The MP says despite popular opposition rhetoric, he is present in his constituency. Girard says the works will target key areas of interest for his constituents, including youth and sports, infrastructure, and community tourism. He says he is committed to meeting the election commitments made during his 2021 campaign.
“This year will be a year of tremendous progress. As you know, we are the government which completed the bridge in Canaries. We are now about to do so in Anse La Raye beginning this week with the demolition of the now vacated residences. It took some time because we had to satisfactorily relocate the affected members. To date, all the residences have been replaced. Hoping this week, the process for demolition will commence,” Girard said.
The Anse La Raye Bridge forms part of the wider West Coast Rehabilitation Project which includes the rehabilitation of the Millennium Highway. Namalco Construction Services Limited, based in Trinidad and Tobago won the bid for that project.
Girard, also the Minister in the Ministry of Finance, announced that work is happening on the Au Tabor Court. He says the lighting for the field will be installed in short order.
He says the government also had to embark on environmental conservation efforts along his constituency’s coastlines.
“The former administration thought it not necessary to put in a sewer treatment plant. So we had a pipe flowing from a flush urinal going directly into the sea, which is something we could not countenance. So we did some work and we are now being able to say definitively that we will be putting in a sewer treatment plant,” he said.
These efforts, he says, will help conserve marine life which is important for the economic efforts of his people. “We are also working on the relaunching of the Friday Fish Fry which is an important initiative for the people of Anse La Raye because of the revenue that it generates.”
The Minister also announced the scheduled works to take place in other parts of his constituency.
“By the end of this month, we will have completed the work on the restaurant and market in Canaries. We look forward to launching that and it being a huge success. We are in the process of installing an outdoor Gym in Jacmel as we speak. We’ve also commenced work on the Morne Ciseaux Bridge - the contractor has been engaged and works have commenced. We’ve also started doing rehabilitation works on feeder roads leading into the communities in Jacmel,” he explained.
Girard, not a fan of public appearances, says the public will see more of him in 2024.