His Excellency Sir Rodney Williams, GCMG, KGN, GCFO, MBBS, CAM, CSM Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda

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

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

His Excellency Sir Rodney Williams, GCMG, KGN, GCFO, MBBS, CAM, CSM Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda

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.

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:

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.

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. They are clearly incapable of taking care of themselves adequately. The compassion for which Labour Governments are known will rise to the occasion in 2015.

Children are another group of vulnerable citizens receiving services from The Citizens Welfare Division. Child Protection and Family Services continue to be an integral part of the work carried out by this indispensable Government department. The Foster Care division is especially important. In order to improve the quality of Foster Care, the programme has engaged in training. When providing a standardized, structured framework for recruiting, preparing and selecting alternative caregivers, extreme care has to be exercised.

My Government thanks the professionals at The Citizens Welfare Division for giving so much of themselves. Our nation is indebted to you.

Madame President and Members of the Senate: Mr. Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

Teachers are another group of professionals who give yeoman’s service to this very proud and ambitious island-country. Four new pre-schools will be opened in September by my Government. Every opportunity to give a head start to our children is deemed an investment in the future.

The National Public Library, opened in a real way by my Government four months ago, will make its resources available to students on Saturdays and Sundays for five hours each day. My Government is aware that serious studying can and ought to take place on weekends. Access to a learning facility on days when students have no classroom exposure can only operate to the benefit of those eager to learn.

My Government is developing an intelligent society, as envisioned by the 39ers and the 76ers.

The establishment of the University College of Antigua and Barbuda, and the transfer of the State College to picturesque Five Islands, will cause Antigua and Barbuda to produce the abundance of talent and intelligence that our society requires in order to prosper continually.

In times past, Antigua and Barbuda exported talent. The parents of Sir Arthur Lewis, the first West Indian to win a Nobel Prize, were teachers trained at the Moravian Teachers Training College here and exported to St. Lucia. The parents of Sir Wilfred Jacobs—the first Governor from the majority population who was also the very first of our four Governors-General—were also Antiguan-trained teachers, exported to Grenada.

Very few of us may have read about Miss Kate Ladoo who died on August 7, 1949, at the age of 85 years and is buried in the St. John’s Cemetery. The newspapers of the day ranked her with James Emmanuel Aggrey, George Washington Carver and Booker T. Washington; they were outstanding educators from the African-American community of that day.

Kate Ladoo was hailed as “a great Negro educator”, for she established schools and taught classes wherever she went.

This great citizen of Antigua and Barbuda lived and taught in Nigeria, Liberia, St. John, St. Thomas, St. Croix in the USVI, in Puerto Rico, and at several learning institutions right here in Antigua. She is to be remembered by history.

Antigua and Barbuda has talent! My Government intends to develop and to utilize that enormous pool of talent, turning our small state into an economic powerhouse in the Caribbean.

Madame President and Members of the Senate: Mr. Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

Our talent has often been expressed in education, but also in sports and in culture. Our two living National Heroes, Sir Vivian Richards and Sir Lester Bird, placed Antigua and Barbuda at

9 the forefront of cricket, football, track and field. Sir Lester was the very first Antigua and Barbuda youth to win an athletic scholarship. In 1958, he went off to the University of Michigan where he did us proud.

Nothing prevents us from displaying excellence and to out-perform our competitors from larger states and better endowed countries. Sir Vivian Richards, Sir Richie Richardson, Sir Anderson Roberts, Sir Courtney Ambrose, Ridley Jacobs and other Antiguan and Barbudan cricketers have all impressed us with their talent.

My Government will be engaging in talent-identification and then executing a nurturing programme for those gifted and highly motivated athletes who can achieve greatness. The nation strives for excellence.

In an innovative drive to attach sports to economic growth, my Government will pursue “sports tourism”, strengthening the thrust through aggressive marketing, communication and investment.

Test Cricket will be returning to Antigua in a little more than three months or in April 2015. Everyone knows that the very long absence was occasioned by sand. The Sir Vivian Richards Stadium will be a bustling venue when the West Indies battle England during their tour of the Caribbean region. Thousands of their fans are expected to follow their team to Antigua, filling the hotels, the restaurants, and the taxicabs just when the tourism season begins its decline in mid-April. My Government expects the West Indies team to perform better than it recently did in South Africa, and that Antigua and Barbuda’s cricketers will hereafter return the West Indies to a period of greatness.

Madame President and Members of the Senate: Mr. Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

My Government therefore intends to preserve large tracts of open land in every community so that sports of every kind can thrive. While flat open spaces are also coveted for housing, agricultural land will be clearly preserved so that more benefits can flow from the contribution which this underperforming sector can make.

During the past seven months, despite a severe drought and other calamities, thousands of assorted vegetable and fruit seedlings were distributed to the general public. 560 acres of vegetables and root crops were grown by farmers. Several ponds were cleared to enable greater storage of water.

The Extension Division rehabilitated the Diamond Hole Dam which now has a holding capacity of six million gallons. Congratulations!

My Government is very much aware that the challenges faced by agriculture and food production are many. More financial and human resources are required in order to expand the sector.

The harm from invasive species, whether at sea or on land, poses risks that fisher-folk and narrowly-capitalized farms can barely overcome. Praedial theft compounds the woes faced by diligent farmers. Roaming quadrupeds add to the calamities faced by our food providers. My Government will do more to help our farmers and fisher-folk in 2015 and beyond.

Additionally, the possibilities for backward and forward linkages between local food production and tourism, including the cruise vessels, the hotels, restaurants and the kitchens in small eateries around the country, are real. My Government intends to assist the farmers and fisher- folk to maximize those potentials.

Madame President and Members of the Senate: Mr. Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

The challenges faced by our small island-state, characterized by bays and inlets, surrounded by islets and hundreds of beaches, define the complexity of our border.

In November 2014, a new Border Management System was implemented, that enables our Coast Guard, Customs and other forces to manage the nation’s border with greater efficiency.

My Government continues to invest in systems and, even more so, in people. Learning and Development form a significant part of the public safety dimensions of the nation’s security. Workshops and specialized training are already planned for the Police and Prison Officers, Security Personnel, Immigration Officers and Ministry of Labour Officials.

These workshops will cover diverse and challenging subject areas, including Leadership and Management, Supervisory Training, Business Law and Labour Law, Professional Ethics, Customer Service, Customer Relations, and Project Management.

More and varied training will become part of the work-life of those who provide protection. My Government intends to equip its critical security workforce with the skills to tackle the most pressing and daunting challenges which the nation faces.

It is very clear from the official record of wrongdoing that a small segment of the youth population is at risk. My Government wants to exclude no one from the benefits which are sure to flow from improved life opportunities. A special effort is focused upon youth. It is the reasonable expectation of my Government that juveniles facing the justice system can be led away from ruinous courses towards a path that engenders feelings of high self-worth and exemplary behavior.

Antigua and Barbuda has signed-on to an OECS/USAID Juvenile Project valued at more than EC$1 million dollars, began last year and to be continuously channeled during 2015, towards rescuing juveniles at risk.

My Government is fully aware of the importance of work in enabling feelings of self-worth and feelings of value. The newly rebranded work experience programme has been redesigned and expanded. More than 500 youthful trainees have been deployed in hotels, restaurants, consulting firms, technical institutions and Government departments. The youth of Antigua and Barbuda are tomorrow’s leaders, and every step is being taken to safeguard their future.

Madame President and Members of the Senate: Mr. Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

Those residents who have come from other places to work and live among us make significant contributions.

My Government is duty-bound to ensure that the Immigration Appeals Tribunal commences operation in the first quarter of 2015. The Tribunal will act as a Court of First Instance, hearing cases of immigrants who doubt the validity or correctness of decisions rendered by the Immigration Department.

Those brothers and sisters from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and other states who believe that they have been wronged by a decision of the Immigration Department will have the right to utilize the Immigration Appeals Tribunal. Fairness and justice will continue to be the hallmark of my Government’s dealings with those who have come to work and live among us. The people of Antigua and Barbuda are kind and generous. We treat others as we would like to be treated when we venture into other lands to work and to live. The golden rule is our creed.

Madame President and Members of the Senate: Mr. Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

The Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda remains our best defense against those who would steal and rob and kill. Although the Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization in their Global Status Report on Violence Prevention 2014, report that Antigua and Barbuda has the second lowest homicide rate in the world, my Government believes that even one homicide is one too many. While the Force is focused upon delivering the best service-product possible, my Government recognizes that human and financial resources are the bedrock of its continued success.

When certain classes of crimes are committed, evidence of guilt or innocence can only be detected by the application of modern technological methods. DNA testing and tissue sampling, for example, are routinely sent abroad.

When part of the evidentiary work in a criminal investigation is undertaken outside of Antigua and Barbuda, money has to be paid before the results will be released. Should the Treasury not have the money required to pay for that work done overseas, the evidence cannot be applied because the results would not have been released. It is my Government’s intention to make those financial resources readily available at all times, for the payment of overseas contractors who undertake scientific investigations on behalf of the Police.

My Government intends to ensure that justice is done. Those who are innocent ought not to spend one extra day behind bars. Those criminals who are justly convicted are to be taken off the streets and placed in Her Majesty’s Prison where they belong.

My Government will continue to ensure training of the police. New recruits will be trained at Langford’s during 2015.

Seasoned members will continue to travel to Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados, the USA, Canada, the UK and further afield in order to receive the kind of training that will improve the delivery of service. We are going to put a serious dent in crime. My Government calls on the population to cooperate with the Police. “If you see something, say something.”

Madame President and Members of the Senate: Mr. Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

My Government is very much aware of the role which Her Majesty’s Prison plays in the crime- fighting matrix. Rehabilitation ought to become a significant element in the prisoner experience. However, so many criminals are packed into so small a space at the lone Prison on Coronation Road that the number of Prison Officers, required to supervise them, will never be sufficient until the number of prisoners declines.

My Government intends to provide the Magistrates and Judges with great discretion, applying the amended law that allows for alternative sentencing. Minor offences and non-violent contraventions of the law are better addressed by non-custodial sentencing.

There is no point in creating more ex-convicts who are unable to find employment on release because employers shun this group. My Government will apply intelligence to this challenge, rather than react in a dangerous and unthinking manner as reflected in the 2004 Amendment to the Magistrates Code of Procedure Act.

Prison reform is another area of concern to my Government. As part of the prison reform programmes, it is proposed to use the inmates to perform duties such as the cleaning of the grounds of official buildings and other public places. My Government will consider paying a stipend to the work done by such prisoners, so that after release from prison, a prisoner may have a modest sum of money to keep him going until he secures employment.

My Government will fix the unsanitary conditions at the Prison which affects workers, innocents on remand, and criminals that are already being punished by deprivation of their freedom. The unsanitary conditions are uncivilized, my Government believes. Improvements at the Prison are forthcoming, and the new warden is thanked immensely.

Madame President and Members of the Senate: Mr. Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

My Government is of the view that the Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force, the Antigua and Barbuda Coast Guard, and the Organization for National Drug Control Policy form a very necessary web of protection that multiplies our security, defends our well-being, and safeguards our sovereignty. The talent, training and discipline which the leadership and the membership display at all times make us as a people very proud.

My Government applauds the professionalism of the tripartite group for the sterling work undertaken by the soldiers, the mariners and the law enforcement personnel that quietly do exactly as expected of them in a democracy. A few changes are forthcoming in 2015 to strengthen and enhance the capabilities of these three institutions. My Government is certain that 2015 will be extremely busy and the trio will continue their sterling contribution towards nation-building.

Madame President and Members of the Senate: Mr. Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

When the colonials, in 1967, preserved Antigua and Barbuda’s defense and foreign affairs portfolios for its continued control, it feared that our leaders then might not be willing to align the foreign policy of a semi-independent Antigua and Barbuda with the colonizing power’s. One of the lessons learned by the Antigua and Barbuda people since 1981 is that we have no enemies. Antigua and Barbuda is a friend to all. We have interests and friends, and therefore can forge strong relations with all.

My Government has thus dispatched Economic Envoys and appointed Ambassadors-At-Large to many countries in search of investments. The purpose is clear. Antigua and Barbuda must create jobs to satisfy the demand of its citizens for a better life, filled with opportunities for its sons and daughters. An independent foreign policy has allowed the state to fix its sights on its own interests, and to make its primary concern the improvement of its own people.

The regional integration movement, expressed by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the many sub-institutions created to serve the needs of the states, is surely one of the bright spots in the short history of our West Indian people. Yet, we have befriended Venezuela long before sovereignty, and continue to embrace this Bolivarian Republic. The Venezuelans have been both generous and brotherly for more than four decades, the record will show.

During this Parliamentary Year, my Government will seek to build on goodwill occasioned by a new administration in Antigua and Barbuda and strengthen the many relationships forged for the long-term benefit of all Antiguans and Barbudans.

My Government values the relationship it has established with our Caribbean Community (CARICOM) partners; the People’s Republic of China; the Republic of Cuba; the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela; Brazil; the United States of America; Canada; the United Kingdom and other European Countries; the United Mexican States; Turkey; Japan; South Korea; the Gulf States; and countries around the world.

To further foster stronger relations with our regional and international partners, my Government will strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its overseas offices and missions.

Madame President and Members of the Senate: Mr. Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

The fragile environment of small island-states need not be repeated yet again to this audience.

It is my Government’s intention to pursue a policy of reducing the carbon footprint by relying on more green energy. Barbuda will become a green-energy island within a short period, as more modern green technology is installed there to generate all the electricity that Barbuda needs. My Government’s intention is to significantly reduce Antigua’s reliance on fossil fuels. A target of 20% reliance on green energy, in the first term of this administration, is being pursued vigorously.

The same vigor and determination that have characterized the efforts to lessen our dependence on fossil fuels, holds true for ensuring that ours is a healthy nation. The public service announcements, the sponsored activities of the Medical Benefits Scheme, the contributions by doctors to examine men for prostate abnormalities, the breast screening for cancer, the walks and the runs, the plethora of other activities that aim to produce a healthy nation all delight my Government.

Yet, my Government is fully aware that a well-staffed hospital, offering expert diagnostics, treatment and recovery services, is a sine qua non in any civilized society.

The Mount St. John Medical Center has been improving its services to its patients with the acquisition of new equipment, new management, and an increase in medical practitioners.

A new era in hospital care has emerged in Antigua and Barbuda, and my Government takes great pride in knowing that it has been the catalyst in bringing about this change.

The addition of Cuban doctors, nurses and other health professionals has been very helpful in keeping our nation healthy. My Government looks forward to having the Chinese surgeons later this month removing cataracts from the eyes of the afflicted, and then leaving the equipment here as a gift to the Mount St. John Medical Center. My Government thanks the Chinese Government in advance for this gift.

Madame President and Members of the Senate: Mr. Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

My Government’s legislative emphasis during the last Parliamentary Session was on the reform of the country’s legal system, bringing it in tandem with current technological advances and the era in which we live.

It is my Government’s intention to continue with its reform agenda in the delivery of Justice in our state.

Firstly, the Attorney General’s Office of the Ministry of Legal Affairs is in need of urgent reform. Over the years, previous administrations, including our own, have not made funds available to improve the efficiency of the law office.

My Government however intends to rectify the situation by carrying out a series of reforms, which will include a regular updating of all the Laws online and to make them more accessible to the general public. To this end, my Government will, among other things, improve the quality of the Official Gazette, by disseminating more information on activities of the Government to the public through the Gazette than is presently available.

My Government proposes over the coming years to make the Gazette available online for the first time. An editor of the Official Gazette will be appointed to facilitate this process. It is also the intention to provide the Law Office of the state with a Law Library and give Law officers of the Crown access to legal information online.

My Government’s vision on Parliamentary Reform is to make a modest amendment to the Standing Orders of the House and Senate with a view to making the passage of legislation more efficient.

In this regard, it is proposed to create a joint legislative review committee, consisting of members of the Senate and the House. The function of the legislative review committee will be to review all Bills before such Bills are introduced to the House and the Senate.

It is the view of my Government that this modest reform bill will enable the Senate to participate more meaningfully to the passage of legislation than the current practice.

For the current Parliamentary Session, my Government also proposes to carry out a series of selected law revision exercises in addition to the ongoing general laws of Antigua and Barbuda.

In particular, my Government will examine the laws relating to Non-Citizens Land Holding Regulation Act Cap. 293 and Non-Citizens Undeveloped Land Tax Act Cap. 294.

My Government will also explore the possibility of establishing a Crown Prosecution Service Legislation with a view to strengthening and improving the prosecution of crimes in the Magistrate Courts.

My Government also proposes to introduce during this Parliamentary Year the following Bills: - The Renewable Energy Bill - The Environmental Protection and Management Bill - Telecommunication Bill - The Defamation Bill - The Criminal Amendment (2015 Amendment) Bill - The Bail Bill - The Theft Bill - The Bailiffs Bill - The Credit Reporting Bill - The Crown Prosecution Service Bill - The International Corporations Bill - The International Banking Bill

In addition, My Government intends to introduce a series of social reform legislation to tackle the many social problems facing Antigua and Barbuda. One such project will examine the possibility of assisting young people to establish their own businesses.

It is envisaged that the programme will provide a mechanism to assist young people with resources to stand on their own. This may include resources such as equipment for young doctors, books for attorneys to establish their practice, tailors, carwashers among others. They may also be provided with tax breaks and concessions during the initial stages of their practice.

Madame President and Members of the Senate: Mr. Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

I conclude by noting that Antigua and Barbuda attracted enormous quantities of new investments since June 12, 2014. The interest in Antigua and Barbuda has been triggered by the swiftness with which the new Government makes decisions. The seamless flow of review and authorization has replaced the sluggishness that once characterized the decision-making process of the past.

My Government has demonstrated in seven months that it is friendly towards business, ready to execute and prepared to fix its broken parts. A new dispensation now governs.

The object of my Government is to return Antigua and Barbuda to a period of greatness. The past seven months have seen the groundwork done to transform Antigua and Barbuda into a harmonious, prosperous and modern nation, making it an economic powerhouse in the Caribbean.

My Government is filled with energy, drive and talent. The combined aptitude of the Ministries’ leaders has been applied towards achieving full employment, towards ensuring the equitable distribution of wealth, and towards providing equality of opportunity and justice.

It is my Government’s intention to demonstrate success by action, not by words. The path ahead is sure to be filled with economic opportunities and the creation of new wealth. Every citizen and resident of Antigua and Barbuda will have the opportunity to improve his or her life chances, and to make the personal future of his and her family better than it ever was.

Madame President and Members of the Senate: Mr. Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

May God continue to bless us all and to guide us. May the New Year bring us joy and happiness. May we learn to love our neighbours as we love ourselves.

I thank you.