Good morning and Ni sa Bula

From the outset, I wish to express my sincere appreciation for your generosity and the warm reception extended to me this morning. It gives me a great pleasure to be around here to officiate today’s handing over ceremony of the project for Improvement of Water Supply System in your village funded by Japan. I guess this water project can be described as the perfect New Year’s gift from Japan to you.

Water is a basic need, and, disrupted water supply greatly affects the livelihood. A good water supply system not only eases the hardships but also, becomes a beacon of hope for grassroots to build and enjoy hygienically proven modern facilities such as proper flush toilet and shower facilities. This project, in fact, is timely for the people of Lawaki and nearby villages especially when the village is growing. I believe this is the sixth attempt made by the villagers, since 1962, to improve water supply system, and I am hopeful that the new water source and two additional water tanks will permanently fix the water problem at Lawaki.  

The donation of this water project was funded through Japan’s Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security (GGP) Programme. Since the inception of this programme in 1993, Japan funded 255 projects with a total value of approximately 11.3 million US dollars around Fiji Islands. Under the GGP Programme, Japan continues to provide small and flexible grants to support development projects at the grass-roots level through its GGP Programme that is specifically designed to address basic human needs, which include water supply, basic sanitary environment, education, health, vocational training and rural infrastructure. In this Japanese fiscal year, namely April 2010 to March 2011 period, Japan has identified 13 projects under its GGP scheme with a total value of approximately 1 million US dollars around Fiji Islands, and among these 13 projects, this is the second project to be handed over successfully.

This assistance is a reflection of Japan’s goodwill and friendship to the people of the Republic of the Fiji Islands, and, while helping development of such projects, this assistance will contribute to strengthen the friendly ties between our two countries, Japan and Fiji.

To conclude, I wish to express the hope that with proper maintenance, this new water supply system will serve the need of the people of Lawaki and neighbouring area for many years to come, while congratulating you for being successful recipient of this wonderful New Year’s gift from the people of Japan.

Thank you and Vinaka Vakalevu.