Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present my third Sectoral contribution in this honourable House, since this administration regained its rightful place just over two years ago, at the helm of the Government of this country.
Mr. Speaker, I can proudly say that I have served all the leaders of my party including the Rt. Excellent Norman Washington Manley, and in that regard, apart from my current Leader, I am the longest serving member of the Executive of the People’s National Party, which is undoubtedly the greatest political party in this hemisphere.
I say thanks to all my leaders who, through their confidence placed in me, have enabled me to serve my beloved country as a member of Cabinet for over 20 years. I hasten to add, Mr. Speaker, that most of my time as a Member of Parlia- ment was spent on this side of the House.
Mr. Speaker, I am mindful of the tremendous responsibility that rests on my shoulders, and of the fact that the well-being of every man, woman and child in this country is affected by the critical portfolio areas with which I am charged.
The extent to which we can, and must implement crucial policies, plans, programmes and projects under these areas will, in no small measure, gauge our ability to realize our Vision 2030 Goal of “Jamaica, the place of choice to live, work, raise families and do business.”
I stand here this afternoon, with resolve born of the knowledge that the team at my Ministry, and its Agencies, is creative, proactive, hard working and determined, and that our local, regional and international partners with whom we are “Partnering for Sustainable Development” are as desirous, as we are, to see Jamaica achieve its sustainable development goals.
In fact, Mr. Speaker, we agree that teamwork unifies the effort, divides the tasks and multiplies the effect as we work with the common goal of “Building Resilience – Ensuring Sustainable Development”.
Mr. Speaker, I will get to the meat of the matter in a short while. However, bearing in mind the sheer size of the Ministry, the volume of information and the numerous areas for which we must give an account of our stewardship, it was decided that we would again split the presentations between myself and my Minister of State.
As such, my presentation will focus on the Water, Land, and Climate Change portfolios, while Minister Hayles will speak to the Environment, Planning and Development Portfolios of the Ministry…READ MORE
Download Contribution to the 2014/2015 Sectoral Debate by Minister, the Hon. Robert Pickersgill