

GOVERNMENT PRESS SECRETARY

OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER

 

Telegrams:  External, Dominica                                                                                       FINANCIAL BUILDING

Telex:       8613  EXT. DO                                                                                               KENNEDY AVE., ROSEAU

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PRESS RELEASE 311/2004

 

$90 MILLION IS THE COST TO THE DOMINICA ECONOMY AS A RESULT   OF DAMAGE CAUSED BY EARTHQUAKE AND ASSOCIATED EVENTS SAYS OECS SECRETARIAT

 

Roseau, Dominica – December 22nd 2004…...A visiting delegation from the  OECS Secretariat has put the cost to the Dominican economy as a result of the earthquake of November 21st 2004 and the landslides that preceded it,  at EC$90 million. That disclosure was made last Friday, December 17th 2004 when a team from the OECS Secretariat led by Director General, Dr. Len Ishmael presented their preliminary findings to the Roosevelt Skerrit Cabinet.

 

According to Dr. Ishmael the figure of $90 million or 12.5% of GDP represents the direct and indirect costs of the earthquake and landslides on the local economy.

 

The figure of $90 million represents the cost of repairs, reconstruction and disaster mitigation interventions such as seismic retrofitting and loss of agricultural output.

 

The OECS Secretariat also stated that because of the earthquake and associated events, economic growth forecast for 2004 had been cut from 2.6% to 2.4%. The slight reduction in the growth forecast is because the earthquake occurred late in the year after the economy had achieved significant growth in the first three quarters of 2004.

 

The Team revealed information on the impact of the earthquake and the landslides on the various sectors. Approximately 150 homes, mainly in the north were affected, with five having to be rebuilt. 500 students in seven primary schools have had their education disrupted as a result of damage to school buildings. A Pre-School in the northern village of Calibishie has been completely destroyed.

 

Roads and bridges have suffered damage and would require resources for repairs, reconstruction and protection.  The damage is estimated at 6.1% of GDP. Damage to health and social infrastructure has been estimated at 1.2%. According to the officials, agriculture has been hit hard with losses of 5.4% of GDP. Gross Domestic Product in current prices for 2003 was $580.18 million.

 

The Officials warned of the danger of this disaster adding to Dominica’s debt burden. Dominica has enjoyed much success in restructuring its debt and any borrowings, especially at commercial rates, could compromise growth prospects. The OECS further stated that Government should, as far as possible, secure grant financing for repairs, reconstruction and disaster mitigation interventions in order to avoid an economic slump.

 

Despite the cost of $90 million, the OECS Secretariat has revealed that the disaster presents Dominica with an opportunity to rebuild its infrastructure in a manner that reduces the country’s vulnerability and increases its resilience to similar events in the future. (Ends)