Community Pulse

Community Meeting Held in Soufriere to Discuss Resettlement Action Plan and Grievance Redress Mechanism

On Wednesday September 17, 2025, the Department of Infrastructure, Ports and Transport (DIPT) hosted a meeting to present key details of the RAP and outline procedures for submitting and resolving concerns through the Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) with the 17 primary project affected persons (PPAPs) of the three drilling communities of Fond St. Jacques, Belle-Plaine and Saltibus.

PPAPs received detailed explanations on how the project will affect their assets, and their entitlements and compensation rates. They were asked to verify that their losses, captured during an asset inventory a few months earlier, were accurately reflected in the RAP. The compensation amounts due to them were thereafter discussed.

The GRM was also fully explained to participants, collectively and individually, as a mechanism for reporting grievances with the above discussed matters and general concerns and complaints about the project. Emphasis was placed on identifying all of the uptake channels and each PPAPs taught how to confidently report a grievance through the mechanism.

Dominic Alexander, the project’s Social Development Specialist, reporting on the outcome of the meeting stated that, “this meeting is a critical step in ensuring that every affected individual remains informed. The RAP, which was recently approved by the World Bank, ensures that the primary project affected persons (PPAPs) receive fair compensation for land, shelter, crops and income loss. While, the GRM is designed to provide a fair, accessible and transparent mechanism for addressing grievances as the project moves forward.” He added, “the meeting went well, and the PPAPs were quite impressed with the level of engagement.”