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His Excellency Sir Rodney Williams, GCMG, KGN, GCFO, MBBS (UWI), CAM, CSM Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda SPEECH FROM THE THRONE Second Session of Parliament “REALIGNING TO REBUILD A BROKEN NATION” 8th January 2015 Parliament Building St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda REALIGNING TO REBUILD A BROKEN NATION SPEECH FROM THE THRONE 2015 Second Session of Parliament Thursday, January 08, 2015 2 Compiled and Published by the Office of the Prime Minister Antigua and Barbuda. Governor General Realigning to Rebuild a Broken Nation 2nd Session of Parliament (2015) Available – Electronic, PDF, Print World Wide Web Access: www.ab.gov.ag Copies are available from the Office of the Prime Minister, Queen Elizabeth Highway, Communications Division (268-462-9766) Printed by the Caribbean Times Printery © Government of Antigua and Barbuda 3 His Excellency Sir Rodney Williams, GCMG, KGN, GCFO, MBBS, CAM, CSM Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda 4 Madame President and Members of the Senate: Mr. Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives: I take this opportunity, at the start of the New Year, to wish each and everyone a prosperous and safe 2015, with Jobs in abundance and economic opportunities aplenty. The year Just ended provided the Antigua and Barbuda people, the nation and its residents with many challenges and choices. The most compelling choice occurred on June 12, 2014, seven months ago, when the adults in our democracy were called-upon to exercise their franchise. I pause to reflect on the indisputable fact that adult suffrage was won for us by the Political Committee of the Antigua and Barbuda Trades and Labour Union on December 20 1951, or 63 years ago. It was a struggle led by a generation which we call the 39ers; subseQuent generations ought never to forget this valiant struggle and the resulting conQuest. The successes of that watershed year set the stage for the political and economic transformation of our country, evolving from a colonial outpost to an economically-thriving sovereign state. Today, my Government faces many new challenges growing out of the six decades of history of the management of our scarce resources since 1951. Madame President and Members of the Senate: Mr. Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives: Three high-priority challenges dominate in the Antigua and Barbuda which we all love. My Government views itself as a problem-solver and has thus approached these challenges with the mindset of a medical doctor: diagnosis, treatment and recovery; not complaint, blind faith, or anger. First, a recurring fiscal imbalance—brought about by spending more annually than is collected in revenue—is unsustainable. Spending more than is earned cannot continue ad infinitum. That challenge occupies the thinking and policy-choices of my Government. Overcoming the fiscal imbalance reQuires growth in the economy, not increases in taxes. The former administration introduced several new tax measures but failed to grow the economy, especially so after 2008. It is my Government’s intention to grow the Antigua and Barbuda economy in 2015 at a rate much higher than the 1.7% forecast by the International Monetary Fund. The forecast by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) of 4.5% growth is closer to my Government’s goal. My Government assures the Antigua and Barbuda workers and families that there will be no new taxes. 5 The second challenge grows out of the first, and is given the highest priority by my Government. That challenge is unemployment, especially among youth and heads of households. In the immediate past, the Government became the employer of choice. My Government intends to expand private-sector employment by increasing foreign direct investments. That formula for growth and revenue expansion worked after 1976, and will succeed during this five- year term. Since June 12 2014, more than US$3 billion dollars in new investments have been secured. Each permanent Job in Antigua and Barbuda reQuires nearly $250,000 in investment. One billion dollars of investment would therefore create nearly 4,000 new Jobs. Three billion dollars will generate 12,000 new jobs and other spin-offs that will cause our economy to grow exponentially. The immediate future is therefore bright, my Government can report, and the long-term growth expectation is Justifiably superb. The challenge to create new Jobs, to fill and exceed the thousands of Jobs lost since 2004, is the number one priority of my Government. The third challenge revolves around violent crime. The Antigua and Barbuda people have witnessed home invasions by violent criminals; robberies with guns perpetrated against businesses and their employees; and, violent acts against innocent people on our streets, intended to deprive them of their money and precious identification, at all hours of the day. These cannot continue. A culture of lawlessness cannot be allowed to take root in our country. My Government is therefore allocating additional resources to the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda and its leadership, in its determination to reduce and eventually to eliminate this grave affliction. The Royal Police Force will also be provided the kind of financial resources it reQuires in order to enable it to meet expenses connected to forensic investigations, DNA decoding and identification, and meeting the expenses associated with other advanced technological investigations, undertaken overseas. 2015 will be the year when the criminals will cringe, as the power of the state is unleashed against those who will choose to rely upon illicit guns to do harm. We shall not surrender. We shall succeed. Madame President and Members of the Senate: Mr. Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives: 6 Crime undermines economic growth. Debt can also undermine growth, especially if the ability to repay is outstripped by the revenues generated continuously, for years on end. The outgoing administration discovered this fact far too late, my Government believes. In fact, significant borrowings before 2014 were utilized for consumption, which inherently does not generate any returns. Following the assumption of office on June 13, 2014, my Government discovered that many debts had gone unpaid, because the resources available exceeded the ability to meet them. My Government will be compelled to repay, since Government is continuous. The burden is real and will not be concealed by any clever accounting. My Government will tabulate every unpaid debt owed by the state, bringing them to book, indicating how their interest will be paid, how their principal will be reduced, and when they will be liQuidated. The era of concealment is over. The challenges are real and the solutions will come from creative thinking and strategic maneuvering. Madame President and Members of the Senate: Mr. Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives: My Government commends the professionals at the Ministry of Finance and Corporate Governance for the sterling service which they have undertaken on behalf of their country. In many ways, the Ministry of Finance is a nerve center. One of its many responsibilities is to provide advice on the allocation of resources in a well-reasoned debt-management strategy. By providing reliable, timely and accurate data, decision-makers are able to construct effective policies. My Government intends to develop a forecasting model at the Treasury and to improve the accounting structure and system in all Government Accounts Departments. Most importantly, my Government intends to develop an electronic proJect that will allow for the storage and retrieval of vouchers and other important documents. The days when boxes of vouchers sit in corners waiting to be processed are fast coming to an end. Madame President and Members of the Senate: Mr. Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives: One of the important contributors to the Consolidated Fund has been the Antigua and Barbuda Department of Marine Services (ADOMS). My Government brought legislation to Parliament shortly after the June 12 general elections in order to strengthen and modernize ADOMS. My Government also reversed a 2008 decision of the previous administration by re-instituting a 1992 decision that sensibly allows for duty-free and tax-free entry of luxury yachts and other vessels here. 7 The obJect is to entice their owners to register these vessels in Antigua and Barbuda, rather than chase the vessels away to neighboring islands and elsewhere. The 2008 policy caused these vessels to be registered in other destinations and then to enter Antigua and Barbuda’s ports without making any significant contribution. My Government has followed the lessons learned between 1976 and 2004. When taxes are lowered, and the welcome mat is laid out, Jobs begin to flow. The operators of the dry docks are very pleased because they will sell more spare parts and more services to the owners and operators of the vessels. My Government also instructed the Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) to establish a reverse osmosis plant in the Nelson’s Dockyard area in order to ensure that visiting vessels can receive all the fresh water that they reQuire. Yachting and the registration of vessels, ship chandlery and the provision of fresh water, steady electricity supply and security in the form of better policing, have transformed the Falmouth community. Madame President and Members of the Senate: Mr. Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives: While my Government has sought to attract the wealthy and the well-endowed, its leaders have not forgotten the less-fortunate, the elderly, the infirmed, or the vulnerable. The Citizens’ Welfare Division has done a masterful Job with very scarce resources. At present, nearly 70 persons are receiving home help care, and nearly 100 others are awaiting my Government’s assistance through the GRACE Programme. Help is coming! These men and women receiving help and wanting help are elderly, and many are ill.

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