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Fellow Grenadians, Sisters and Brothers
all, I greet you warmly as we welcome the New Year.
On behalf of the Government and people of Grenada, and on behalf of my
family, and myself, I am honoured to extend New Year’s wishes to all
citizens, at home and abroad.
Sisters and Brothers, we can look back at 2007
with some degree of pride and sense of achievement for we reached
important milestones. But we also faced daunting challenges.
In this New Year, we intend to continue
along that successful path. With God’s help and direction we can work
together as one people to create a future of peace, stability, hope,
opportunity, kindness and compassion for every Grenadian. Indeed, 2008
promises to be a challenging and rewarding year.
The true character of the Grenadian people
was clearly shown in the years following hurricanes Ivan and Emily when
the entire country was put to a severe test. We passed it with flying
colours much to the amazement of millions of people around the world.
Hurricanes Ivan and Emily proved how
resilient and determined Grenadians can be. Those are qualities we
inherited from our foreparents. They laid the foundations for our
successes today by overcoming enormous challenges in their time and
passing their own very difficult tests.
Let us not forget how we succeeded after
Ivan and Emily.We as a government and people put our country and
children first. We joined hands together. And with God’s guidance, we
worked with determination and a common purpose to build a kinder and
better Grenada.
Brothers and Sisters, we must understand
that the recipe for Grenada’s success today was written over many
previous generations by people who made tremendous sacrifice for their
children and country. Some of those Grenadians had outstanding success
and made significant contributions to the development of their country.
Government believes that it is now time to recognise and celebrate the
achievements of Grenadians.
In this regard, the Government of Grenada
will implement the National Honours Act this year. A multi-party
committee will work together to identify and reward outstanding
Grenadians with national honours in many different categories.
These Awards will be presented at the
National Independence Celebrations as a special part of the Ceremony.
Last year, a young man stunned the sporting
world and turned the Formula One motor racing world on its head with
some outstanding performances. Lewis Hamilton just missed out on
becoming the first person to win the World Championship in the first
year of competition.
Not only did this young man make his family
in St.John’s beam with pride and give great joy to the people of Grenada
but he also captured the hearts and minds of hundreds of millions of
people around the world.
Lewis Hamilton’s success in one of the
world’s most watched sports has focused international attention on
Grenada as never before. In the Caribbean, we might not fully understand
the popularity of Formula One motor racing, but believe me when I tell
you that it is huge. As Lewis Hamilton’s winning ways continue,
Grenada’s international popularity will grow in leaps and bounds.
Today, I am pleased to announce that Lewis
Hamilton’s outstanding achievements will be recognized and rewarded at
this year’s Independence Celebrations.
Individuals will receive awards. So too will
groups, villages and communities that have given outstanding service and
made significant contributions to Grenada.
Sisters and Brothers, in 2007 Government
introduced a number of measures to strengthen the economy and to “Let
the Progress Continue.”
Many of us have never had it so good. We
have achieved a level of well being and development that was unthinkable
two generations ago. But Government knows that not everyone has been
able to share in that good fortune.
We are a caring and compassionate government
and are very sensitive to the needs and challenges facing the vulnerable
and less fortunate people in Grenada. We cannot just be proud of the
achievements of the strong and successful and ignore the difficulties of
the poor and disadvantaged. We want to lift up everyone in our society.
Indeed, one of Government’s most important
initiatives and programs for the underprivileged in our society was
announced in the 2007-2008 Budget Speech.
Cabinet has already mandated that special
committees, headed by a Minister, be set up to implement those
assistance programs as soon as possible. One such committee will be
responsible for the Food Basket Relief Packages.
The Minister of Health Hon. Ann David
Antoine has already been asked to head a committee that will implement
that program and ensure that assistance is given at once to those who
need it most. That committee will be made up of representatives from the
Food and Nutrition Council, the Department of Social Services in
Grenada, Carriacou and Petit Martinique, the Sisters of Charity, and
people from other organizations.
Next, Government will move swiftly to
implement the Grenada Training and Employment Programme under the
chairmanship of the Minister of Education, Hon. Claris Charles.
By increasing and improving the skills of
Grenadians, this programme will better prepare them to capitalize on
opportunities and new jobs that will be created by the many development
projects that are already on stream or about to come on stream.
Academic development of our young people is
very important but it only opens a few of the doors that lead to
success. Other areas of self-improvement are needed to open the other
doors.
These areas include such things as creating
a vision of what you want, setting the right goals, instilling the right
values and attitudes, learning self control, self motivation and other
mental skills, acquiring a good work ethic, building cooperative
relationships, working as a team, preventing and resolving conflict, and
having compassion for others.
These are some of the things we hope to
teach in our development programs.
Government is well aware of the tremendous
importance of the moral and spiritual values that usually encompass and
control most of the other values. We know that those values influence
how we think, feel and behave.
With that in mind, Government in its last
budget outlined a programme that should stimulate religious institutions
in Grenada to build on the right moral and spiritual values and imprint
them strongly in the minds of our people, particularly our young people.
Sisters and brothers, good mental, physical
and spiritual health is only possible when the mind and body are
properly developed, controlled and exercised. One of the goals of my
government is to encourage young and older people to increase their
participation in sport and to exercise more. Soon, Government will be
lighting at least one playing field in every constituency in the country
to allow people to play sport in the evenings after leaving work.
Sisters and Brothers, government is very
conscious of the problems that are being created around the world by a
spiraling increase in the cost of living. Recently, I took an
unprecedented initiative to urge Heads of Government in our region and
in the wider Commonwealth to address this vexing problem and start
looking for solutions.
We are a caring and responsible Government.
This year we intend to ease some of the burden of the workers by meeting
our commitments for back pay, salary increases and other benefits.
Let me say how pleased I am with the
professional manner in which police and prison officers conducted their
negotiations for salary increases. The police officers have already
received the portion of their back pay which was to be paid in 2007 and
Prison Officers will receive theirs in the coming days. We look forward
to paying the remainder in 2008.
We have also started paying our teachers
their seniority and incentive allowances. Government hopes that we can
sign and conclude negotiations with the teachers union as soon as
possible, like we have done with the police and prison officers.
Government appreciates and applauds the
tremendous contribution of our public officers and wants to ensure that
their salaries and benefits keep pace with economic changes.
I have been receiving encouraging signs that
our negotiations with the public service might soon be completed and
that our public officers will receive increases inclusive of back pay in
the near future.
My friends, our economy which was devastated
by Ivan, is now poised for a period of steady growth. Government wishes
its private sector to capitalize on that growth. Already Government has
introduced a number of fiscal measures to stimulate better performance
and to increase benefits for large, small and medium sized businesses. I
am confident about a bright and prosperous future for our Grenadian
Business Community. I am also encouraged that many business persons
right across Grenada have adopted Government’s policy to LET THE
PROGRESS CONTINUE!
Sisters and Brothers, to ensure smooth and
efficient implementation of the duty free concessions promised to taxi
drivers, Cabinet has mandated the Minister of Economic Development Hon.
Anthony Boatswain to meet with the representatives of the taxi drivers
to determine how best this can be done.
Cabinet has also asked the Minister of
Transport Hon. Brenda Hood to meet with the Bus Associations to design
ways and means of providing additional concessions to them so that
passengers too can benefit in the end.
Brothers and Sisters,
Government regards agriculture as one of its most important economic
sectors. We came to the assistance of our farmers immediately after Ivan
and Emily and we have consistently intervened whenever assistance was
needed.
With the new WIBDECO deal negotiated by
Government, our farmers will benefit in 2008 from increased markets and
better prices for their produce.
We have asked the Minister of Agriculture
Hon. Gregory Bowen and Parliamentary Secretary Carl Caton, to lead a
committee that will meet with farmers to develop structures for the
granting of concessions that have been promised for farm vehicles.
We hope that better vehicles and equipment
will enable our farmers to take full advantage of the eighty million
dollar diversification programme which Government has put in place. As
part of this programme, a new deal with the Windward Island Banana
Development Corporation, WIBDECO, has been negotiated by Government.
This will open new markets and marketing opportunities for farmers.
We are optimistic of a bright future for our
farmers. These initiatives, along with the new opportunities which our
local tourism resort developments will create, will no doubt ensure a
more productive and viable agriculture sector.
Sisters and Brothers as we touch on the
subject of tourism linkages, let me say how delighted I am to see the
hard work of the Government and people of Grenada finally paying off.
Tourism resort and condominium projects and
developments have already significantly enhanced Grenada’s image abroad.
It is no secret that Grenada is now viewed as a rare jewel in the
Caribbean. In the future it will attract a wide variety of visitors and
will cater not just to their needs but also to the high standards and
expectations of the most elite and exclusive travelers from around the
world.
But my Government will not allow these
developments to damage our environment or harm our culture.
In this regard, I am very pleased to
announce that we have now satisfied all the environmental and physical
tests and requirements of the International Conservation Community for
the commencement of the Four Seasons Resort.
Sisters and Brothers I wish to make it
perfectly clear that contrary to rumours in certain quarters, Government
has not taken any position on casino gambling.
Any such decision will only be made after
full and exhaustive national consultations with all of the relevant
stakeholders in Grenada, including the churches, non-governmental
organizations and the private sector.
So as we welcome in the New Year let us do
so with peace, love and compassion in our hearts. Let us also be our
brothers keepers bearing in mind that no family that favours its strong
children and ignores its weak can be worthy of that name.
No nation that ignores its troubled and
disadvantaged people while watching others thrive and flourish can look
at itself with pride.
Sisters and Brothers let me conclude with
some words of wisdom from the Bible often told to me by my mother:
Through God all things are possible….
Remember to put him first and he will direct your path.
May I now wish you a very happy and
prosperous New Year.
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