As the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season approaches which spans from June through November, Local government Commissioner, John Fontaine has said that a number of communities in Dominica are in a better state of readiness.
He made that statement while addressing the 4th Biennial Annual General Meeting of the Dominica Association of Local Community Authorities (DALCA) held at the Garraway Hotel on Friday.
The 2016 Atlantic hurricane season is expected to be the most active since 2012, according to a forecast released recently by The Weather Company, an IBM Business.
A total of 14 named storms, eight hurricanes and three major hurricanes are forecast during the coming season.
“It is clear that a number of communities are in a better state of readiness to prepare and respond to events associated with the Atlantic Hurricane season,” he said.
He encouraged the general public to hasten to complete preparations for the upcoming hurricane season and continue to work towards the eradication of the Aedes Eqgypti Mosquito.
He said in terms of the promotion of effective governance at the community level, DALCA continues to represent its constituents by initiating much needed capacity building sessions in collaboration with the department of local government.
“At this time, we can confirm that through the visionary intervention by DALCA, there is a generator in each of the seven local government districts, chain saws are available for deployment on a needs basis within communities and building capacity sessions at the local capacity level are ongoing,” Fontaine revealed.
According to him, in partnership with the Office of Disaster Management and the Department of Local Government, DALCA spent well over $300,000 in the later part of 2014 into 2015 in vulnerable communities, “implementing storm drains, retrofitting of an emergency centre, building of a retaining wall to protect property and providing training for over 50 community leaders strengthening their skills in risk reductions/disaster management.”
Fontaine added, “As we seek to localize the sustainable development goals agreed upon by the United Nations (UN) the role of local authorities become even more critical.”
As I have said before we have a lot of mentally challenged people in than out. These guys are either crazy or dunb.because the facts are right there in their face.we are not prepared for another Erika or worse .are you baffons waiting for another Erika to demolish our country and then come and report that we were not ready only after the fact. Keep saying we are ready and lying in the facce of God .and worby unto us if we are hit again. Lord have mercy on us citizens with these people in charge if our beautiful country.
Would Dominica be any worse off if we did not have mr. Fontaine in that position? At least we would safe some money!
Mr. doh watch news man!
https://dominicanewsonline.com/news/homepage/news/weather/breaking-news-flood-warning-issued-for-dominica/
https://dominicanewsonline.com/news/homepage/news/weather/met-office-warns-of-rising-waters-in-rivers/
This dude needs to earn his pay check, man! He has not said anything worth while in hi article. No medical kits, no water storage, no evacuation routes, no food supply, no meeting locations for families in the event they’re separated, no recovery plan. After all these decades of getting beat up by storms, these fellas are still in the stone age.
Here are some things that come in handy before, during and after a storm:
Flashlights & extra bulbs
Battery-operated radio
Battery-operated lanterns
Batteries (in different sizes!)
Matches
First aid kit
Duct tape
Rain gear
Plastic garbage bags
Fire extinguisher
Scissors
Can Opener
Clean clothes
Extra blankets
Heavy gloves
Sir Fontaine, with all due respect, Have you driven around Dominica. I would recommend you all stop all the talking and look at reality. That’s one of the dumbest thing I’ve heard in a long time. Please let us which communities that’s ready?….We have all day, all year to hear, so don’t rush take your time to think before you make another dumb statement.
Are you all serious? What training has been conducted and in which communities? Are the committees in place? What about Damage Assessment teams ? Have they been trained and on standby? What about O.D.M? Are the various teams in place and trained to man the E.O.C should an adverse event occur? Let us stop fooling people. Do the work that you are being paid to do and stop making inane statements . And when something occurs we are in trouble because we always thought we are prepared. Come on Fontaine you know better and you know well that what you are saying is NOT THE TRUTH.
I wonder what type of beers he drinks
LYING Beers!!! The alcohol content is very high!!Just look at his face again.HE BWILAY!!!
But how we reAdy there nub; the shelter list not out yet; people still in some shelters post Erika; before a little rain fall Grandbay bypass washing away Bath estate people ready to run.. People in the south east getting cut off from Rosalie and Laronde river; people on the west coast from Layou go back to Dublanc and to Possie afraid of being caught in the middle of no where. DOWASCO Taking water before you say rain. I mean if d man say people panicking more now I would agree. But to say they reAdy he must be mad.
Village and Urban Councils all over Dominica have been hijacked. Political influences has dealt an irreparable blow to our Councils.
The local Gov’t department is at the mercy of Skerritt and Fontaine knows that. Because Skeritt has access to the State’s finances, he finds himself at inaugurations of Village and Urban councils, or just visit at times suited to him, with a cheque in hand to deliver to those councils? Fontaine knows that is not the proper approach to community development.
Fontaine and DALCA knows that giving a Council a cheque of thousands of dollars just before a bye-election is nothing else but bribery and an attempt to influence the bye-election in DLP’s favour. What are the projects submitted? What are the costs? What mechanisms have been put in place for the effective monitoring and accountability of those huge sums?
Mr. Gregoire and other stalwarts who advocated for the autonomy of VC’s must be turning in their graves. Shame, shame,…
Thank you me. He was the biggest embarrassment and his Division. Could not give the list of commuttees which is a standard requiremebt if his Diviision. Thats why he has no hair on his head. Lues abd incomoetence. Stop the dam lies Jihn Fontaine.
State if readiness. No training for the community people. No prooer shelters. The communities are worse off than they were. Talj to people who do not know and stop lieing for a big man.
Ok, I guess we’ll find out soon enough. I personally have no faith at all in you lot.
aye aye aye …… them people there trying to brainwash some people or they think people reading the articles can’t use words or something.
Building drain, giving communities chain saw and building sessions does not make us prepared for storms!!!!!!!
Dominicans know you all’s worth! Damn it!
Hmmmmmm that’s all i’m saying
John stop talking rubbish and be real. Where is the state of readiness? You guys are just being a doormat to your master.
Please Please Please……John Fontaine is the lying syndrome attacking you too sir? Which of the communities presently in Dominica that are in a better or rather any state of readiness for anything other than poverty and hardship? Mr. Fontaine speak your own words and not other people’s directed speech.
But how they saying they prepare there na? Maybe they have more bailey bridges on standby waiting to install when the rest of the current ones go down?
Is this guy living in a dream? The truth is sir Dominica remains widely unprepared for any type of minimal emergency far less for a big one. The facts are in front of you but you all choose to ignore them. Evidence from around the island suggests that damages from Erika remains untouched leaving the island fragile and vulnerable to any type of heavy downpour from the heavens. Bear in mind that Erika was just a storm. Taking into consideration the damage it left behind and the 0% progress we’ve made after nine months, do you think we are truly prepared for a hurricane? We are prepared with unpreparedness
This must be a sick joke to start off the week. “Better state of readiness” compared to when or what? Most communities in DA are NOT READY for hurricane season – the country as a whole is totally unprepared for hurricane season. You just need to drive around the country to see that.
300,000 is not enough to make the communities ready. only an attempt to minimize damage in some. Yes some work has been done but either the people who write these articles need to choose their words better or the govt officials need to. stop fooling the people.
where they get those people nah. always giving some fake statements to the press…. better to stay silent and to open your mouth and make me laugh…
boss now where in dominica is prepared for anything with regards to disaster or emergencies………WE DOH READY YET
Communities are ready? Is this man sick? Has he been to Coulibistrie lately? Smh No boy. Them people there mad.
Boy big men can talk nonsense when they want eh. Was he drunk at the time of this speech? Mr. Fontaine which one of the communities thats in a better state of readiness to deal with any type of storm this hurricane season? Can u just please name one? Does chainsaw and generator make people more ready to save lives should something close to Erika occur? We’re rivers dredged? Were culverts cleared? Were retaining walls errected? Were health centers equipped? These are the sort of things that would make communities better prepared for the hurricane season
That is just talk cheap talk besides.
Stuppessssssss.Man if I was not living in Dominica, I would believe your balderdash,but I live on island,so I dismiss your piffle with disdain…,it’s false and misleading…. Erika exposed many,many communities,and since then ,no work has been done in many of these communities to mitigate the danger that could be caused by other storms.Roads,river dredging, drainage ,retaining walls,dangerous cliffs with huge hanging boulders,all are still largely undealt with. $300 000.00???? Not even $3000 000.00….I dismiss your harangue and foolish talk with scorn and contempt!!Dominica is more exposed now than it was during the pre Erika days!!!MANY COMMUNITIES ARE JUST NOT READY!!!!
Tell Roosevelt Skerrit to buy you a decent shirt….by the way, if you did not know it, Erica occurred after you spent your $300,000!! Wake up.