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| Sod Turning at Vieux Fort |
The
construction of an administrative complex in the south is a welcomed idea by
all and sundry. The complex I am sure,will mirror many of the services rendered by the
government departments up in the city. Over the years citizens from the South
and South-western part of the country have had to make trips to Castries for
the simplest of documents as well as to collect vouchers and cheques for works
rendered to government – the city has been the center for all government transactions
for eons. This administrative building will help decentralize many government's operations
Wednesday April 20, 2016, saw the Sod-turning Ceremony
to mark the official start of the construction of what will be known as the
Vieux Fort Administrative Complex. Present at the ceremony were officials of both the
government and CIE Ltd, the construction firm which successfully bided for the
construct of this building, the media and a few invited guests.
In a short statement at the ceremony, the Team Leader of
CIE Ltd, Mr Rayneau Gajadhar, reiterated, as if coming out of a dream, that one
of the most important things this afternoon’s ceremony reflected in his mind, is
that his company, wholly St Lucian owned, was able to bid successfully for the
construction of a facility of this magnitude. He mentioned that if his memory serves him right, he thinks that this is "the biggest in value in St Lucia that a local contractor would have undertaken."
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| Rayneau Gajadhar |
"I feel really good as being part of this. This project
is going to be good for Vieux Fort and good for St Lucia ……… have to make sure
it comes out very well so that all can be very proud of it.” Mr Gajadhar said.
“For me to have been able to bid this job, I had
to have had confidence in St Lucia……..I believe in St Lucia, and that is why I
never ran away, I never went anywhere else, stayed, developed it, built it, and
now being here to be able to bid for a job such as this.”
Following Mr Gajadhar's remarks,the Prime Minister, Dr Kenny D Anthony expressed that he believes “Rayneau has been a successful contractor/entrepreneur” and we should celebrate, instead of passing “……..aspersions and so forth, suspicions and ill-will, when there ought to be no reason for it.”
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| Dr Kenny Anthony |
The PM went on to say, “But do you know how often our
contractors have not been able to satisfy the criteria laid out by the World Bank
or the Caribbean Development Bank?”
“If we have institutions in this country that has
finally, finally accomplished the requirements of these institutions, we
really need to give thanks and praise that we are now entering the real world
of commerce, the real world of investment and we are now capable of competing
with any company, any institution anywhere in the Caribbean or for that matter
the wider world.”
Remarks by Rayneau at The Sod Turning Ceremony
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