A supplementary budget of 117.9 million EC dollars was passed in Parliament last evening to assist the Government with its response to the immediate humanitarian needs and clean up efforts in the aftermath of the eruption of the La Soufriere volcano.
Minister of Finance Camillo Gonsalves who presented the motion for the supplementary estimates, said the support is the first phase which will be for the next three to 6 months and does not include reconstruction.
The Finance Minister noted that the 117.9 million EC dollar is not enough but will have to do in the interim, noting that most of the monies will come from the coffers of Central Government, which includes the contingency fund.
The Finance Minister said that they are working with preliminary assessment of damage which will see thousands of volcano affected persons mainly those from the red and orange zone communities benefitting from support from the Government,