RSS PRAISED

THE SERVICE and teamwork of the Regional Security System (RSS) was never more evident than the recent response to the Government and people of Dominica in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria that devastated that country.

This was word of the Chairman of the Security System’s Council of Ministers, Senator Hermangild Francis, Minister of Home Affairs, Legal Affairs and National Security in St. Lucia, as he delivered remarks during a service at the Bethel Methodist Church, Bay Street, St. Michael, to mark the RSS 35th anniversary.

He revealed that to date, the RSS has deployed over 300 police, military and fire service personnel to assist the Government of Dominica.

Francis commended the unstinting support of the men and women of the RSS Forces who have come together unhesitatingly over the years to respond to every situation where they were required to assist Member States.

“I ask that you keep the people of Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda in your prayers, as those two countries continue with the rehabilitation phase,” he said.

Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite, Chief Justice Sir Marston Gibson, the RSS Executive Director Captain (N) Errington Shurland, and former co-ordinators Brigadier Rudyard Lewis [first co-ordinator] and Grantley Watson, were among the officials that attended the service.

Noting the economic challenges in the region, Minister Francis said as the RSS moves to strengthen the regional response co-ordination architecture, it recognises that unfunded mandates will be a key challenge.

He explained that whilst the RSS has a well laid-out response structure, inadequacy and unpredictability of available assets is a significant challenge.
The training and practising of response actions is also subject to uncertainty due to persistent resource uncertainty.

However, the Chairman of the Security System’s Council of Ministers thanked the governments of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Holland, and France, as well as International Development Partners such as the European Union, United Nations agencies, and the Caribbean Development Bank, for their continued assistance to the RSS.
“Foremost, among regional crime and security issues is the location of the Caribbean on routes for the illicit movement of and the region’s vulnerability to transnational organised crime.

“To assist in this fight, the RSS Air Wing has been unswerving in its commitment to assist the Member States in the fight against the trafficking of illegal drugs, and to brave sometimes unfavourable conditions to conduct post disaster and search rescue missions,” Minister Francis said. (AH)