‘Govern at speed of risk’ – PM tells regional partners at Disaster Management Conference

Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips on Tuesday called on Caribbean governments to move beyond reactive disaster response, in anticipation of threats before they strike.

This is the course taken by Guyana as the country’s trajectory towards development continues and according to the Prime Minister, cross-border alliance must entail this sort of thinking. 

“To govern well in this environment is to govern at the speed of risk anticipating threats before they mature, investing ahead of need and coordinating across borders and acting with resolve when the movement demands it,” the Prime Minister said.

Guyana co-hosted the launch of the 14th Caribbean Conference on Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM 14), with the launch and unveiling of a monument at the Pegasus Corporate Suite. Stakeholders from the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and Guyana’s Civil Defence Commission (CDC), Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, ExxonMobil Guyana President Alistair Routledge, and other stakeholders were in attendance.

Phillips warned that the cost of acting late rises with every season and at the culmination of the events in December, it is his hope that nations will build stronger disaster resilience plans. Guyana will host the event from December 7-12, when nations will meet in Guyana and conduct much-needed discussions on disasters the region faces.

As the region faces climate change issues and continues to fight against these growing challenges, Phillips urged nations to invest in resilience infrastructure, early warning systems and cross-border coordination ahead of disasters.

The Prime Minister pointed to several recent milestones in Guyana’s disaster preparedness efforts, including the passage of the Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Responsibility Act, a legislation he said gives Guyana a framework suited to its growing role as an energy-producing economy. Civil Defense Commission (CDC) officers have also undergone multi-sectoral training in disaster risk management, and the commission has developed an early warning implementation plan aimed at ensuring every person receives a timely alert ahead of a disaster event.

CDEMA Executive Director Elizabeth Riley stressed that resilience must now be understood as a matter of strategic governance, development and technology not simply emergency response.

“Climate related hazards are becoming more frequent and more intense and as climate impacts increase, so too do the cost,” Riley said.

She said that the region faces an increasingly complex web of challenges, from intensifying climate hazards to shrinking development financing, making regional cooperation more critical than ever.

Riley outlined CDEMA’s strategic vision through 2030, which expands its sectoral focus to include agriculture, water, finance and the private sector, while also exploring the role of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence in disaster risk management.

CDEMA 14 brings together governments, civil society, regional institutions and development partners from across the Caribbean to chart the next phase of the region’s comprehensive disaster management strategy.