Good morning members and staff of the Skills Development Programme, family members and members of the media.

Let me start by saying how delighted I am to stand here today at another Skills Development Programme awards ceremony. Nothing brings greater joy to me than to see young people benefit from a programme such as this.

Mr. Speaker, articulated in both its 2017 and 2020 General Election manifestos – this Government vowed to ensure more affordable housing would be available for seniors and families; continue to increase the stock of affordable housing throughout the country and expand rent geared to income programmes.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to provide an update to this Honourable House on the progress of the Solar Panel Installation Project on four (4) Government Buildings.

Mr. Speaker, in the Government’s 2017 election platform just over 5 years ago, this Administration pledged to and I quote - “Take the lead in investing in the Green Economy by outfitting Government buildings with renewable energy generation technologies, enabling the Government to become a net producer of energy”. I can assure this house today…promises made, promises kept.

Mr. Speaker, outlined in the government’s platform of 2017 were a number of commitments made that were designed to enhance the lives of our citizens. Specific to the Ministry of Public Works, the government committed to reviewing the current system for handling Water and Wastewater – and to work with the private sector to facilitate systems that would properly treat sewage waste across the island which also includes the two Municipalities.

Mr. Speaker, this morning I would like to provide this Honourable House with a further report on the state of the island’s roads and the various ongoing trenching projects.

Mr. Speaker, it is worth repeating some of what was said at the beginning of this exercise. In a Ministerial Statement in this House on February 14th, 2020 – I said and I quote:

Good afternoon - members of the news media and the listening audience.

I’m pleased to be here today to outline of some of the initiatives for the Ministry of Public Works, as mentioned in the Throne Speech. As you may be aware, the Ministry is responsible for sustaining Bermuda’s critical resources, including roads, water supplies, parks, public lands, four quangos, the municipalities and services such as sewage and waste collection.

As the significant upgrades to Bermuda’s water and sewage infrastructure continue, the Ministry of Public Works today advised that a water main determined to be past its useful life is to be repaired.

“Significant water loss is experienced every minute of every day as a result of this issue and so this work must be carried out to ensure the water supply is more resilient and reliable for area residents and businesses” said Minister of Public Works Col. David Burch.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to bring extremely positive news in relation to an election pledge made by this Government in its 2020 Election Manifesto - to improve the quality of life for all Bermudians.

Mr. Speaker, honourable colleagues in the Chamber today and the listening public shall already be acutely aware: housing prices, mortgage interest rates and rental prices have been on a continuous rise worldwide.

In Bermuda, the monthly rental rates range as follows:

The Bermuda Government was recently awarded a National Government Leadership Award by the Alliance for PE( Polyethylene) Pipe.

The award recognises the valuable work of the Bermuda Government in the implementation of the Water and Wastewater Master Plan (WWMP), the correct use of PE pipes and the great work of the Bermuda Land Development Company (BLDC) in facilitating the start-up of a fusion training and certification protocol on the island.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to provide a further update on the Tynes Bay Waste to Energy Facility.

Honourable members may recall in February of this year, the then Acting Minister advised this House on the One Hundred and Fifty Million dollars (BMD $150,000,000.00) Capital Programme for the refurbishment of the Waste to Energy facility and the commencement of said programme.