WE ARE near the ultimate moment of the current year. As the seconds of 2008 tick away, and with the inevitable entry of 2009, we are drawn into a circumstance where end and beginning meld. This ushers in an opportunity for all of us to assess our past, present, and the mysterious unknown, the future. What, in the past year, should we stop doing, what should we continue doing, and what, in 2009, should we start doing to better the life of our country and people? The year that is about to pass presented an existence precarious to all of us at the national level a politically frightening financial crisis, a socially devastating rate of inflation, and an economically debilitating flight of investors causing a slowdown in national and local development. As the country crosses the imaginary divide that separates the current year from the incoming one, what should we do to make life a bit better? Certainly, efforts must be done to resolve the fiscal dilemma, the runaway inflation and our political outlook. Certainly, as we begin the New Year, the challenge is for us to rectify the failures of 2008 as well as strive to build on its successes so that 2009 will be much more rewarding to our lives.
I hope that this new year will bring many opportunities in your way, to explore every joy of life and may your resolutions for the days ahead stay firm, turning all your dreams into reality and all your efforts into great achievements.
I hope that this new year will bring many opportunities in your way, to explore every joy of life and may your resolutions for the days ahead stay firm, turning all your dreams into reality and all your efforts into great achievements.