The Chamber of Commerce signed a Statement of Purpose this month, alongside Caribbean Central American Action (CCAA), Hazard Management Cayman Islands (HMCI) and Cayman Islands Tourism Association (CITA).

The Statement was signed at a Disaster Management workshop hosted by CCAA and the Chamber in June. The workshop focused on ‘Building Community Resiliency through Strategic Private Public Partnerships.’

With Cayman being located in the Western Caribbean, the Islands are in the path of tropical cyclones that develop in the Atlantic tropical basin. These cyclones can and have hit the Islands before, most infamously during Hurricane Ivan in 2004. The Statement of Purpose signed at the end of June saw an alliance of the four institutions in “Collaborating to Develop Disaster Recovery Solutions.”

“It is vital that we are prepared for any natural disaster,” said Chamber CEO, Wil Pineau. “We saw the damage that Hurricane Ivan caused and the tireless work needed in the aftermath, so by signing this agreement we hope that we can stay one-step ahead at all times to ensure our recovery efforts are immediate and that we can get communities and businesses back to their normal condition as swiftly as possible.”

The Chamber of Commerce committed itself to collaborating with HMCI to strengthen public and private sector cooperation in the Islands’ disaster management system, as well as encouraging private sector members to engage in contingency planning and business continuity planning practices. Both the Chamber and HMCI also committed to supporting territorial and regional efforts to ensure capacity building, business continuity, and recovery planning.

Wil Pineau signed the statement alongside Directors from CCAA, HMCI and CITA. Whilst the hope remains that no disaster will occur in the Cayman Islands during the hurricane season, the organisations are proud to collaborate with one another to provide disaster recovery solutions.

Mr. Pineau also serves as the Chair of the Economic Continuity Subcommittee of the Support Services Group for HMCI, and has held this role since HMCI’s inception.

HMCI was first established in January 2007 as the government agency responsible for coordination of all programs dealing with national disasters, whether natural or man-made and implementing the National Hurricane Plan. The National Hurricane Committee was transitioned to the National Hazard Management Council.