 Thank you Mr. Speaker. I really wanted to yield to the leader of opposition but he has asked me to proceed. Thank you very much sir. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support this important bill and briefly from the perspective of a term used during the Minister of Tourism, the principle of equity and I do add the principle of social justice. Mr. Speaker, I first want to applaud the Minister of Tourism for his hard work. I'm not saying it because I'm in this chamber but since we have taken the reins of government I've seen what he has done and I've paid attention to his work as the Minister of Tourism, to his staff and what has happened to this sector. Mr. Speaker, but I'm responsible for the ordinary people, particularly those who fit within the two last quintiles of our social structure. And Mr. Speaker, because of my participation in government work over the years, I have not been a fervent supporter of the tourism industry relative to how it has impacted ordinary people. Mr. Speaker, I grew up black Mali Marsha Bakatell to a large extent. And as a child I only saw a visitor or when we call a white person when you came down to the city of castries. They did not venture in that part of the island. However, our lives were impacted because our parents went to work either in the hotel industry or provided support one way or the other. Mr. Speaker, I've always seen the tourist industry as an invasion to our social structure, the fabric of our values, how we lived our lives. And even as fathers who were close to their families and their spouse had to work in the tourism industry and of course they had to leave the cricket playing field or leave the dominoes to stay home. Whereas there was an income, the culture, the life would disrupt it one way or the other. And therefore Mr. Speaker, I've always looked and yearned for a time when the tourism industry can be what I think it should be to all conclusions. Mr. Speaker, I'm happy to hear that the tourism industry embraces our locals. But again I say when we speak of our locals, who are we speaking about? For in the first quintile way above, we have persons who are well off and has been well off for many decades. But the well-being and the business acumen has not gone down to the lowest quintile of all society. Mr. Speaker, I can speak of the well-being of all society for many decades. But what has happened to ordinary solutions? Mr. Speaker, we have felt the brunt that we have felt how our ordinary solutions have suffered. The breakdown of our values, our children not receiving support from their parents because they are at work. Mr. Speaker, I want the opportunity to question when I gave a right to someone who was going to work down from Souffre to the north. And I used the opportunity to ask the person how much was it costing them monthly to pay for transportation to go to work. Long and short, the individual shared to me that if I didn't get a ride during the month or two, it would not make sense that I go to work because the cost of transportation was far more than what I'm getting, what I'm receiving monthly. Mr. Speaker, I also reflect on hearing presentations in terms of the impact on our environment and of course the CSA, TSA, or the accounting mechanism within the tourism industry to not account for the impact or the cost on our environment, which is so critical to sustaining our tourism product. Mr. Speaker, I can go on and on to describe the impact of tourism on our social landscape. But Mr. Speaker, just like I said to the last sitting when I listened and I paid attention and I did say to the minister of tourism, I like what I'm hearing, I like what I'm seeing. This new legislation and the whole issue of community tourism and how it is being shaped brings about hope. Not the hope my colleagues will tease me about. I know there's some conversation about the holistic opportunities of empowerment within this and which are social development fund, but it gives me hope. Mr. Speaker, and what I can imagine Mr. Speaker from this piece of legislation is that I can imagine that in the on the roads going up to where I have family lands in Bacatelle, there are visitors that may choose to visit there and may be able to remain there for the stay while in St. Bush. I'm picking that up in this legislation because of how it is arranged. Fiscal incentives for if you live in Bacatelle and you want to put up a six room and there are persons who would want to walk up the steep slope because some years ago I was invited to China and they took me to a hotel where I had to walk up a steep slope for a couple of hours to get to the hotel. Yes, and I had somebody carrying my luggage on some bamboo stuff and even somebody from Africa had to be carried on a hammock sort of thing. I experienced it. It was a poverty reduction program, but they took us to, yes it was a poverty experience, but they took us to the place where ordinary people lived and they used the opportunity to share with us how a wooden hotel and Mr. Speaker that night I didn't sleep because it was a wooden hotel and I saw and of course the building was not painted so you could if you've done tapestry and joinery you know when there's a you know wagon where the wood is has a lot of the thing that can light up so the man was smoking all night and I was in a wooden building that looked like it could just get on you know just get on fire. I didn't sleep but I experienced what it is in a natural environment and for me it was tourist, tourism at its best. Mr. Speaker, I can relate to this piece of legislation in reflecting that experience. Bakatel, therefore, Mark, who have been passed away, there was a landslide, can now see themselves as being not just observers but participating in the industry and being owners of it as well. Mr. Speaker, I have lived sufficiently to understand the various industries and how they impact lives from sugar cane, the banana industry and now the tourism industry. Mr. Speaker, every one of us want to have a share and a dignified share as to how we contribute to the well-being of our society. The last sitting of parliament, the leader of opposition, asked us a question and I've reflected on it. He asked how many of us on this side have been employed, independent, have been self-employed. That was the exact word. He asked us how many of us on this side have been self-employed and I think the essence of the question was how many of us are entitled to sit here if we have not been self-employed and I've reflected on that during this week. I reflected on it deeply. Asking myself and asking many solutions, how many of us have been self-employed and if self-employment is certification to provide leadership. Mr. Speaker, many of us have been self-employed because we have been on the employed growing up and we have seen self-employment. I wouldn't have that question by the market with the vendors, how many of them have been self-employed but ordinary solutions know what it is to be on the employed, unemployed and to be self-employed. But when I listen to this piece of legislation it provides the opportunity for persons who have been unemployed to gain livelihood. This is the essence of it. You could now convert your home. You could now convert this plywood shelter. There are many possibilities based on how tourism is shaped. You could now take this this old building or the so-called old building of your great-grandmother that has historical value, that has architecture, statement and convert it into a place that persons might be interested in visiting because sometimes the things that we look and we consider to be you know of no value is of value to other persons. Mr. Speaker, it lives for our imagination, for our creativity and for our innovative skills as solutions. Mr. Speaker, I am very happy that at this juncture that I can speak to ordinary solutions. I can speak to persons who are on public assistance, who are receiving support from this government at 20 million dollars a year that there is a possibility to graduate out of receiving public assistance by participating in the tourism sector, a vision they never had before. This is what it means. Mr. Speaker, there are some persons that never ever imagined that they could participate in the tourism industry because it has been designed for persons to view it from the perspective of the large hotels. It has been structured and arranged for persons to see it as the first quintile, the most affluent part of all society are the ones who lead on control it. This piece of legislation speaks to solutions on a whole that everyone is invited to participate. Mr. Speaker, again I want to make the point that this bill speaks to the Ministry of Infrastructure, speaks to those persons who are responsible for every part of St. Lucia, that we now cannot suggest that we should not fix this road and that road because it's not within the tourism area, it's not it's not part of Grozily, it's not part of Souffre. The potential of this piece of legislation suggests that everywhere must be prepared and must be positioned because you do not know where will rise the next tourism activity. It can be in Forest Chair, for the trail, it can be in Wavin-Puasso where we have the disaster, the natural disaster. It may very well be in Coulee Town, the last settlement of persons who participated in indigent servant activities. It may just be in Coulee Sack, everywhere in St. Lucia has the capacity and the chance to put up and what I heard the minister said it can be one bed, two bedrooms sir, two bedrooms, three bedrooms, six bedrooms. In Tethmark, I see a building there ready to, we're ready to roll. Tethmark, in Mark, of course we're ready to roll. Mr. Weeks can't take on a few persons and you now have visitors coming in there. In therefore overlooking, of course this is where my family lives, but you have the best view of castries from there for and I have a family member who have a house there empty. I am sure if Charles is listening to me they can now think of how they can convert their homes into six a bread and breakfast to allow visitors to come in there. Mr. Speaker, this is what I'm talking about. Mr. Speaker, visitors come to this part here to enjoy every aspect of who we are. It is not just about our sand and beaches and what have you, it is about who we, what we offer as sandbushes. And I'm happy, extremely happy that on the principle, the ethos of our party, bread justice and freedom, that we can find space even within the the policies of this government to allow the realization, the accomplishment of such. Everybody can participate. This is the real industry. I have no problem when the ordinary sandbushes, whether you are by whether you are living in Rosa, whether you're living in Cooley Town, ordinary sandbushes can now find the reason to invest and participate. This is a true industry. It doesn't limit anyone. Everybody is invited to participate. Mr. Speaker, it speaks of certification. Not because you're invited to participate. It means whosoever will may come just so. This speaks to certifying individuals. In other words, you must have certain competences. You must have certain qualifications. You must you must come up to a certain standard. But guess what? The Ministry of Tourism is willing to work with you to take you up there. So you're not left there to just hung in and say, how do I get it? How do I participate? Of course, I do not have the skill. I do not even know what the tourism industry looks like. No, the Ministry of Tourism is now inviting you. Come, let us sit down. Let us talk. Tell me what you have and I will guide you. Of course, and if you are not up to standard, I will give you a year, two years. Work with you, hold in your hands. A psychosocial support in the Ministry of Tourism is critical for the participation of our ordinary people. Mr. Speaker, that principle has been held by the bell fund. But of course, now listening to the tourism ministry, inculcating the same principle in bell fund into the tourism industry, holding hands of ordinary citizens to participate in the tourism industry, it's so beautiful. It is so encouraging, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, and like I said, and I want to repeat the conditions of our society, the state of our infrastructure. Mr. Speaker, I will say that I am not one who believe and like I will debate with the Ministry of Tourism from time to time that I should not have to prepare my place to receive visitors. I must prepare my place for our central oceans and share it with visitors when they come. It is a philosophy that I hold dearly and I understand in the cultural operations of this country, when it's, you know, our parents, when it is Christmas, they prepare a place for Christmas. If a visitor is coming from overseas, they do a little extra more, you know, some extra, a little more. But that is not how our tourism culture must be developed. We must recognize the value of every solution, living in solution, cater and provide the best for people at all times, the best we can for people. Our development if us must be solution and solution first at all times. That is what our mantra is. So we fix the roads because our solutions are traveling on it. We put public facilities because our people need it. We put security in place because our people need to be secured and walk the streets. And we provide the best services in place so that they can develop themselves. And if they need free-phase electricity because they want to go into manufacturing, provision has been made by Lusilek. Because we recognize that we need free-phase electricity and not the 220 volts electricity because they need to participate in manufacturing. We provide for people throughout and allow visitors to come and enjoy with us what we have. But when a visitor comes into a place whether it is for investment in Lusilek and they need free-phase electricity costing a hundred and something thousand dollars for us to get free-phase electricity and install for them whereas there's somebody who was lingering, did not embark on the manufacturing endeavor because there was no free-phase electricity. It is not how we should move our country forward. And every aspect of physical development must be centered for Senbushans. And this is what I love about this piece of legislation. It brings the focus to our people, our physical space, our land mass. Everyone is given a chance. Mr. Speaker and finally, I think we have answered the question where are we going with this industry? What is it we want to achieve? The minister in his presentation answered that question. What is it that he's counting? What exactly he wants to achieve? And I think it was, I think it is in Scripture. It is Luke, it's in Luke chapter four I think. Luke was a physician who said who is it that's going to build a tower and not count first how much is going to cost before he builds it lest he get ashamed that he doesn't have enough money to finish it. And this is forever a situation that confronts development that we need to count first. Where are we going before we take the first step? Where are we heading to? The trajectory of this government, if you count the steps we have taken, if you look at the trajectory of where we are going, it is to provide the best environment to sustain and to protect the well-being of every Senbushan. We have counted the cost, we've measured the steps and we know that every Senbushan is being put first in that regard. Mr Speaker, I dare say my dear Prime Minister and the Minister of Education, I'm extremely pleased as the Minister of Equity, Social Justice and Empowerment in supporting this piece of legislation because I ensure that everyone in Senbusha, every ordinary Senbushan is given a chance to participate and to own the tourism industry in the right way that it should be so that we have equity, we have social justice and we have empowerment of all people. Thank you Mr Speaker.