The Chief and People of Taulevu,
Official from Habitat for Humanity Fiji,
Invited guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen.

Good morning and Ni sa Bula
I wish to express my appreciation for your generosity and the warm welcome extended to me this morning. It gives me a great pleasure to be present at today’s handing over ceremony of the project for Improvement of Water Supply System in your village funded by Japan in cooperation with Habitat for Humanity Fiji (HFHF).

A reliable water supply system enables a healthy living by not only easing the hardships but also, contributes to improvement of sanitation at grassroots level. I sincerely hope that the new water tanks will provide adequate water storage capacity to permanently fix the water problem faced by Taulevu during dry weather spells. At this juncture, I wish to acknowledge your support rendered to HFHF for successful completion of another water project funded through Japan’s Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects programme, in short also known as GGP.

The GGP Programme is designed to address basic human needs, which include water supply, basic sanitary environment, education, health, vocational training and rural infrastructure. In the last Japanese fiscal year, namely April 2010 to March 2011 period, Japan had identified 13 projects under its GGP scheme with a total value of approximately 1 million US dollars around Fiji.

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

Finally, I express the hope that, with proper maintenance, the new water tanks will serve the need of the people of Taulevu for many years ahead.

Thank you and Vinaka Vakalevu.