 My fellow Solutions, today we recognize Worldwide Public Service Day to celebrate the value and virtue of the public service to the community. On behalf of the government, I would like to salute all public servants and all those who give public service in whatever capacity on this very important occasion. Your commitment to public service is commendable. Yours is the responsibility to translate the policies and the programs of the government into action for the benefit of the people. It is a tremendous responsibility, one that my government hopes you will continue to execute with integrity and professionalism in partiality and honesty. An effective public officer is one who goes above and beyond the call of duty to serve the interest of the greater good. We recognize that your efforts are always scrutinized and often criticized. Criticism that is not always warranted or justified, but also provides opportunities for reflection about your goals to determine what can be done to create better public value for the citizens. We've just recently witnessed in real time, and indeed we are all still witnessing it, the value of public service. As together as a nation, we fight the onslaught of the coronavirus. It is mainly public service personnel who have been in the forefront of this battle to keep our country and people safe. The results we've achieved are clear indication that you've all done a truly remarkable job and deserve the highest commendation from the rest of us. COVID-19 has actually taken us all into uncharted territory, which required everyone working together to achieve the desired results. In so doing, everyone was called on to play his or her part. Public officers were called on to make significant sacrifices in the line of duty to care for the sick, to enforce law and order, to ensure the machinery of government continued to operate despite a drastic scaling down of activities including curfew. To our frontliners, police, firemen, correctional officers, customs officers, nurses, doctors, emergency and essential service workers, I say again a heartfelt thank you. I must also say a very special thank you to those individuals who supported the frontliners. You came from various ministries and departments. It was an extraordinary example of public service in action, which resonates with the theme of this year's Public Service Day Observance. Action today, impact tomorrow, innovating and transforming public services and institutions to realize the sustainable development goals. Government is constantly working to enhance the delivery of services to the people via our public service agencies. In 2019, we approved a significant budget for the implementation of the Digital Economy Integrated E-Services Platform, DigiGov, a project which aims to put online 154 services across 13 agencies. This is a direct response to gaps identified in the delivery of timely, efficient and transparent services offered by the government to the public and to the business sector. Also, the implementation of the Caribbean Regional Integration Project, CARSIP, is aimed at providing the infrastructure for government agencies to become more efficient and effective whilst reducing government's overall communication bill. CARSIP does not only provide opportunities for the public sector to become more efficient, it can also be leveraged so that the private citizens can take advantage of it. I want to give the assurances that the government's efforts at transforming the public service will always place the well-being of staff at the forefront of its agenda. Our current efforts, though more digitally based, would require changes in processes, job descriptions, organizational structures, different approaches to training and more. We recognize that substantial change management efforts will be required which would involve all stakeholders, especially staff who will be expected to deliver, but also, themselves, our recipients of the service. As we undertake these digital transformation exercises, we must be cognizant of the fact that we are mandated to do so in a manner that realizes the sustainable development goals as identified by United Nations. These goals agreed to and endorsed by 195 nations aim at improving the lives of people in their country by the year 2030. In a study by the World Economic Forum and Pricewaterhouse Coopers, it is suggested that two-thirds of the 169 targets underpinned the global sustainable development goals could be bolstered by technological innovation. The objective of which is to improve services such as healthcare, education, and gender, to name a few. Some people may ask, is this possible bearing in mind our limited resources? This answer is a resounding yes. We experience this possibility when we were called upon to innovate as a result of COVID-19. It was a first for us in telemedicine, where citizens were provided with the opportunity to connect a healthcare advisor via the telephone to receive a diagnosis and guidance on the treatment of symptoms. Parents, teachers, and children experienced the power of online learning. Obviously there were challenges, but the experience I am sure would have been a fulfilling and even productive one for most. We were called on to innovate and this required taking basic services to the people, especially the more vulnerable among us. No doubt there needs to be improvement, but the government stands committed to making this possible in light of the new reality brought on by COVID-19. As we journey on, we commit to leaving no one behind. This commitment is evident in the GI NET project that seeks to bridge the digital divide and develop a more connected and enabled society. Again, we must strengthen and expand this to reach more individuals, but the efforts are obviously visible to all. All these innovations will help change the face of the public service for the better and bring rationale for the observance of this day into focus, which is to celebrate the value and the virtue of public service to the community. It is clear that we in St. Lucia are moving positively in this direction. I wish all public service workers in St. Lucia a happy public service day and once again thank you for your support and your service to your country. May God bless you all.