The Belize government says it will need at least US$20 million to assist with the rebuilding of storm-ravaged communities in the Belize District following the passage of Hurricane Lisa last week.
Prime Minister John Briceño, accompanied by Foreign Minister Eamon Courtenay and the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) coordinator, Shelton DeFour, flew over the areas devastated by the hurricane
“Minister Courtenay was with me on the flyover because Foreign Affairs is in charge of cooperation within the government,” Briceño said, noting that Courtenay and DeFour have since prepared a short document on the matter.
“We used that and we took a guess estimate. I think it was ten million US dollars. But we have the Ministry of Housing that is going house to house, constituency to constituency trying to look at what, trying to look at the number that we need to come up.”
He said the initial numbers that the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Housing has come up with is approximately US$20 million which would include almost literally the rebuilding of the highway, the Philip Goldson Highway from the city up to the Haulover Bridge.
Briceño said a majority of the structures damaged during the passage of Hurricane Lisa were homes that were constructed with plywood.
He said the plan going forward is to rebuild using concrete and other materials that can withstand the stresses of gale-force winds.
“Most of the houses that were destroyed are these plywood houses or houses that were just quickly put together. A board house, if it was properly built, can withstand the hurricane,” he said, adding “if you look at the low-cost housing that the Ministry of Housing has been doing in the city, all of them, no damage to the buildings.
He said the authorities are busy, working closely with government agencies to restore a sense of normalcy in Belize City. Funds have been made available through the Constituency Development Fund for area representatives to assist their constituents who have suffered losses as a result of the hurricane.
Briceño said the utilities have, for the most part, been brought back online.
CMC/
