Taiwan offers additional support to government

[dropcap]O[/dropcap]n Monday, the government of Saint Lucia received additional funds from the Republic of China (Taiwan) to fund several upcoming projects. The cheques totaling over US400,000.00 were presented by Ambassador His Excellency Ray Mou to Prime Minister Honourable Allen M Chastanet on behalf of the government.

The provided funds are to be used in three specific projects the government has undertaken. The projects include the: Forestiere Human Resource Centre – US$300,000, the Sarrot Multi-purpose Court – US$150,000 and the Electronic Document and Records Management System (EDRMS) – US$13,887.

The Ambassador expressed his Government’s enthusiasm to be a part of Saint Lucia’s developmental accomplishments. He singled out the Electronic Documents and Records Management System Project as one that is nearing its final phase: “The aim of this system is to serve government’s primary channel for digital information exchange, the management and sharing of documents and data records within government agencies. We are happy to know that the project will be completed successfully next year, 2017.”

Minister of Economic Development Hon Guy Joseph was also present at the cheque presentation ceremony earlier this week. Asserting that the earmarked projects will “touch many lives”, the minister gave his take on the funding. “Among the projects are a multi-purpose court in the community of Sarot. This is a project that we had done very preliminary works on about five years ago just touching on the foundation preparation, but this project was not continued by the previous government. I must express special thanks and appreciation to the Embassy of China (Taiwan) for coming in so quickly to assist in this project. It is a project that is very much needed for the young people. Sarot is a community that is deprived of any public facilities. This cheque being granted for the execution of this initiative is one that is going to meet the needs of many young people in the community.”

The minister continued by highlighting the other aspects of the project which will have direct impact on his constituency.

“Also there is consideration for a special building in Forestiere that is to meet the needs of the community. The only public building in the community is the school and any event which has to take place in the community would mean that the venue would have to be the school or the churches within the community. We want to address that through this project, so once again we are thanking the Taiwanese for their assistance,” the minister stated.

During the brief ceremony, the prime minister expressed his gratitude to the Government and People of China (Taiwan) for their continued generosity and invaluable support, in funding several projects that are fundamental to Saint Lucia’s development.