The federal government's delegation, led by minister Dilma Roussef, from the Civil House, arrived this morning at Salgado Filho International Airport in Porto Alegre, to announce the approval of R$ 162 million aimed at rebuilding the State of Rio Grande do Sul, devastated by the sequence of storms that began on November 19th. So far the storms caused the death of eight people and R$ 1 billion economic losses in the State. Moreover, 81 municipalities have declared state of emergency, 15,410 people have had to leave their homes temporarily and 4,914 became homeless.
Speaking on behalf of president Lula, Dilma Roussef, next to State Governor Yeda Crusius and ministers Márcio Fortes, from the Ministry of the Cities, Guilherme Cassel, from the Ministry of Agricultural Development, Geddel Vieira Lima, from the Ministry of National Integration, and Fernando Haddad, from the Ministry of Education, communicated the provision of 2,000 kits of staple foods, 2,000 sleeping kits and 30 loads of basic medication, which will last approximately 90 days and will meet the needs of 15,000 people.
After a meeting that lasted almost two hours with authorities, Dilma Roussef announced that there is no way to find out about the total losses caused by the bad weather as several cities are still under water. “We need to wait until the water level goes down so that we can fully know what happened to all bridges, schools and other spaces and buildings that have been impacted by the bad weather. However, there won't be a resource shortage,' she assured.
After a debate among authorities and a press conference, Dilma Roussef and the other members of the delegation flew over some of the areas that have been damaged by the storms. The inspection activity was almost cancelled due to the beginning of yet another storm in Porto Alegre in the morning.
The minister assured that the resources shall be approved and released in a timely manner, but stressed that city halls and state governments will play a key role by quickly submitting projects to rebuild the spaces that have been destroyed. “We are going to release R$ 100 million immediately, without the need of a provisional measure,' she assured. Besides this amount, the federal government has announced that the area of health will receive R$ 50 million and education will be provided with R$ 12 million.
The overall amount will be used to recover infrastructure issues and to renew any damaged hospitals, public health clinics and schools. Losses in agriculture also led to an announcement of aid. The federal government shall forgive any debts owed by farmers through the Family Agricultural Strengthening National Program (PRONAF). The 2009/2010 crop corresponded to 31,375 contracts in Rio Grande do Sul, accounting for R$ 175 million. Out of this sum, R$ 150 million shall be forgiven, while the borrowers will be left with R$ 25 million to be paid in a long-term basis.
Diário da Manhã