Premier Donaldson Romeo
Thursday, December 25, 2014
This Season Christmas should mean even more than ever to the people of Montserrat.
We celebrate the birth of a victorious Saviour who is our great hope as a People.
So, Christmas is the birthday of all birthdays, the celebration of all celebrations. A time to remember that hope is forever at our hands, we only need to reach out, ask and act accordingly.
Christmas is a perfect time for families to get together, and for us as a people to come together to celebrate our common bonds and common hopes for a happy and blessed tomorrow.
On the behalf of the Government of Montserrat, I would like to say thanks to all who have contributed to making this Christmas one of the best we have had in years. Thanks to all who have contributed in every regard over the years; HMG, the Public and Private sector, to those who have served us with all the hard work that tends to be overlooked. Montserrat could not have survived these past nineteen years without you all. Thank you.
Thanks for your prayers and support. Montserrat needs each and every one of us to move forward. Thank you.
Now, on September 11th 2014, we had an historic election, in which our people made it clear that they wished for a fresh start that puts people first, while working towards rebuilding and redeveloping our nation after nineteen years of volcano disaster. This was also an election in which the people in our diaspora showed a keen interest and engaged the issues of the day, also making plain that the time has come for a new deal that includes all of us who love Montserrat so dearly.
Accordingly, in the New Year, we hope to further work towards unifying our people, reaching out to the disadvantaged and kick-starting our economy, especially through addressing the longstanding issue of access; the sea port in particular. For, access is a vital key to getting our economy moving again. Getting Education, health and social services right is also important for both development and building our community.
A vibrant economy is based on a solid private sector and therefore we must work together to build agriculture, commerce and light industry, energy and technology. This will require building opportunities and skills for successful enterprise by our people. In all of these, we look forward to working as a united people with our main development partners, DfID and HMG.
As we prepare to continue in these tasks, I wish Season’s greetings to one and all, and by God’s grace, may we all have a bright, peaceful, prosperous and truly progressive year in 2015.
