 who sent us his son as a herald of salvation and who continually pours the Holy Spirit of truth in our hearts be with you all. The wisdom of God is beyond imagining and his goodness a boundless treasure. He unfailingly enlightens our minds, enabling us to share information, ideas, knowledge and aspirations with each other. The discoveries of technology, if used properly, can be of great service to the human family, not only to bring help in times of need, but also as resources for education and entertainment. It is also incomplete accord with the plan of God who wants us all to be bound closely together in a union of truth and freedom. Let every tongue then proclaim God's wonder, saying how wonderful are your works, O Lord. Let us pray. Father in heaven, we pray today for your protection for this human resource center. Grant that this building may be preserved from fire, hurricanes and all other dangers. We pray for all who gather here for work, study or leisure. May this be a place where light shines in the darkness, where exciting new insights are gained, where both knowledge and wisdom find healthy nurture, where for generations to come, people are empowered to rise to the challenge of daring to be wise. Grant that all the activities which take place here will build up a spirit of community among us and lead us to the well-being of all our people, helping us to communicate truth, force the love and to uphold justice and right through Christ our Lord. The Lord's prayer. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever, amen. May God the Father of goodness who commanded us to help one another as brothers and sisters, bless this building with his presence and look kindly on all who enter here and use it, amen. It is with great pride and pleasure that I welcome you to today's, to witness this momentous occasion that we in the community of Gruzile have long awaited the opening of the Human Resource Development Center building. Some 10 years ago, when the Honorable Spider Montute commanded the commencement of the construction of this building, he knew how important it would be to the people and the community of Gruzile, a building that would serve multiple purposes, beneficial to the development and enhancement of almost every sector and facet of this community. The ICT Lab, for example, which will be used by our students for a variety of purposes, not limited to homework, research and after-school programs. Adults would also be welcome to use that facility to accomplish tasks that require the use of computers. In essence, the main goal of this lab would be a general improvement in digital literacy, amen residents with the tools to survive in a technological world. In addition, housing this building is a recording studio. One can only imagine the advancement in the music industry that can be realized through the use of this facility by our local artists. I wouldn't be surprised if the next Calypso Monac hails from the town of Gruzile. That would have been a great achievement and testimony to what this facility can provide. There is also an auditorium which will be available to host community social events. Besides that, the building contains huge conference room and with the potential to host meetings, workshops, and the like by both governmental and non-governmental entities who would have not only the room at their disposal, but also a first-class restaurant to cater to their needs. This project may have taken much longer than anticipated, but we are later to finally be able to take possession, to take advantage of this HRDC building, and to appreciate the facility that it offers. And I pledge today, on behalf of the people of Gruzile, to take full advantage and to make full use of this important resource and to maintain its upkeep so it can serve us now and for many years to come. Once again, on behalf of the people of Gruzile, I wish to welcome you to this most beautiful town in St. Glacier and hope that to our visiting guests that you get a moment to explore a little bit more than just work. I thank you. Today I stand here humbled and honored as Minister of Equity, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment. And I'm honored as this ceremony marks the official opening of the Gruzile Human Resource Development Center, which represents the achievement of a major milestone for our country, my ministry, and indeed my constituency. I name this opening a major milestone as this community has waited for this occasion for many years, as was mentioned by his lordship, Mayor Edwin. To the community, I must say a special thank you for your patience, as I am sure that you are pleased with what the eventual outcome is. I have to indicate, however, that our assembly here today would not have been possible without the assistance and generosity of the government and people of the Republic of China, Taiwan, who provided significant financial resources for the completion of the State of the Art Human Resource Development Center. This center is equipped with the space and technology to house a State of the Art Theater, a training room, a music lab, conference room, office space, and a restaurant, among other things. From a ministerial perspective, this facility will allow for a greater ease of service delivery for community programming. As you may know, the ministry in particular, the Social Transformation Unit, has an important mandate for the development and empowering of communities. Inclusive in this programming are initiatives such as after-school programs, skills training, and enrichment courses, as well as life skills offering. I am sure that new programs will emerge as time goes on, much to the benefit of the residents of Grosile and beyond. The inclusion of the theater within this facility has enabled us to acknowledge and honor a St. Lucian Prodigy of the literary arts by naming it after him. Ladies and gentlemen, as parliamentary representative of Grosile, I take much pleasure in announcing that this theater will be named after Mr. Vladimir O. M. Lucian, who is a writer, actor, and critic who ails from the community of Grosile. I believe that Mr. Lucian's passion for the arts and the outstanding talent of many from the community of Grosile will facilitate a rebirth of the arts in this community and St. Lucia at large. I therefore anticipate a cultural renaissance. So, ladies and gentlemen, who really is Mr. Vladimir Lucian? Permit me if you will, Mr. Master of Ceremonies, to just read a short bio on Mr. Lucian by way of introduction to those who do not know him. Vladimir O. S. Lucian is a writer, actor, and critic from Grosile, St. Lucia, and his writing has been published in the Caribbean Review of Books. Woffrey, Small Arts Journal, The PN Review, BIM Magazine, Washington Square Review, Caribbean Beat and other regional and international journals. He has been awarded the first prize in the poetry category of the Small Arts Literary Competition in 2013 and is the winner of the 2015 OCM Booker's Prize for his debut collection of poetry, Sounding Ground, published by the People Tree Press in May, 2014. And he, ladies and gentlemen, is the youngest writer ever to have won that prize. He is also the co-editor of the anthology, Setley C. Poems and Arts of St. Lucia, which was published in November, 2014, and the screenwriter of the documentary, The Murkins, which premiered in the Trinidad and Tobigo Film Festival in 2013, sorry. From January to May, 2016, Mr. Lucian served as writer in residence at the University of the West Indies Monarchampus. In February, 2016, he was hailed by the CBC Books based in Canada as a young black writer to watch. Pamela Mordechai, who recommended him highly to CBC Books, states that his poems are hefty, accomplished, and undirived, rooted in the Creole cultures and there are two for our guests, for the benefit of our guests, there are two cultures in his homeland enjoying its orality and deploying its languages with aplomb. The poems have none of the determined inaccessibility that discourages the ordinary reader. If one of these days, he finds himself like Juventusco, reading poems to arenas filled with thousands, I wouldn't be surprised. Lucian has been featured at many regional and international festivals, including the Caribbean International Literary Festival, the Read My World Festival in Amsterdam, Jaipur Literary Festival, the Brooklyn Book Festival, and Miami Book Fair. And he has poems translated into Dutch, Italian, and Mandarin. Of course, that is good news to our visitors. You can at least be able to read some of his work. He has been featured in the BBC's Poetry Postcards program as well as the BBC's program, The Verb, and at the BBC's, at the BBC contains Strong Language Festival. In October 2018, Lucian was part of a cadre of poets selected to pay homage to the Heath or Toe on song West Indian heroes of the First World War in a publication entitled, Unwritten Poems After the First World War. And this was edited by Karen McCarthy Wolfe. And ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Lucian is undoubtedly one of the major voices in Caribbean literary today. And I predict that perhaps St. Lucia's next Nobel Prize may come from this. In terms of a cultural renaissance as the prime, this is a prime location here at this centre. It's expanse of space and the technology available will enable a rebirth of creativity which can be highlighted and expanded as an extension of the grossly Friday night experience. I envision inclusion as the showcasing of plays from musical performances become part of the social and cultural life of this constituency. Further, my ministry holds the responsibility to work towards endowing and fostering independence through training and the development of skills in the adult population. This is a responsibility that we take seriously and I am pleased at the availability of the training room which will facilitate more thorough and organised training experiences covering a wide range of areas of expertise. I view this centre therefore as a catalyst for growth and development of grossly and the neighbouring communities. Moreover, training exercises do not have to be limited to that of the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment. As a management committee comprising of professionals, skilled and dedicated individuals has been appointed to ensure the continued and efficient utilisation of this state-of-the-art human resource development centre. The esteemed individuals who comprise this management committee are Mrs. Kathian Belma Angeloni, Mrs. Sonia Sifli, Mr. Irvins Springer, Ms. Devina Lee, Mr. Daniel Beliza who will be representing the Grossly Constituency Council, Mr. David Moise who is the Social Transformation Officer for Grossly representing the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice and Empowerment and Ms. Daniel Dubois. I want to thank you for agreeing to be part of this committee and accepting the responsibility to manage this facility, certainly as parliamentary representative, I do not envy your task. I also firmly believe that the centre presents an avenue for income generation for the community, a process which needs to be managed adequately with passion. This income generating comes with the renting of the restaurant space, for example, as well as the theatre and training room. Given the demand for conference and training spaces nationally, anticipate those rooms to be booked consistently. Now that I have highlighted just a few of the many ways that this resource development centre can benefit the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment and the community of Grossly, I wish to again acknowledge the contribution of the Republic of China, Taiwan. And on behalf of the government and people of St. Lucia, I extend sincere gratitude to the President of the Republic of Taiwan for your benevolence. Your unwavering support of St. Lucia has enabled the implementation of a facility which will undoubtedly empower the people of the community to thrive and shine. Additionally, you have created the avenue for a ministerial department to function more optimally. I look forward to our continued partnership and the genesis of talent and growth which will be showcased in the people of this community through the utilisation of this facility. Mr. Master of Ceremonies, permit me a few more minutes as parliamentary representative of Grossly. LAUGHTER I stand here proud as the parliamentary representative of Grossly to be part of the opening of this centre. I say so because in my election campaign of 2006, I made a pledge to the people of Grossly that should I be elected, this would be one of the projects that I would embark upon. On September 24th, 2011, we planted a seed by breaking ground for the commencement of this structure. Unfortunately, I was in the round between 2011 and 2016, and unfortunately, we did not see the completion of this centre. But through the great good graces of the people of Grossly, I have been returned as parliamentary representative. And if there was one project that I wanted to ensure that I fulfilled, it would be the opening of this centre. For me, this is a proud moment. I say so because on behalf of the people of the constituency of Grossly, I envision great things to come from this centre. Let me just say that there are a number of people at the local level that I wish to thank. First and foremost, I wish to acknowledge the contribution of my then ally and good friend, Ren Lucian. He had a big part to play in the conceptualisation of this end product. But let me just say that what we envision is not what we have today. However, our good friends are here with us, and I do not want to abuse their generosity. I do not want to sound ungrateful. Our Prime Minister is here with us, the Minister of Finance. So let me just say that there are few additional features that we wish to see in the near future. Ladies and gentlemen, the original design was intended to have retractable seats for the theatre, which was removed. We were supposed to have a system under this building because this building, and a standby generator, because this building was supposed to double up in the event of a catastrophe such as a hurricane as an emergency shelter. These were taken out. I want to say that we will, we can no longer dig the foundation to build a system, but we will have water tanks installed and we will have a standby generator for this building. Originally in the plan, they were supposed to have been an exhibition room that has been converted to a music lab. I think there'll be greater utility in the music lab, and I'm sure, again, people of the creative industries will welcome that development. So I say to the people of Grozile, you have waited a long time. It was long in coming, but you now have your Human Resource Development Centre. I think a state-of-the-art facility such as this deserves a better name. And so, as parliamentary representative, along with my social transformation officer who's the master of ceremonies today, we will launch a competition among our schools very soon upon reopening of school so that our young people can give us a more jazzy name for this centre. So very soon it will be renamed to whatever the decision they make. It is theirs, it is for them. I want to thank Madam President, Ambassador, on behalf this time specifically of the people of the Grozile constituency, I want to thank you for your benevolence. You have heard much about the works that you have done throughout the length and breadth of St. Lucia, but let me say to you, the amount of work that you have done in this constituency is simply too numerous to mention. We have a number of ICT centres in the rural areas, and this morning we talk about the GI-Net programme. That is providing a facility to rural residents, especially students, to fulfil and pursue their education. The number of food paths in remote areas, roads, and many other projects, like I said are too numerous to mention, but we want to express our sincere gratitude to you. And I want to say to you, Madam President, your embassy is located in this constituency. And I hope Ambassador does not mind that I give you a report on his embassy. You have heard many speakers between yesterday and today refer to your Ambassador and his staff as friends. In Grozile, they are family. So once again, we can never say thank you enough, we can never say thank you too much. Thank you on behalf of the people, the constituents of this great constituency, Grozile. It is a pity you will not be available to partake in our famous Friday Night Street Party tomorrow evening. I would have loved that you and your entire utterance be our guests. I look forward, Madam President, to the visit of our sister town in Taiwan, Lion Town, with which Grozile is twin, that they come here. I know it is a town that is rich in culture. Let them know that we have a facility for them to share their culture with us while we exchange ours with them. Ladies and gentlemen, at this juncture, I want to say once again, it is a proud moment. However, the true value and benefit of this center will be seen for generations to come. I thank you. It is a pleasure to be here today as we celebrate the dedication of the Grozile, Human Resources Development Center. This center will provide a crucial forum for education, local cultures, and the arts. It will also foster growth in tourism and municipal development. I know Prime Minister Shesnet has quite a hat for tourism and has made it a major policy focus in the well-equipped community center here in the beautiful Grozile. It will definitely help to achieve those policy goals. Here, people will be able to take part in classes to learn crucial job skills. The center will also provide the community with a space for young people to come together and hone their artistic talents. So with the completion of one project, we are helping to bolster economic growth, revitalize local culture, and spur tourism. I can see that Grozile is a vibrant community and the addition of this center will help to bring the community closer together and better showcase your cultural diversity. This center was made possible thanks to our country's joint community development project. Through the CDP, we have completed more than 2,400 infrastructure projects in communities across San Lucia. These include flood control, drainage systems, sidewalks, and roads. These projects have created more than 25,000 jobs opportunities, spurring nationwide economic growth. At the same time, they are also helping to mitigate the impact of climate change, a key issue for both our countries. Our cooperation model means that firms and communities from both our countries can participate and reap the benefits. We refuse to allow our allies to fall into debt traps because our goal is genuine win-win collaboration. In closing, I want to congratulate all the Grozile residents here today on the completion of this center. I hope that you will make good use of it and I look forward to seeing San Lucia unlock even further potential. Thank you. This is certainly an important day in the life of the town of Grozile. The largest one of the most developed and vibrant districts in San Lucia. This Human Resource Development Center has been a long time in coming, but is finally here and I want to congratulate all of those involved in making this a reality. In the manifesto which brought my government to power, I hate that word power, to office in 2016, replaced much emphasis on empowering our people, especially our young people in the fields of endeavor so that they can take their rightful place in the development of this country. For instance, part of our strategy for good governance, we said would be empowering communities through local government and embracing and promoting such organizations as the mothers and fathers groups, youth and sports councils, clubs, religious and other civil society organizations. Over the years, we have realized that one of the detriments to fulfilling such a mission in many communities has been the absence of appropriate facilities for meetings and activities associated with community development. Consequently, we've embarked on a program of building the community centers and human resource centers in several parts of the island. This program was given an added impetus from 2007 when we were able to encourage Republic of China to Taiwan to finance our constituency development program, which seeks as well to develop rural communities and the people who live therein. In fact, it was funding from the Republic of China, Taiwan, that financed the completion of this project after work had come to a halt. President Tsai, we are most grateful for this timely intervention by your country which has delivered today this fine building for the benefit of the grocery community. I must point out too, the fruits of the constituency development program are visible all over our island, touching the lives and empowering entire communities with projects that have improved the physical landscape while at the same time providing employment for our people. With CDP funds, we've undertaken flood mitigation, drainage and soil stabilization projects, built community access roads and footpaths and bridges, created green spaces and parks and also build human capacity. Overall, these projects have enabled communities to become more closely knit because they utilize the skills and talents of workers and contractors from the same communities, helping them to grow and creating an enabling environment for the people to have a say in how they should be developed. In so doing, our people now have a voice and a stake in their own development which will in the long run result in pride in themselves, the communities and more importantly, their country. In more recent years, your Excellency, we have switched the focus of the program a little into more sustainable projects that bring economic benefits to our people. The new dimension seeks to encourage entrepreneurship and create employment in the line in which the overall objective in powering our people in a variety of areas. It is the same kind of empowerment that we hope this new center will foster. In our sincere hope, it is our sincere hope that this building will be used as a regular meeting place for the people of Groslet. The various groups operating here so that they can plan and organize activities that will improve both themselves and the various communities that lift the entire district to new heights of achievement. It is well known that Groslet has for years been the home of the biggest street party to be found anywhere in the Caribbean. In fact, it was the first. Perhaps thought can be given to using this center to prepare and rehearse new attractions that can be added to lift and enhance this weekly Friday night activity while at the same time ensuring its sustainability in the long run. I want to take a moment to really commend the hard work and the dedicated of the dedicated parliament rep your Honorable Leonard Spidey12 and his team. He has always remained focused and passionate about this project with also houses and ICC tents at center. In fact, over the last few months, he has managed to open five ICT centers in communities around Groslet. Congratulations to you. Congratulations to you on the opening of this center. I know that it will serve the community well. I'd like once again, President Tsai, to thank the Republic of China, Taiwan for the tremendous assistance you have given to Saint Lucia over the years and that has helped in our overall development in so many ways. This Human Resource Development Center will, I am sure, represent one of the hallmarks of the relationship between your country and ours. For this, we say a very hearty thank you.