Honourable
President of the Senate;
Honourable Speaker of the House;
Honourable Members of the Senate;
Honourable Members of the House of Representatives:
At
the dawn of a new millennium,
Antigua
and Barbuda
has entered a new era in its political and social affairs.
The
world, it seems, has warmly welcomed government in the sunshine
in
Antigua
and Barbuda
.
My
Government begins its stewardship with a great fund of goodwill
that appears to be close to universal.
Antigua
and Barbuda
will need all the goodwill we now enjoy.
Our
country faces daunting internal challenges.
We also have to contend with current regional and global crisis.
We
cannot escape the threat of unpredictable external shocks.
My
Government begins its first term with the economy in crisis, and
with severe inadequacies in our physical and social
infrastructure.
In
a land of comparative wealth, too many of our citizens are
trapped below the poverty line.
CARICOM
is facing its most serious crisis because of the situation with
Haiti
,
a member state.
Global
Terrorism is a clear and present danger to every nation,
including
Antigua
and Barbuda
.
Our
region is under serious threat from the cartels engaged in
narcotics trafficking, and money laundering.
Our
region is also under serious threat from the scourge AIDS.
The
new globalised world order makes little concessions to small
developing states like
Antigua
and Barbuda
.
Nor
will the Free Trade Area of the
Americas
.
With
all of this, uncommon insight and innovation will be required of
my Government in equipping
Antigua
and Barbuda
for success in a fiercely competitive borderless world economy.
To
do this, my government will have to bring the Antiguan and
Barbudan peoples together in a truly united nation.
As
a united people, we will have to narrow the unacceptable and
widening gap between the rich and the poor in our society.
It
will be necessary to give our young people hope and opportunity.
It
will be necessary to restore the dignity of our elderly and
enhance the quality of their living.
It
will be necessary to provide housing for our homeless.
It
will be necessary to mobilize the entire country in a mission of
recovery, reconstruction and renewal.
It
will be necessary to restore pride in our Nation, at home and
internationally.
It
will be necessary to strengthen all of our nation’s
institutions.
My
Government took full measure of these realities in formulating
its “Agenda for Change”,
which the Antiguan and Barbudan people convincingly endorsed on
Tuesday
March 23, 2004
.
This
Agenda for Change
defines and will determine the philosophy and the working
policies of my Government, during the life of this Parliament,
and beyond.
Honourable
Members of the Senate;
Honourable Members of the House of Representatives:
The
central focus of my Government’s policies and actions are
embodied in the credo, “People First”.
My
Government’s core philosophy is that the principal purpose of
government is to improve the lives of all citizens, by equitably
using the resources available to the state to do the greatest
good for the greatest number of our citizens.
In
this context, my Government recognises an urgent obligation to
intervene to ease the economic squeeze on the vulnerable in our
society.
To
this end, my government will introduce a number of urgent
measures, which will include the removal of the Duty and
Consumption Tax on a designated range of items for infant care.
Untold
numbers of parents find it hard to provide their children with
nutritious meals for lunch, or with money for them to buy proper
lunches.
Since
nutrition is linked to scholastic achievement, my Government
will introduce a National School Feeding Programme that will
provide nutritious luncheon meals to all school children.
Faithful
to its cardinal principle of putting people first, my government
will ease the economic squeeze on parents, particularly those of
modest means, by providing an annual $350.00 school uniform
grant to each child attending primary school.
Students
attending secondary will schools will each receive an annual
$500.00 school uniform grant.
The
annual school uniform grant will be made available to parents in
time for the start of the new school year.
Recognising
that many families depend on Food and Clothes Barrels from
relatives abroad for their Christmas cheer, my government will
remove the duties, fees and consumption tax on one gift Barrel
for every family from November, 1 to December 31.
Recipients
of these Christmas Barrels will, however, be required to pay a
$1.00 fee to clear their Christmas Barrels.
To
reduce the hardship of laid-off workers, my Government will
introduce an Unemployment Relief Programme, in which laid-off
workers will receive 60% of their last wage or salary for up to
a period of three months.
To
assist our senior citizens to carry out urgent repairs to their
homes, my Government will provide an annual $2,500 Home
Improvement Grant to citizens over 60 years whose incomes do not
permit them to maintain their homes in good condition; provided
that in each case, the unit value of the property concerned is
less than $100,000.
My
Government takes the view that society has the obligation to
make generous provisions to brighten the lives of our elderly in
their golden years.
Conscious
of this obligation, citizens over 60 years of age will receive a
$1,000 monthly pension.
As
a fundamental principle, my Government will provide every
citizen reaching the age of 60 years with a decent pension.
This
$1,000 pension will be introduced in three stages.
All
persons 60 years and over will receive a minimum pension of
$750.00 per month, with effect from
January
1, 2004
.
All
persons 60 years and over will receive a minimum pension of
$900.00 a month, to take effect on
January
1, 2005
.
All
persons 60 years and over will receive a minimum pension of
$1,000.00 a month, to take effect on
January
1, 2006
.
Honourable
Members of the Senate;
Honourable Members of the House of Representatives:
My
Government gives the clear commitment that pensioners shall
share fairly in the prosperity of the nation.
To
that end, my government will reduce the costs of electricity and
water payable by senior citizens.
This
will be based on a needs assessment and will be provided under a
new Hardship Relief Programme.
As
a special consideration, my Government will exempt all citizens
and residents over 60 years of age from the airport Departure
Tax.
My
Government will expand coverage under the new National Health
Insurance Plan to include arthritis and other diseases that are
prevalent among the aged.
My
Government will provide institutional support to the Antigua
& Barbuda Pensioners’ Association and affiliated groups.
Honourable
Members of the Senate;
Honourable Members of the House of Representatives:
My
Government will implement a broad social transformation to
eradicate poverty in
Antigua
and Barbuda
,
to create a level field for persons of all social origins; to
upgrade urban and rural communities and to provide affordable
quality shelter.
One
family living below the poverty line is a blemish on society and
the belief that ‘to whom much is given, much is expected’
will mobilise the social partners in a national social
transformation mission.
The
goal is to make all Antiguans and Barbudans self-reliant through
education, training, self-development and economic opportunity,
and to end dependence on welfare.
The
national social transformation mission will provide assistance
and encouragement to Faith Based Organizations, other
Non-governmental Organizations, and Community Based
Organizations engaged in relieving hardship among the vulnerable
in the society.
Honourable
Members of the Senate;
Honourable Members of the House of Representatives:
I
now turn to one of our society’s most acute problems, housing.
Though,
affordable housing is increasingly recognised as a
fundamental right, in Antigua and Barbuda, as in most
developing societies, people of modest means are the hardest hit
by housing shortages.
To
tackle this problem in a meaningful manner, my Government will:
·
Establish
a Housing Trust to provide funding for the construction of
affordable homes.
·
Establish
a Rent Regulatory Board to ensure the effective administration
of the Rent Restriction Act.
·
Facilitate
the construction of 1500 affordable homes for low income
families in the next five years.
Related
to home construction, land is increasingly beyond the reach of
the average Antiguan and Barbudan.
Contributing
to this problem is the fact that prime agricultural land is
hoarded with the wealth of private land-bankers.
My
Government’s response to this concern is to implement a
Land Rationalisation Programme to ensure that our land is
used to create wealth for the Antiguan and Barbudan people; and
to establish well-ordered living communities, where housing is
affordable and accessible for every section of the population.
The
Land Rationalisation Programme will include forensic
investigations of questionable land transactions.
The
Land Rationalisation Programme will zone the country into
residential, agricultural, industrial and forest lands; with an
Independent Land Commission to take charge of the distribution
and sale of all public lands.
The
programme will make land available to farmers on the basis of
long term leases that can be used to secure agricultural credit,
and will allocate land for the development of industrial parks
for light industry.
Honourable
members of the Senate;
Honourable
members of the House of Representatives:
My
Government is strongly committed to building a vibrant and
dynamic agricultural sector, comprising mainly of small and
medium sized, market-driven agro-business enterprises, with a
focus on import substitution and ensuring an adequate level of
national food security.
This
programme will involve implementing an effective land use policy
and the use of appropriate technology, supported by effective
marketing systems.
To
encourage rapid growth in agriculture, my Government will implement
programmes and support private initiatives to expand and
strengthen the linkages between food production and tourism and
will develop and promote a Brand
identity for Antiguan and Barbudan produce targeted to
the export niche markets.
Targeted
agriculture products include our Sea Island Cotton, and our
Antigua Black Pineapple.
Self-sufficiency
in chicken is on our national development agenda, and maximum
exploitation of our considerable marine resources will generate
substantial value to the economy.
Options
to stimulate growth in our agricultural sector will include
duty-free concessions for all equipment, machinery and supplies;
and Agricultural Development Act to provide incentives for
investment in agriculture on a scale similar to those given to
the hotel sector.
Honourable
Members of the Senate;
Honourable Members of the House of Representatives:
My
Government considers access to health care a fundamental right
of every Antiguan and Barbudan, foreign born as well as native,
and is committed to developing a healthy and productive society.
To
this end, my Government will implement a program of preventative
medicine and healthy lifestyle choices, and will upgrade our
neglected medical facilities to provide quality health services.
My
government will introduce a National Health Insurance Plan,
which will provide universal health care coverage; and will
significantly reduce the taxes on a wide range of
over-the-counter pharmaceutical products, antibiotics, vitamins,
baby products, and medicines, including medicines for arthritis,
cancer, circulatory disorders, HIV/AIDS, and disorders of the
ears, nose and throat.
My
government will extend the hours of operation of the main MBS
Pharmacy to include Sundays and public holidays and will
decentralize the ambulance service by positioning a new fleet of
ambulances at clinics to be constructed in the Grays-Green, St.
Phillips, Johnson’s Point and Yorks Communities.
A
national educational awareness and patient care programme will
place HIV/AIDS at the top of the national agenda.
Honourable
Members of the Senate;
Honourable Members of the House of Representatives:
In
the overall context of human development, my Government
recognizes that sports is important in building character,
generating meaningful income promoting
to positive lifestyles; and that it is a powerful
component in national development.
We
will therefore develop
Antigua
and Barbuda
into a sport-tourism destination, and we will provide top rate
sporting infrastructure in communities throughout the nation.
My
Government will establish a Sports-Tourism Commission that will
form strategic alliances with the private sector to develop and
market Sports-tourism events.
My
Government will work with the Antigua Cricket Association to
ensure that
Antigua
is selected as a venue for the 2007 Cricket World Cup.
To
propel sports development, my Government will reduce the import
duty and consumption tax on all sporting equipment and will
provide tax credits of up $250,000 per annum to businesses
sponsoring sporting organizations and events.
Parallel
with all of this, playing fields and other infrastructure in all
community sporting facilities will be improved.
Honourable
Members of the Senate;
Honourable Members of the House of Representatives:
My
Government will introduce policies to upgrade our nation’s
intellectual capital and to this end, will implement a programme
that will include:
Comprehensive
reform of the educational system and optimization of the
potential of the state owned broadcasting system as an
instrument of informal education.
My
government will establish strategic relations with a number of
selected nations as a means of fostering opportunities for
Antiguans and Barbudans to acquire the skills that are relevant
to a service economy in the 21st century.
The
world is driven by revolutionary changes in information and
communications technologies and
Antigua
and Barbuda
has no option but to bridge the digital gap between developed
nations and the developing world.
This
is not an option; it is an imperative if
Antigua
and Barbuda
is to graduate to
First
World
standards and status.
In
the drive to make Antigua and Barbuda an intelligent and
knowledge driven society, my Government will ensure the
integration and adaptation of state-of-the-art information and
communications technologies in all spheres of our nation’s
life.
My
government will install computer labs throughout the educational
system and will promote the integration of information
technology in instruction and learning at all formal levels of
the education system.
To
propel the national thrust for learning and skills development,
my Government will abolish all taxes on computers and computer
supplies, and will remove the government tax on internet access.
Further,
my government will provide $3,000 interest free loans to public
servants for purchasing personal computers and laptops.
Build
our national technological capability by promoting
Antigua
as a regional centre of Information Technology Excellence to
support the development of E-commerce; Internet marketing;
Internet gaming; and software development.
My
government will also provide scholarships for information
technology training; and a package of incentives, including tax
benefits, to entrepreneurs and technology developers investing
in information technology services and training.
Honourable
Members of the Senate;
Honourable Members of the House of Representatives:
My
Government will establish a National Development Task Force to
oversee the preparation of a comprehensive Physical Development
Plan to provide a blueprint for the development and management
of infrastructure in
Antigua
and Barbuda
.
The
National Development Task Force will:
Include the expertise of physical planners, engineers and
architects and the blueprint will be prepared through a
consultative process with civil society, including the business
sector, the hotel association, farmers, local communities, NGOs
and professional associations.
Implement
an island-wide road improvement programme based on a study of
the island’s transportation needs and a comprehensive
inventory of the road network, with rural roads in villages and
areas identified for new housing development given high
priority.
Implement
a transportation plan for
St.
John’s
to ameliorate the city’s chronic problems of traffic
congestion, limited parking space, and inadequate sidewalks.
Improve
the management efficiency of public works projects to ensure
that projects are completed on time and within the approved
budget.
Implement
a management and technical training programme for all levels of
staff in the Public Works Department.
Conduct
regular condition assessments and preventative maintenance on
public buildings, roads, bridges, drains and gutters, etc.
Provide
Barbuda
with a network of paved roads and a dependable piped water
supply system.
Honourable
Members of the Senate;
Honourable Members of the House of Representatives:
My
Government’s focus on the public service is to ensure the
rapid delivery of improved public services to the national
community.
Measures
geared to this end will include:
·
A
review of the status of non-established workers with a view
towards offering greater job security,
improved benefits, better working conditions and enhanced
motivation.
·
Subsidized
fees for work-related seminars, training and study programmes
for public servants.
·
Dedicated
Early Child Care Education Centres for infant children of public
servants.
·
The
removal of impediments to upward mobility for established
officers in the public service, most of whom though experienced
and qualified, receive a fraction of the hefty compensation
packages paid to a large number of contract officers.
My
Government’s Business Development Programme will promote
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises to become a major generator
of jobs and a significant contributor to the economy.
This
programme will reserve specific areas of business activity
exclusively for the national Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
sector.
The
programme will also include a statutory Enterprise Development
Agency as the vehicle for providing enabling services to the
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises sector; with a Credit
Guarantee System to secure venture capital for Micro, Small and
Medium Enterprises at preferential rates and special incentives
for export enterprises.
The
programme provides for business incubators in designated Small
Enterprise Zones.
My
Government will mount a number of special projects as a means of
empowering key economic sectors.
These
projects will include:
·
Transition
to Business for Civil Servants and Non-Established Public Sector
Workers, which will provide customised training, counseling,
funding and mentoring for public servants wishing to transition
from the public services to the private sector.
·
The
Youth Business Development Project which will give encouragement
and special assistance to our youth who wish to develop their
own enterprises.
·
The
Export Trading House will provide group export marketing for
designated enterprises such as garment manufacturers, agro
processors, and producers of handicraft and other items for the
tourism industry.
Honourable
Members of the Senate;
Honourable Members of the House of Representatives:
My
government welcomes the establishment of the Antigua &
Barbuda Trade Union Congress and will give full recognition to
that umbrella institution.
My
government’s agenda for the country’s workers includes
modernisation
of the Workman’s Compensation Act; ratification of the ILO
Convention 156 on maternity leave and reorganization of the
Labour Department to ensure expeditious resolution of industrial
disputes.
Honourable
Members of the Senate;
Honourable Members of the House of Representatives:
Liberalisation
and security have now become the dominant global concerns of all
sovereign states.
Small
countries like Antigua and Barbuda have no choice but to find
the most effective means of dealing with these issues in a
manner that safeguards their national interests and in
particular, those of their citizens and their public and private
sectors.
Within
this framework, my Government is committed to shaping
professional and technically competent Foreign Service apparatus
to ensure effective capacity to deal with the variety of issues
involving other governments, and region and international and
organisations.
Antigua
and Barbuda
will work with our OECS and CARICOM partners in the
implementation of the Single Market and Economy on the basis of
ensuring maximum benefit for our private sector interests and
our citizens at large.
Conscious
of the realities of international relations my Government has so
opted for a structure that synergises Foreign Affairs, Tourism,
Trade and International transport in one Ministry.
Related
to the opportunities tourism offers, my government is committed
to igniting a Cultural Explosion that will transform creative
product into a significant economic resource for our creative
producers and for our country.
Honourable
Members of the Senate;
Honourable Members of the House of Representatives:
Reinforcing
pride in our nation, at home and abroad, must begin with
ensuring the full integrity of our institutions; particularly
those institutions which are vital to the preservation of our
democratic entitlements.
In
strengthening the institutions of civil society, my government
will implement a programme that will include the following
measures:
·
The
imminent establishment of the National Economic and Social
Council as a bedrock mechanism in a participatory democracy that
will comprise all sections of civil society and will shape
overall social and economic policy for the country.
·
Performance
audits for critical public institutions, including the Statutory
Bodies, the Police, and the Government Ministries.
·
Rebuilding
the capacity of the public institutions to guarantee they become
fully capable of delivering the best quality services.
·
Public
oversight bodies to monitor and review the performance of public
institutions.
·
Strengthening
the Judiciary.
Through
a holistic approach, my Government will introduce measures to
strengthen our society’s most vital institution, the family.
Honourable
Members of the Senate;
Honourable Members of the House of Representatives:
My
Government is committed to improving the conditions and
considerations basic to the timely delivery of equal justice for
all.
To
that end, my Government will work with the relevant institutions
to improve our justice system and to reform our penal system;
and as a matter of urgency, to establish a Rapid Response Unit
in the Police service.
A
specialized unit of the Police force will be created to provide
sensitive and necessary
psychological and protective support to victims of domestic
violence and sexual offences.
The
Coast Guard unit of the Defense Force will be upgraded and a
unit will be established in
Barbuda
.
The
Defense Force will be trained and equipped to respond to natural
disasters, assist in community development projects, and to take
charge of essential public services in cases of major crises and
social disruption.
My
government will formulate a process for identifying CARICOM
citizens deported for committing crimes in the
USA
,
Canada
and
Great
Britain
;
and will establish an Immigration Detention Centre where persons
detained overnight will receive humane treatment.
Honourable
Members of the Senate;
Honourable Members of the House of Representatives:
I
now turn to my Government’s Legislative agenda.
My
government is of the view that the law is a dynamic and organic
entity which needs to be modified and updated to meet the
changing needs of society.
My
Government will act expeditiously to reform existing statutes
and to introduce new legislation appropriate to the
circumstances and needs of civil society
My
Government’s legislative agenda is geared to serve the ends of
social justice; to ensuring openness, transparency and integrity
in pubic affairs; to bringing government closer to the people;
to protecting the rights of citizens; and to regulating the
conduct of relations between sovereign nations.
To
these ends, the regime of legislation my Government has
scheduled for early action includes:
·
The
Prevention of Corruption Act, which will provide for
whistle-blower protection.
·
The
Integrity in Public Life Act, which will also provide for
whistle-blower protection.
·
The
Freedom of Information Act, which will give the citizenry the
statutory right to access official documents from public
authorities and agencies.
·
The
Equal Opportunity Act, which will outlaw discrimination on
grounds of gender, age, religion, race, ethnicity, political
affinity, disability, and place of origin.
·
The
Millennium Naturalisation Act, which will grant unqualified
citizenship to all non native persons resident in Antigua and
Barbuda on and continuing residency since January 1, 2000.
·
The
Amendment of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, to bring it in
line with current international standards.
·
The
Port Security Act, to bring our security at our seaports in line
with the level of our airport security.
·
Mutual
Trust Legislation to regulate international trusts and stimulate
foreign investment.
·
Insurance
Legislation to make our law compatible with international
insurance standards and in harmony with OECS law and to deal
with money laundering concerns of the ECCB.
·
Environment
Protection legislation.
·
The
Buildup Business Act under which 25 percent of government’s
contracts and procurement will be reserved for qualified small
businesses; with on time payment to such suppliers being
mandatory.
·
Appointment
of a Law Reform Committee to deal with amendments to existing
law with emphasis on openness, transparency and accountability
in areas of governance; and
to ensure the integrity of public institutions
such as the Tenders Board.
·
Parliamentary
Reform, to ensure a better functioning Parliament.
My
Government will set the stage for Constitutional Reform with the
publication and public discussion of the Report of the
Constitutional Reform Committee received two years ago.
