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Hello!It is only five months since Cathy and I had the pleasure and privilege of coming to live in Montserrat. We have met many of you and learned more of your hopes and aspirations. We will continue to listen and draw on your wisdom to help us, help you, build the new Montserrat.
We have also experienced the hospitality for which Montserrat is rightly famous. Thank you!
It has been a short time, but one in which my team has suffered the sad passing of Mark Twigg. It is right to acknowledge his death and that of former Governor, David Taylor, and to extend our thoughts to Tanya and Carol. Cathy and I would also like to remember those of you at home and abroad who have suffered the loss of a loved one in the past year. It cannot be easy to get through the festive season when those around you are celebrating, but if the kind thoughts and messages we have received are anything to go by, then you will have a wealth of love and support from family, friends and the community.
Cathy and I would also like to extend special greetings to our senior citizens. It is too easy to forget that they were the people that spurred the development of Montserrat. It was their hopes for the future and their expectations for their children that were most cruelly frustrated by Mother Nature. It has been a joy to meet so many of you.
Please do take time out to visit a sick or elderly friend or relative over the Christmas period.
I would like to thank all of you at work today whether in the caring professions or maintaining our safety and security. Your contribution to the community is hugely valued.
The British Government pays me and owns and maintains Government House. That frees up the Governor’s local pay to support good causes and to promote Montserrat. Since I have arrived examples of the events and endeavours I have been able to support have included the Red Cross, MONFEST, and several projects in support of the young and the old.
But none of the contributions I have been able to make has been so richly rewarded as the happiness for, and pride in, our Special Olympics team. I was privileged to meet the athletes, coaches and supporters before they went to Beijing and to see them get their kit. Cathy was lucky to be at the airport with many others to welcome them home. Their haul of medals was incredible, but their achievement in putting Montserrat on the map and giving you all something to be proud of was fantastic.
I have been lucky. The last five months have continued the period of pause in volcanic activity that started in the spring. That has enabled me to allow some of you back to your homes and for others to return to work in Old Towne and Isles Bay. But tomorrow is only the first anniversary of the beginning of a period of dome growth that disrupted many lives and so undermined the economy.
The experts give us reason to believe that the pause will continue for most of next year. Your experience will tell you that while the scientists can measure the trends, precise prediction is impossible. But while nothing is happening on the surface, underground activity continues and that large and hot dome has not collapsed. Please do not become complacent or be lulled into a false sense of security.
The end of one year is the start of another. You already know that I am an optimist who is impatient for development. It is no secret that we are not moving forward as quickly as we need to. That is a source of frustration for us all. But there is real cause to believe that we have started to turn the corner.
The market in Little Bay opened last week and will become the first centre of the new town. Next month will see the ground broken in Little Bay and preliminary work on the harbour is underway. I hope too that we can begin to explore how Montserrat can move away from expensive fossil fuels towards sustainable green energy sources.
But we will also face challenges. Montserrat’s biggest attraction to the world is its quality of life. The starting point is its beauty and natural environment, but the mix also includes a community at peace with itself and is, uniquely, nearly free of crime.
Please look to yourselves to take responsibility for preserving all that is best about Montserrat. There is no place for violence in our community. All of the communities that make up this small nation have to work together. A crime against one is a crime against the futures of us all. Please support the forces of law and order in ensuring that those who commit crimes of any type are identified, prosecuted and sentenced no matter what their name or origin. But it is equally important to know your neighbour, respect them and recognise what you all have to bring to the future of this country.
The responsibility for Montserrat’s future extends far beyond its shores. I would like to extend special greetings to returning Montserratians and those celebrating in their homes overseas. You are missed, but you still have a part to play. So do the many visitors we welcome for the festive season. You are all very welcome, however do drive carefully and have an accident free Christmas. I am sure that you will have wonderful time, please tell the world of your experience and work with your brothers and sisters overseas to remind the world that we are still here, it’s still home and it’s still paradise!
To every one of you living working and breathing Montserrat and its future - a very happy Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year to you all.
The Overseas Territories Consultative Council (OTCC) met in London on 4 / 5 December 2007. OTCC is the annual forum for the Chief Ministers of all the UK Overseas Territories to discus matters of common concern with UK Ministers. The meetings were introduced following the 1999 White Paper on the Overseas Territories "Partnership for Progress". The 2007 meeting was the ninth OTCC meeting overall and was chaired by the Minister for the Overseas Territories, Meg Munn.At a reception to mark the meeting, Minister Munn told those assembled "It is with great pleasure that I welcome you here at this, the ninth OTCC meeting. We have a diverse range of interests here this evening, including Chief Ministers, the private sector, academic world, research bodies, NGO's, and international organisations. We have Governors from the Territories, representatives from the UK Overseas Territories Association, as well as those who work closely with us in the pursuit of our shared interests.
Also here are representatives from both Houses of Parliament who take a close interest in the affairs of the Overseas Territories and are very knowledgeable. The Overseas Territories feature prominently among the British Government's international priorities. How the relationship is managed, will quite rightly, continue to be subject to scrutiny by Parliament and other interested bodies.
The National Audit Office published last month a report on how we manage risk in the Overseas Territories. It recognised that we have come a long way since the last report in 1997, making progress in a number of areas. The FCO and other Whitehall Departments will be taking forward the recommendations in the report.
I welcome the inquiry into the Overseas Territories that is underway by the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and representatives from that committee are here this evening. This, the ninth OTCC meeting, offers a unique opportunity to bring together British Ministers, Chief Ministers, Premiers and Councillors to discuss matters of concern. We attach great importance to continued engagement with the leaders of the Territories in order to promote security, safety and prosperity.
I have been looking forward to meeting the leaders from the Territories and to hear from them directly about the issues that matter in our relationship. Our talks have been wide ranging. I have found them both informative and, I hope the leaders of the Territories will agree, constructive. There is growing prosperity in the majority of the Territories. There are also many opportunities in the future, but with opportunities come challenges. For my part, I look forward to working with you over the next 12 months to make the most of those opportunities and to confront the challenges."
Oral evidence sessions have commenced and written evidence can be submitted until 31 January 2008. Anyone in Montserrat who wishes to submit written evidence is invited to do so. The written evidence should contain a brief introduction to the person or organisation submitting it and any factual information they have to offer from which the Committee might draw conclusions. Written evidence should be sent to the Foreign Affairs Committee, Committee Office, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA, England.
The annual service is held under the theme "Lest We Forget" and pays tribute to the men and women who served in the Armed Forces during both World Wars, especially those who laid down their lives in the name of freedom, justice and peace.
Montserrat's veterans joined His Excellency the Governor, Mr Peter Waterworth and Mrs Waterworth, the Hon Chief Minister, Government Ministers, members of LEGCO, the island's uniformed bodies and members of the public at the Parade.
The names of the fallen were read by the Secretary of the Montserrat Legion, Mr Lionel Nanton a retired member of Britain's Royal Air Force and for the first time the name of Montserratian Fusilier Donal Meade was read out. Fusilier Meade was killed on active service in Iraq on 5 September 2005 aged 20. At the time of his death, the Governor was on duty with the Diplomatic Service in Iraq and had specially requested that Fusilier Meade's name be mentioned.
The inter-denominational service was led by members of the Montserrat Christian Council and all the uniformed bodies marched from Brades School to Government HQ where refreshments were served. The veterans were entertained at Government House by His Excellency the Governor and Mrs Waterworth and were joined by members of EXCO, the Commissioner of Police, and the Commanding Officer of the Royal Montserrat Defence Force.
Over the period November 12 - 14, the British Royal Navy ship HMS Portland
visited Montserrat at the end of its 2007 tour of duty in the Caribbean as
the Atlantic Patrol Task (North) vessel. Just before coming to Montserrat,
the ship had made international headlines by intercepting a very large
consignment of drugs from a drug running fishing boat in the Atlantic. The
drugs bust was the largest ever maritime haul.During their two day stay in Montserrat, Portland's Commanding Officer, Commander Mike Utley paid courtesy calls on His Excellency the Governor, Mr Peter Waterworth and the Hon Chief Minister, Dr Lowell Lewis. The Commanding Officer and other senior members of his crew also visited the Montserrat Volcano Observatory and the Disaster Management Co-ordinating Agency (DMCA).
At the request of the Hon Chief Minister, members of the ship's crew carried out a depth sounding exercise at Foxes Bay to determine the best position for a jetty being planned for the area. In addition the ship's helicopters carried out agricultural surveys for the Royal Montserrat Police Force as part of their drugs interdiction programme. Just before HMS Portland departed Montserrat's waters she sailed around the entire coast of Montserrat with members of the Emergency Policy Group so that members could see for themselves the current state of affairs in the island's Exclusion Zones.
The ship's crew took advantage of the visit to have some rest & recreation on islnad and played football and basketball against island invitational teams. There were also associated cocktail parties on board and at Government House. The ship then sailed for its home port in England, Portsmouth, where it will reach in time for Christmas.
A number of Vincentians residing in Montserrat and invited members of the general public were given the opportunity to meet Dr Gonsalves at a cocktail party held in his honour at the Cultural Centre on the evening of his arrival.
The following day, Dr Gonsalves toured the Exclusion Zone, met with members of the Legislative Council, and had a meeting with the local Human Rights Reporting Committee. For many years, Dr Gonsalves was Head of the Human Rights Watch Committee in St Vincent & the Grenadines. That evening, Dr Gonsalves delivered his lecture 'Excuses or Results' to a packed audience and was well received.
His Excellency the Governor, Mr Peter Waterworth hosted Dr Gonsalves to lunch at Government House where the guest of honour praised Montserratians for their strength and fortitude during the volcanic eruptions.
Sir Howard told those assembled "This day has been long in coming but we welcome it no less enthusiastically. It is another important landmark in our drive to rebuild our housing stock after the loss caused by an unremitting volcano. Yet another time we are in the debt of the European Union, an important partner in and sponsor of our redevelopment for in what is another basic need - indeed the most basic of infrastructure. We observe that the signature of the EU is written on the Geralds Airport and other vital projects past, present and to come.
We are grateful Your Excellency to the EU and we applaud you again soundly. In the mode of gratitude, let me thank all of the officials involved in this project especially those in the Housing Unit as well as Ryan's Construction for a very good job and the pleasing appearance of the houses.
Let me as a citizen take this opportunity to say that we have left the emergency dispensation; we are into development and all new housing projects must reflect this. We are no longer building shelters, nay not even permanent housing. We are building communities! This is why we have to pay careful attention to the roads - their width for instance, to areas where children can gather, can play, to the positioning of sewage mechanisms, to environmental factors and all the considerations that spell community as opposed to a number of houses on a site.
Let me make one final observation: In our disadvantaged situation with a small population, we cannot apply strict cost-benefit analysis principles unless we make serious projections. We must have a viable port for instance, simply because it is an imperative, a pre-requisite for development for population increase, for enhancement of trade and generation of wealth. We do not plan to be dependent forever and we should ensure that our donors like the EU and DFID realise this. We are grateful to them all because they know that without infrastructure, sustainable development is just purely rhetoric - a vague slogan.
But today is the EU's day and the spotlight is on Ambassador Tincani who I am told has been a friend of Montserrat. I understand he is leaving our region soon so I wish him and his wife every success in their next assignment to which he is I am sure taking valuable experiences from our region. So, Mr Ambassador thank you again to the European Union through you, for these good looking houses and we expect and hope for a functional community."
Other speakers at the ceremony were Mrs Dyer-Howe, Ambassador Tincani, Director of Housing Mrs Eulyn Greaves and the Master of Ceremonies was Mr Eugene Skerritt, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Housing & the Environment.
Mr Taylor was the only child of elderly parents in the West Country city of Bristol where he attended Clifton College. He did his national service in the Royal Navy and then won a scholarship to study English at Clare College in Cambridge. On completion of his studies he joined the then Colonial Service and was posted to Tanganyika which became Tanzania when it gained its independence in 1963.
Mr Taylor then joined the British international firm Booker McConnell which had large interests in the West Indies. Mr Taylor worked for the company in Jamaica, St Lucia and Guyana as well as in Malawi and Zambia. He was seconded by Booker McConnell to become the Chief Executive of the Falkland Islands in the aftermath of the war between Britain and Argentina over the future of the islands. He reformed the islands' Civil Service and the constitution to bring about great social reforms for which he is still remembered until this day.
In 1987 he returned to Booker McConnell and became a Director of the Company until his retirement in 1990. It was then that he rejoined the Foreign Office and became Governor of Montserrat. His sterling work in rebuilding the economy in the dark days following Hurricane Hugo's destruction are well remembered by all who came into contact with him. He is remembered too for his lovely paintings which hung on the walls of Government House in Plymouth, a hobby he continued into his final retirement to London.
In 1993, Mr Taylor was awarded the CBE by Her Majesty The Queen and then he continued to help Montserrat in the aftermath of the volcanic eruptions by raising funds and providing assistance. He joined Sir George Martin in his fund raising drive to build the Cultural Centre in Little Bay and served on the London based financial management committee. Mr Taylor died on 8, November 2007 aged 74.
Since then five members of the Youth Parliament have gone overseas to continue their higher education, these were Luke Edgecombe, Stedroy Cabey, William O'Brien, Gerren Gerrald and Kriston Taylor forcing a bi-election to be called on 26 November 2007.
The tables were turned at the bi-election with the Young People's Progressive Alliance (YPPA) winning all five seats on offer and thus taking control of the Youth Parliament. The YPPA now have six seats, with Siobhan Tuitt, Omarie Allen, Xavier Farrell, Luceena Weekes, Jarrell Fenton and Josette Winspeare all successful. Mr Wade's PYDP will now form the Opposition with three seats held by Zara Lee, Annette Cummings and Mr Wade himself.
Only 20.12% of the 497 registered youth voters participated in the bi-elections and they cast 413 votes. 9 votes were rejected.
The new Chief Minister of the Youth Parliament is expected to be Miss Siobhan Tuitt but her Ministers will not be named until the first sitting of new look Parliament later this month.
Mr Cumberbatch's award was for his service to education and culture. Mr Waterworth presented a glowing tribute to the work of Mr Cumberbatch at the Montserrat Secondary School and in the field of culture. He also praised those members of the public who had nominated Mr Cumberbatch for the award and urged others to make public nominations in a similar manner.
The workshop initiative sought to get the five Caribbean Overseas Territories to adapt to climate change and climate variability, within the context of sustainable development and to develop a workplan for the three year duration of the ECACC project. Other goals of the workshop included increasing national capacity to undertake environmental monitoring, undertaking vulnerability and risk assessments in the Overseas Territories, to develop national climate change strategies and to develop a public outreach and education strategy.
Montserrat was represented at the meeting by Mr Eugene Skerritt, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Housing & the Environment. He told the meeting that in the aftermath of volcanic eruptions, Montserrat is hoping to establish a one-of-a-kind Climate Change Centre for the Caribbean.
Mr Skerritt explained that the island is eager to share its experiences of dramatic environmental change because of the volcano with its Caribbean neighbours and that the proposed Climate Change Centre would provide an ideal medium for this. "Climate change has an impact on livelihoods, agriculture, tourism education, health, community services, labour and infrastructure and we have already experienced all these things" said Mr Skerritt. He continued "We want to take advantage of the opportunity this new financial arrangement is offering to do our part to provide a forum for UK Overseas Territories in the region to use to our mutual advantage".
Mr Skerritt also said that he hoped the proposed Climate Change Centre would focus on practical experience and will be able to attract both scientists and policymakers interested in mitigating the impacts of climate change.
The Governor will sponsor the 'Nite of Pan' the annual steel band concert held at Festival Village (this year it will be held on 23 December). Mr Waterworth presented a cheque for EC$9,000 for this event to Montserrat's Director of Culture, Mr Herman Francis MBE who accepted the cheque on behalf of MONFEST.
Other donations include EC$1,000 to the Montserrat Branch of the British Red Cross to assist with expenses at their annual Christmas party, EC$1,000 to the Davy Hill Explosion Community Group to assist in their Christmas gifts for the elderly project, and EC$700 to the Tribe Star Sound organisation for their annual Christmas party which is to be held at the Cultural Centre for the first time.
Some non Christmas events to be supported included a grant of $3,000 to Punch & Get Out Productions for trophies for the Village Basketball Competition which concluded on the last day of November and a grant of EC$4,000 to the First Choice Baking Group to purchase the ingredients for a baking course for men which will start in January 2008. The course will improve family nutrition and will train men in baking and cookery skills.
In all, His Excellency the Governor donated EC$20,000 during the month of December 2007 to deserving causes.
Throughout November, children in the island's schools have been using their art lessons to design a wide variety of cards for consideration. The eventual winner was Steveka Francois aged 8 of Grade 3 of the St Augustine School whose witty design will now adorn the front of the official Christmas card.
The over 100 entries were of a very high standard and several children from all the schools involved will be recognised for their designs.
Mrs Waterworth visited Lookout Primary School, Brades Primary School, the St Augustine's Primary School, the Samuel Academy, Salem Nursery School, Brades Nursery School, Lookout Nursery School and the St John's Nursery School and met with Ministry officials, headteachers, teachers, support staff and students. The children performed songs, poems and nursery rhymes for Mrs Waterworth and several presentations were made.