Premier Reuben Meade addressed the challenges faced by Montserrat’s new government and highlighted steps taken towards improvement in his 2024 Christmas message.
The message, delivered on 25 December, reads: “As we approach the end of 2024 celebrating another Christmas let us reflect on the positives in our lives, no matter how small they may seem.
“Whatever, you as an individual wish to celebrate, let us all celebrate responsibly while looking out for each other.
“This is a season for caring and sharing always recognising that no matter how difficult it may seem for you, there are others who have it harder than you.
“I encourage you to share a meal with a neighbour or friend who may otherwise have no one to share with them, during this season of cheer.
“I wish on behalf of the team of which I have the privilege of leading, to thank one and all for their confidence in asking us to lead this wonderful little island with big ambitions.
“We thank you and promise to do our best to not disappoint you.
“We have made some other promises. The major one is being open and honest with the public with respect to which of the promises we are able to achieve or not achieve.
“To the public servants with whom we work, I am truly thankful for your support over the past few weeks of our partnership.
“So far, we have pretty much completed our promise of restoring the public restroom facilities in St John’s, making them available in time for the community’s St John’s Day celebrations.
“We have had the services of an engineer who has assessed the electrical system at MUL and has made
recommendations for a way forward toward providing our people with more reliable electricity service.
“That’s something we have committed to doing and I am pleased to say we are moving forward.
“We have had challenges with access but thanks to our service providers we have been able to get our
family, friends, loved ones and visitors to our beloved shores.
“We have worked with the fuel provider to reverse recent price rises, and we have indeed seen these fuel prices fall since that intervention.
“There have been many challenges which we have met in government, which we will resolve as we move forward.
“With God’s grace, our faith and your support we will find a way forward.
“All in all we wish to give thanks and wish everyone a most blessed Christmas as we ponder on a very eventful 2024. Blessings one and all.”
