In light of the significant impact of COVID-19 on our businesses, human resource and economy, coupled with the potential impact of the 2020 Hurricane Season, the Dominica Association of Industry and Commerce (DAIC) strongly urges the Private Sector and the Public Sector to take proactive measures in safeguarding all human resource, other resources and operations due to threat of the 2020 Hurricane Season.
DAIC further notes and emphasizes that hurricanes are not the only risks that we are faced with and as such urges all to review and update all business continuity and crisis management plans. Adequate preparation ensures that both our Private and Public Sectors can return to normal operations within a quicker timeframe.
Executive Director of DAIC and Chairperson of CARICHAM, Lizra Fabien indicated that DAIC has collaborated with CARICHAM on a 2020 Hurricane Preparedness Campaign to support the businesses within the region in strengthening our preparedness in taking proactive measures to reduce the potential risk on all businesses. Fabien further notes that these actions are not only necessary for this hurricane season but necessary in increasing operational resilience.
This Campaign advises to implement a number of measures to protect people, relationships, operations, buildings, equipment, data, the business brand, among others. A few highlights of these measures which can be accessed from week one of the campaign indicates the importance of: maintaining emergency contact information for employees, vendors, suppliers, customers and other key contacts; assembling a team, and identified a team leader who will be responsible for managing key operations and can provide important perspectives when planning for and responding to a disaster; organizing all critical documents and information so they are easily accessible when needed most; identifying and prioritizing which business operations are critical in order to identify an order of recovery; and identifying the hazards (natural and man-made) that pose a direct threat to one’s business.
DAIC encourages all to be mindful of private property (businesses and personal) in times of disaster and respect the guiding laws and principles advised and enforced by our regulatory authorities, including the Dominica Police Force, Office of Disaster Management, the Meteorology Office, and other related advisory bodies.
This article is copyright © 2020 DOM767
