Following is the full statement he made today, first delivered on radio:<\/p>\n
Fellow Citizens, Residents and Friends of Montserrat, wherever you may be, today, 18th July 2018, marks 23 years since the Soufriere Hill volcano erupted and changed the lives of Montserratians forever.<\/p>\n
Montserrat has been changed, yes, but\u00a0thank God<\/strong>, not destroyed; has been down but not out.<\/p>\n Solomon tells us that there is a time for everything under the sun, and I firmly believe that today is a time, not to forget the past, but to let it rest for the moment, a time for me to encourage you with some positive news about the present and the future. Therefore, I shall be focusing on a number of priority projects that my government has been working on to help transform our social and economic conditions.<\/p>\n First of all, is the Little Bay Breakwater and Port Development Project.\u00a0<\/strong>I am pleased to report that we have now started the procurement process for certain consultancy and supervision contracts. You have already heard the advertisement on Radio Montserrat for a Project Coordinator.\u00a0 This means that we are well on the way to having our first breakwater and safe harbour, the\u00a0first<\/strong>\u00a0ever<\/strong>\u00a0safe harbour in the history of the island.<\/p>\n What does this mean?<\/p>\n It means having the capability to dock cruise vessels, luxury yachts, cargo vessels and the ferry at the same time. It means no more waiting for cement, \u00a0flour or sugar because boats can\u2019t dock. It means no more being stranded on the ferry 100 yards off Montserrat\u2019s shore because of rough seas.<\/p>\n It means jobs for taxi drivers, artists, craftsmen and everyone involved in tourism. It means larger vessels and therefore cheaper freight, which should in turn have a positive impact on prices for everyone.<\/p>\n Then there is the Montserrat Subsea Fibre Project<\/strong>, which is now fully supported by DfID. We are at the stage of finalizing the tender documents with the aim of issuing an Invitation to tender within the next month, completing the evaluation of bids by the end of September and hopefully issuing a contract by the end of October.<\/p>\n And if everything goes according to plan, the system should Go Live by August 2019. The days of phone calls being cut because of the internet being too slow, the frustrations of trying, in vain, to watch a video online \u2013 all this will be history.<\/p>\n A high-speed connection will also allow us to\u00a0make<\/strong>\u00a0history as we set up the first Digi Beach to encourage tech startups in the Caribbean. \u00a0My administration has already started to embrace the future of blockchain and cash being digital as we welcomed BITT to our shores.<\/p>\n Regarding the Geothermal Project,\u00a0<\/strong>which has the potential to provide Montserrat with abundant, clean, renewable energy at a reasonable cost, two wells have already been dug.\u00a0 The completion of the third well is under negotiation between DFID and IDC drilling company.\u00a0 The early market engagement for the surface plant was completed and evaluated and the report is being reviewed.<\/p>\n We are still in active negotiations with the British Government for the completion of this project, as well as that of the\u00a0new hospital<\/strong>.<\/p>\n On a smaller scale, just under two million dollars was awarded by the end of June 2018, the first quarter\u00a0of this financial year, for contracts on small capital projects such as:<\/p>\n Further, other small capital projects are being prepared for procurement. This will include Major Roof works and railing for Block C at the Brades Primary School, and other maintenance works to include resurfacing of Basketball courts, fencing and painting of school plants, etc.<\/p>\n And let us not overlook the countless small projects that\u00a0have been<\/strong>\u00a0completed or are underway, particularly in\u00a0education, health<\/strong>\u00a0and the\u00a0environment<\/strong>. To name just a few\u2026<\/p>\n\n