ST GEORGE'S, Grenada: USAID Mission Director Karen Turner says it is critically important to have an entity responsible for coordination following a natural disaster, and the Agency for Reconstruction and Development Inc. (ARD) is providing that function for the donor community. “Without the ARD to interface with the Government of Grenada and coordinate the reconstruction process, we would not be able to respond as quickly and efficiently,” Ms. Turner said. On Wednesday Ms. Turner presented ARD Chief Executive Officer Mr. Richardson Andrews with a symbolic cheque for $730,000 (US), representing the amount of funds provided directly the ARD for office support costs. Expatriate technical advisory services were additional to this amount. Ms. Turner said the ARD in Grenada has demonstrated the need for a counterpart authority mandated to coordinate; noting that this function is different from that of emergency relief and recovery. She said USAID has had a similar experience working with the Office of National Reconstruction in Jamaica. Mr. Andrews, in expressing appreciation to USAID for financial and technical support, said that in every area of reconstruction there is an element of development. He referred to the challenges of building houses while, at the same time, dealing with land tenure issues that have been an impediment to the reconstruction process and the high social costs associated with unplanned settlements. In recognition of the importance of ARD’s coordination role following the destruction caused by Hurricane Ivan, USAID allocated $1 million (US) for the ARD, which is part of the $8 million (US) in direct support to the Government of Grenada. USAID funding to the ARD provided technical expertise and operational costs, including consultancy costs, office space, computer equipment and related costs. These funds are part of the US Government’s Phase II Hurricane Rehabilitation Programme in Grenada, for which total funding is $40.3 million (US). Reprinted from Caribbean Net News caribbeannetnews.com