REMARKS BY DR. THE HON. KENNY D. ANTHONY PRIME MINISTER OF SAINT LUCIA AND MINISTER FOR FINANCE, ECONOMIC AFFAIRS, PLANNING & SOCIAL SECURITY, PLANNING AT THE CHEQUE PRESENTATION CEREMONY AS PART OF THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA (TAIWAN) GRANT FUNDING FOR THE CONSTITUENCY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME OF THE GOVERNMENT OF SAINT LUCIA WEDNESDAY JUNE 5, 2013. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, WATERFRONT, CASTRIES PROTOCOL ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Ambassador of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to Saint Lucia, His Excellency James Chang; Officials of the Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in Saint Lucia; Officials and staff of the Ministry of Finance & Economic Affairs; Officials of the Office of the Prime Minister, Members of the media; and All others present, a warm welcome to you this morning. MANIFESTATIONS OF OPENNESS Thank you for being present with us at such short notice, to bear witness to this cheque “handing over” between the Governments of the Republic of China Taiwan and the Government of Saint Lucia. Ceremonies such as these are tangible manifestations of the openness and accountability that this Government maintains in its financial management and in its international relations and friendly cooperation. Today, the Government and people of Saint Lucia continue to receive the generosity of the Government and people of the Republic of China (Taiwan), in its commitment towards friendly bilateral ties and cooperation. A COMMITTED FRIEND TO SAINT LUCIA As you may have noted in my Budget Address delivered last month, the Republic of China (Taiwan) is expected to contribute in the region of EC $60 million to be spent in this financial year, making it the largest single donor of grant funds to Saint Lucia. This amount, I should point out, reflects the bundling of moneys from two financing periods: that is Taiwan Financial Years 2012 and 2013. It is clear that the Republic of China (Taiwan) is a committed friend to Saint Lucia, particularly given the realities of our age. Your Excellency, on March 26, you witnessed the handing over a cheque of approximately $9 million which went towards a number of programmes, which were reiterated in my Budget Statement this year. As I pointed out to you, this was the first tranche in a suite of projects valued at about $18.5 million this financial year. These included interventions in sports facility lighting, sustainable energy, public sector modernisation, forensic laboratory equipment and radiological equipment for the new St Jude Hospital. In addition to this, the assistance of your Government in the area of Disease Management for our Banana Sector also continues. CONSTIUENCY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME Today, we are here to witness the handing over of moneys totalling EC$7.53 million for the Constituency Development Programme. This reflects a combination of two sums: the balance of about $2.16 million from the first set of Constituency Development projects submitted for funding, and another EC$5.37 million, which represents the first tranche in the second phase of funding under the Constituency Development Programme. In total, the Republic of China (Taiwan) will assist Saint Lucia with just over 24 million Eastern Caribbean dollars this financial year, towards the Constituency Development Programme. The balance of the funds for the Constituency Development Programme will be made available later in the year, following the submission of timely status reports. IMPACTING OUR QUALITY OF LIFE Your Excellency, it is important to both countries that moneys under this programme are well spent and make a meaningful impact on the quality of life of our citizens. The Constituency Development Programme is important to our Government’s objectives for a number of reasons. Fundamentally, it tackles poverty reduction in a number of ways and creates jobs. ACCESS AND RESILIENCE Additionally, it improves access to communities. It provides greater resilience in our infrastructure, particularly through drainage works and soil retaining structures. Miles of community roads and drains will be constructed throughout this country. Every constituency will be tackled. A special emphasis has also been made to provide a judicious spread of projects particularly in impoverished communities. This will be critical in providing hundreds of jobs to contractors, labourers, equipment operators and give a much needed jolt to the construction sector. QUALITY IS PARAMOUNT Your Excellency, I will, later during the year, invite you to tour the projects in my constituency to inspect the works undertaken under this Constituency Development Programme so that we might see “first hand” the quality of work done and the impact of the projects on the lives of the people of the communities. Other parliamentarians will, hopefully, do the same. Quality must be seen as paramount, for we should not have the luxury of coming back to fix poor workmanship and shoddy jobs. Ladies and gentlemen, just as we have taken these steps towards greater transparency, we need to turn yet another page from the past. There has emerged in this land an obsession with the whole issue of being given a contract. MANAGING CONTRACTS So many people now see a works contract as a means of simply making a quick dollar, or getting themselves out of a jam. In years gone by, we have seen the rise of what could well be called “fly-by-night” contractors. Individuals who know nothing of mixing cement suddenly became contractors. Secretaries, mechanics, even public officials become contractors, overnight. This practice must be stopped. We intend to put measures in place to ensure that contracts are awarded to competent agents. Small and bona fide contractors will certainly continue to be the principal beneficiaries. ENSURING QUALITY The Government, mindful of this past phenomenon, will apply rigorous standards to the selection of contractors, pay attention to all details, ensure quality of work, monitor implementation, so that our people might enjoy well designed, durable and safe infrastructure. CONCLUSION And so, your Excellency, I say thank you on behalf of the Government and people of Saint Lucia, for your country’s continued support. In the weeks to come, we will submit to your Embassy proposals as per the announcements in the Budget, for the other projects we hope to undertake in this financial year, through your country’s generosity. I thank you.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 02:27:18 +0000