the delivery of aid by the army does not prevent the surge in prices in Maripasoula

“We are taking more than four tons of cargo to Maripasoula, the maximum capacity of the aircraft, explains Captain Etienne, from the Antilles-Guyana transport squadron. There are two pallets with essential food for the population.”

This Wednesday, November 13, the army CASA made a new round trip to Maripasoula from the Matoury air base. “We have been making approximately one flight per day to the prefecture since last Thursday,” specifies Captain Etienne, of the Antilles-Guyana transport squadron.

As part of the ORSEC plan launched by the prefecture of Guyana on October 29, the army is transporting water and foodstuffs to isolated communities in Guyana, in the grip of drought.

On the pallets this morning : bottles of water, food, but also food for animals.

On the other hand, according to our information, last Friday, the CASA was transporting goods of all kinds, but not essential foodstuffs. Did the help take a long time to get in place? ?

“With the resources requested by the prefect, we carry out with the Armed Forces of Guyana, at least one CASA rotation per day, or even two, explains Captain Mickaël of MASC, Crisis Support Mission. We can ship food and non-food cargo.”

Since last Friday, the Army CASA has completed a total of six rotations. Last week, the prefecture of Guyana announced that it would be able to carry out up to three per day with each of its three devices.

The CASAs serve the municipalities of Maripasoula, on the Maroni, and Camopi, on the Oyapock. The drought and the low level of the rivers no longer allow the transport of goods by canoes.

Despite the transport of cargo by the army, products are still difficult to find locally.

“We are in the process of organizing the transport of gas and fuel bottles by the end of the week, because these products are in short supply, explains Captain Mickaël of MASC, Crisis Support Mission. NWe have teams in Maripasoula, Papaïchton and Grand Santi. They raise needs, by obtaining information directly from merchants to also facilitate their orders.

In Papaïchton, two civil security agents arrived last Friday to identify the needs of the population. The goods must then be transported accordingly.

Despite everything, prices are still soaring there. Near the airfield, a restaurateur said this morning that he had paid 120 euros for a bottle of gas. The water pack was still priced at 18 euros a few days ago.

The company Guyane Fly is also participating in the supply effort, it has increased its freight capacity. The Territorial Community of Guyana is organizing itself so that the prices of air freight are equivalent to those of transport by canoe, or around 0.65 cents for a kilo of goods transported.