 Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I stand here in support of the budget, I stand here in support of the estimates of revenue and expenditure as presented by the Minister for Finance, the Member of Parliament for Caster East and Prime Minister. Mr. Speaker, I will spend some time on the agency which I was given responsibility for to indicate to you and honourable members what allocations have been made and to give you a very brief overview of our performance. Mr. Speaker, we do not have time today to go through everything in the Ministry of Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs. But Mr. Speaker, I will do my very best to give you a broad overview. Also Mr. Speaker, I am once again very privileged to be representing a dynamic role constituency, a place of great value, a place of love, a place of excellence in all fields Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to ask you live for just 30 seconds to recognise many community leaders and some people who have been in my political life throughout the time of my soldiering in this politics who have joined me here and who have joined us in the house today. I wish to welcome them Mr. Speaker. Many of them, Mr. Speaker, are the heart and soul of my campaign and you see a range of maturing individuals and very young individuals who are here today. Mr. Speaker, I wish to say to you that this debate demonstrates in no uncertain terms Mr. Speaker who is the better of the two managers. Is it this Prime Minister or the one who was Prime Minister before? It is very clear Mr. Speaker that the Member of Parliament for Kastrin's East is the better manager and he is the one Mr. Speaker, the children of St. Lucia and the people of St. Lucia must rest their confidence in for the future Mr. Speaker. The figures tell the whole story and while they were busy creating air-conditioned spaces for horses this Prime Minister came in and despite the challenges you can see the growth, you can see the improvements and at the same time Mr. Speaker lending a hand to those in need throughout St. Lucia as has been said before Mr. Speaker there is something for everyone in this budget. The Minister of Finance allocated a total of $29.8 million or 6.2% of the development budget to the Department of Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs. In all Mr. Speaker, recurrent and capital a total of $191,077,400 to the department. I wish to thank the Minister of Finance for this and Mr. Speaker this is to go to the health system strengthening project, the OECS health project, project supporting continuation of our COVID-19 response, the hospitals, health centers, training and human resource development. Our goal Mr. Speaker is to strengthen the health system of St. Lucia and to continue to march towards the implementation of universal health coverage. I will at this time Mr. Speaker give you an idea very briefly of some of the heads and some of the expenditure. Mr. Speaker in 2024-25 we are hoping that the additional provisions which have been made will for example Mr. Speaker assist the cerebral palsy association and the child development center. There are provisions to facilitate the work of the quality assurance officer which is a new area which we have introduced. There is an allocation to undertake mould remediation at the millenium heights complex. There is an allocation for the world pediatric association Mr. Speaker and increase. There is an increase in the allocation to assist with medical assistance. We want to introduce a new area in relation to medical assistance and more of that in the policy debate. There is an allocation to facilitate the upgrade of the blood bank. To facilitate the retrofitting of an area for the environmental health unit. To facilitate the purchase of additional fumigating supplies for the environmental health unit. And to invest in improved facilities for the environmental health department in the southern office Mr. Speaker. We are also looking at provisions for the implementation of the San Jude recommissioning project. Allocations for exploration for the Lacroix and Cicero wellness centers Mr. Speaker. We are looking Mr. Speaker to relocate the Lacroix wellness center and also to rehabilitate or rebuild the Cicero wellness center Mr. Speaker. And this year there is an allocation by the Minister of Finance to begin the exploration, the consultancy designs and that kind of thing Mr. Speaker. Also Mr. Speaker we are looking to ensure that we strengthen the public health resilience for the COVID-19 project. Also there is an allocation for the building capacity and resilience in the health sector to respond to COVID-19. Mr. Speaker if you look in the area of health and wellness we are increasing allocations to the general medical assistance vote. We are also strengthening assisting the chief medical officer's office to strengthen their work. And overall adjustment Mr. Speaker of an increase by $711,000 to the environmental health unit. We promised Mr. Speaker that we would strengthen the environmental health unit with all of the challenges and the demands. Also we are going to increase assistance in terms of human resource to the Souffre hospital, the pharmacy unit, the dental unit and the community health nurses and so on. So we have catered for increases, additional salaries and so on. Mr. Speaker the Ministry of Finance allocated an increase for the Millennium Height Medical Complex to continue to facilitate payments to Narayana consultancy Mr. Speaker. And you learn a lot more about that in the policy. An increase for pharmaceuticals of $1.2 million. An additional amount of $6.6 million to facilitate continued operations of the Millennium Height Medical Complex. Once again Mr. Speaker I continue to thank the people of St. Lucia who continue to invest 2.5% levy. To allow us to make all of these continued investments in health. Mr. Speaker the Cuban medical professionals an increase in the amount to assist 112 Cuban medical professionals. And I continue to thank the government and people of Cuba for all of what they continue to do for St. Lucia. Earlier Mr. Speaker an increase in the allocations to do some additional work at the comfort base in the citizens home. To increase the staff compliment there so that we can increase the intake and also some work at the comfort base citizens home. Mr. Speaker at the Millennium Height Medical Complex work on the A&E unit Mr. Speaker. $802,000 St. Jude Recommissioning Project $400,000. The rehabilitation of St. Jude Hospital $1.5 million. Not rehabilitation Mr. Speaker of St. Jude Hospital at the stadium. And the opposition continues to say if we are building a hospital why are we doing work at the stadium. I keep saying Mr. Speaker that we are dealing with human beings and this government will not abandon its responsibility to ensure that even though we are at the stadium the conditions there are improved. We started this project last year Mr. Speaker in 2022 and we have realized the following. We have removed the east and west wing canopies Mr. Speaker. More remediation in the admin building, refurbishment of the resuscitation in the emergency room, refurbition of the triage area, refurbition and reconstruction of the west wing security booth, refurbition of the outpatient department, refurbition of the microbiology and parasitology department in the lab, refurbition of the inventory warehouse, more remediation, drainage works, the construction of a canopy for water dive version for the inventory containers, increased storage for pharmacy, emergency room, lab, outpatient departments, removal of the stadium chairs and metal frames in the stands, removal of the perlines and the metal roofing Mr. Speaker. We spoke about this in the last budget and if you go to the stadium now Mr. Speaker everybody who passes there can see that we have reduced all of these disaster, disaster is waiting to happen Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, some additional funds are airmarked and we are going to continue to do some work, rehabilitative work on the admin building, the solar water system, the washroom showers, more remediation, a septic tank and sewer system we need to reconstruct that Mr. Speaker. The rehabilitation of the operating room and the surgery unit, plumbing system and other rehabilitative works Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank Mrs. Jeanette Hughes of the health system strengthening project and the OECS project and her team for all of the work that they have done. I wish to thank Mr. Neham Jabatis although I wish to express condolences on behalf of the whole parliament. We know what he is going through now, the passing of his wife just a few days ago. But he is one of the key individuals in the ministry who works with the health system strengthening projects on the PVF project Mr. Speaker. And a lot has been done. What have we attained Mr. Speaker over the last couple of years Mr. Speaker? Provision of fleabotomy services to clients with the diabetes and hypertension. Mr. Speaker, 290 persons accessing service from the millenium heights medical complex. 2194 persons accessing services at the St. Jude Hospital, the Souffle Hospital, Monripo, Derri So, La Fag Wellness Centers. We supplied 24 fleabotomy chairs for use at the wellness centers for the universal health care project Mr. Speaker. Renovations of the Derri So Wellness Center. Replacement of air conditions at units at wellness centers island wide. Ongoing procurement of supplies and medical equipment at the various departments. And so many other things Mr. Speaker. Design of a health referral network completed. Design and development of an arterial model, an arterial analysis and costing exercise for the universal health coverage program. We've developed the essential package of health services and financing mechanisms Mr. Speaker. The design of the PVF and the implementation of it. Establishment of the management audit component of the PVF program completed. And so many others that I'm going to speak of in the policy debate. And Mr. Speaker, we have also implemented component 4 of this project. And in this project funds are made available to continue. What did we do last year very quickly Mr. Speaker? We looked at, we supplied laptops and desktops, communication equipment throughout the health system. We supplied lab, consumables, equipment and reagents for the emergency medical service. We supplied 10 vehicles, St. Jude Hospital. We supplied a panel van, pickup van, the ministry 3 vehicles, central procurement for the pharmaceuticals and so on. We procured a panel van and a 4x4 pickup. The biomedical department which we are fashioning into a new department. We gave them a vehicle. Community nursing Mr. Speaker supplied them with a vehicle. And so many other pieces of equipment and vehicles and so on. All in an effort to strengthen the health system. Medical equipment, pharmaceuticals and so forth Mr. Speaker. This year Mr. Speaker we continue with the OECS Regional Health Project. And the Ministry of Finance has ensured that we continue with our accomplishments. And what did we do last year Mr. Speaker? The accreditation assessment for labs at the Ezra Long Lab and the St. Jude Hospital. These processes are underway Mr. Speaker. We procured two chemistry analyzers for the Souffre Hospital and the Grozile Poly Clinic Mr. Speaker. Specimen transportation. I don't even want to go into what is to happen before Mr. Speaker. It's too sad to speak about it. But what did we do about it? We supplied vehicles so that Souffre and Grozile Poly Clinic can transport specimens safely Mr. Speaker. And we did that last year. We equipped the two emergency operation centers at the View Fort Wellness Center and the Urban Poly Clinic Mr. Speaker. And there's a lot more provisions of data management software for both labs at the Owen King Hospital and the St. Jude Hospital Mr. Speaker. We spoke about the site exploration for C-serial and Lacroix. The reconstruction of the Laoshu Wellness Center Mr. Speaker. The member for Denrinof spoke about it. Last year we said we were going to do it. The member for Denrinof insisted Mr. Speaker always asking me about this. And the minister for finance insisted that we must complete this project. And if you go to Denrinof now Mr. Speaker I visited with the minister some time ago and the whole and many of the leaders at the ministry. And I want to congratulate the contractor Mr. Speaker who is doing a wonderful job. And this project will be delivered very soon Mr. Speaker. The establishment of the Urban Poly Clinic. We spoke about this last year. This year $800,000 allocated. I must tell you Mr. Speaker that work continues. We now have to remove the entire roof of a particular part of Victoria Hospital which we did not anticipate. But now work is ongoing as we speak. If you go there Mr. Speaker you will see we are removing the roof to ensure that we shift the castries wellness center to the accident and emergency unit at the Victoria Hospital. The intention is to temporarily locate the castries wellness center there until Mr. Speaker we complete this year the rehabilitation of the Francis Dalto building which will house the complete castries wellness center. The Urban Poly Clinic and primary care and so on. The universal healthcare project Mr. Speaker. I will not go into everything. I will leave it for the policy debate. But again Mr. Speaker. The members opposite especially the members from microsoft. They are all over the place Mr. Speaker criticizing our approach to universal health coverage. We have said to them we are not like them Mr. Speaker. Our job is to deliver to the people of St. Lucia. And whether we are delivering it to them stage by stage we are delivering. But let me just tell you Mr. Speaker very quickly. Since June 1st of 2023. A total of 1658 expected mothers were registered under the program. 1658. And Mr. Speaker. Expectant mothers were able to access routine lab and ultrasound services. At the 17 wellness centers throughout St. Lucia. At 17. All around St. Lucia. Viewport, Grozile, Bexon. I mean Babu No reach for Derriso library. And you know we gave vouchers to the expected mothers. Along with lab request forms for ultrasound to access the services. 1643 individuals access free bottom services. 1017 at the millennium heights. 446 at the St. Jude hospital. A total of 1302 clients benefited from radiology services under this initiative. So when the opposition says that's a waste of time. All I'm focused on Mr. Speaker is the ladies who are pregnant. They are receiving all of these services without any cost to them Mr. Speaker. That is what this government is about. Without any cost to them. So instead of spending money to bring horses in air conditioned containers. We are spending the money on our pregnant St. Lucia right here in St. Lucia Mr. Speaker. On a DC 10. We are spending the money on our people in St. Lucia. Mr. Speaker we will continue this year. And we are going to introduce the management of snake bites and so on. Screening of chronic kidney disease and many others. This year Mr. Speaker the universal health care program will introduce another set of services. And we said so before. We are not perfect. Everything is not perfect. But we are not waiting for 20 years before we deliver to the people of St. Lucia. What are we going to do this year Mr. Speaker? We are going to add. Listen to me well. For those who say our approach is bad or is wrong. We are going to add on top of the assistance to the pregnant ladies. We are going to add cervical cancer screening and HPV testing. Pro-state cancer screening and snake bite management. Listen well Mr. Speaker. So we had for pregnant ladies. So now we are going to add cervical cancer screening. Free of cost. Free of cost to the ladies. HPV testing. Free of cost. Pro-state cancer screening Mr. Speaker. Free of cost. And the minister for finance has made an allocation available for that. So I wish to advise all men, all ladies. Early detection is the name of the game. And this government led by the member for Castris East. Hon. Phillip J. Pierre. This prime minister has put money in there for you. Premier ministers are meté la jean. I am minister of health. To buy police service at the universal health coverage. Cervical cancer. Cervical cancer. So detect the bone. So we have done everything. So the next year, we have done cervical cancer screening. And we are going to punish the police. Pro-state. And the name of the test, the name of the test is dead. Because it is prostate cancer. And the doctor said, sī wijwini bonhe Besortwete hi Kosā gubedmān kadi Nukā bayi a la niakā vin'ya Prosthett cancer test Upakai nipuppeh e puli nukā i du manja nukā i introdjīsli E Konipu wale ek bagae kosa sasa yoo gubedmān ki kosa ne Ale la vi jam peyi se tlici Ms. Speaker And Mrs. Speaker, we will continue with the COVID-19 health resilience project Mr. Speaker, we will continue with the World Bank projects and allocations have been made in that regard. The hospitals Mr. Speaker, allocations to the St. Jude Hospital, allocations to the Owen King EU hospital, the Millennium Heights Medical Complex, which includes the mental hospital and turning points and there is some work happening there to reform and rehabilitate the turning point service and also the mental wellness center. There is a lot Mr. Speaker, the reconstruction of the St. Jude Hospital at OJ. This is a major policy initiative of the government and work continues there in the policy debate Mr. Speaker. We will provide you with even more. We have built the St. Jude Hospital. We have finished the operation of the St. Jude Hospital at OJ. They are going to put the money out there in the stadium with all the work done by them. We have done the work well. We have probably made a lot of blocks. The last government is to cross the building. We have put a tractor building. We have put a glissar glissar glissar glissar glissar glissar. That is everywhere. People were going to pray for the sick relatives. They saw what is going on and saw what is going on. They are going to put a tractor in it. They saw what is going on and found theriasar glissar glissar glissar.  Alo.  Alo. Is a lot more in the policy debate when it comes to health, wellness, and elderly affairs… the role policy and the forward movement of university health coverage, the wonderful work which is being done by our doctors in the private sector in the public sector, and there are many examples I'll bring out to show you that the policies of this government, we're not talking policy today, okay, when we remove that on medical equipment, Mrs. Speaker, the number of doctors in the private sector and the number of medical companies, you know, they have accessed it and the people of St. Wilshire are benefitting, but we will come to that in the policy, Mrs. Speaker. I wish at this time to thank the staff of the ministry. I wish to thank the permanent secretary, Ms. Jenny Daniel, for her hard work and her team in the administration. The chair of the Millennium Heights Medical Complex, Ms. Aferton, Mrs. Aferton Reynolds, Dr. Stanley, the vice chair, the chair and the whole board, the chair of the St. Jude Hospital, Mrs. Speaker, Mr. Elevick and brother Norman Edward, chair and vice chair and the whole board, both CEOs, Mrs. Speaker, Ms. Lydia Atkins of St. Jude and Dr. James of the Millennium Heights Medical Complex. I know that your job is very difficult, very taxing, Mrs. Speaker. Healthcare not only in St. Lucia, but all around the Caribbean and around the world, Mrs. Speaker, it's challenging. You go to hospitals in New York or in Canada, you call your relatives in England or in New York or in Canada and ask them about the waiting times at the emergency departments at King's County or any of the hospitals. Ask them about it. Even the more developed countries, the challenges are there. But what we are doing, Mrs. Speaker, is to show tangible results, to show by way of the allocations of the Minister for Finance that we are moving in a direction that will cause us to have better healthcare in this country. I wish, Mrs. Speaker, at the ministry to thank all the heads of departments, my secretary, Ms. Magdalene Florius, my driver, Mr. Emmanuel and all those who continue to help me to carry this load in the ministry. We have no choice, Mrs. Speaker. We have challenges, but we have no choice, but to follow the dictates of our prime minister and minister for finance and to ensure that we do the work in healthcare and to ensure that we have healthcare reform. Mrs. Speaker, I now turn to the view for North constituency and that is why I am here, Mrs. Speaker. That is why I am here. No matter how much I love the people in the ministry and the work that we do, the only way I could have been there, Mrs. Speaker, is through the hard work of the people of view for North and in particular those who are on my teams, my campaign team and those who pray for me, those who call me every day, those who get vex with me sometimes and they feel they are right, I feel I am right, but at the end of the day we still drink some passion fruit juice together and we still move on and eat some salad together and so on. But Mrs. Speaker, that is why I am here, Mrs. Speaker. I am here because of the people of view for North and I want to speak to the budget, the estimates and how it impacts the people of view for North. I want to tell you, Mrs. Speaker, a very quick story before as I begin, Mrs. Speaker. I became the Member of Parliament for view for North in 2006 and between 2006 and 2011 Mrs. Speaker we were in opposition and Mrs. Speaker in 2011 we won the government and we stayed in office for four and a half years between November 2011 and June of 2016 four and a half years then we lost the government again so we went back in opposition before North back in opposition between 2016 and 2011 2021 we won in 2021 until and we are now in government for two and a half years going on three years so an aggregate of seven years in government where I could sit in the cabinet at the table and where I can speak to a Prime Minister as a member of his cabinet or even though I was not in the cabinet our party went in government so an aggregate of seven years Mrs. Speaker between 2006 and 2011 Mrs. Speaker except for the time when Dr. Robert Lewis and and so on and member for Miku North Castries North was the Prime Minister this constituency development program came about during that time Mrs. Speaker they offered me a bus shelter the bus one bus shelter was built and maybe two drains I have all the records but apart from that Mrs. Speaker as long as we in opposition and the view for North constituency has suffered so well I've been the parliamentary rep from 2006 this is the second time I've been given the opportunity by the Holy Spirit and the Prime Minister to be in a cabinet where I can advocate vociferously for the people of you for now between 2016 and 2021 it's important for me to say this the Belarus doctrine was the theme the member for Miku South endorsed the Belarus doctrine which meant that because we thought north the people of you thought north did not support them they gave us nothing palagian mentally they gave us nothing he has to walk out because it's shameful they gave us nothing and then they gave us nothing mr. Speaker and then through the surrogates through the surrogates they said they keep saying that most of your bodies is doing nothing for you we are doing nothing for you but they gave us nothing thinking that the people exactly what you vote in labor for what you get but the government gave us nothing mr. Speaker i'm proud to say i'm proud to say mr. Speaker there's a reason why the people of you thought north continue to support the labor party it's deep it's ingrained within our psyche what we view as development and what uwp has done to us and why we continue to vote the labor party in may of this year mr. Speaker the view for north constituency will mark 50 years of unbroken support to the labor party 50 years 50 years 50 years 50 years 50 years mr. Speaker and when i speak like this that's why i speak like that so we we we are passionate about what we believe in the office of the prime minister mr. Speaker in the 1.6 million allocation the distress fund is there and the people of you for north in the past when when the government before mr. Speaker we benefited from it and members before me i've spoken about the need for this see kajamun pwidife ekmalerezma yopani duva nide nusa edeyo ebeksa head 21 head 22 mr. Speaker and allowance is made of 100 000 to facilitate the summer employment program and this has benefited many young people in view for north last year mr. Speaker and i look forward to many young people who are just living who have just left school not left school but who on summer break to to benefit from this and i urge the young people to apply i have the same in view for north get up and get do not just stay there and hear about the programs and you're not applying apply so head 22 there is an opportunity there the shared services department on the head 22 over 460 000 mr. Speaker the civil status registry the immigration unit and so on will go down to the south and this will benefit the people of here for north because it will this would mean they would have to spend less money on transportation and so on to come up to castries for very basic services i'm very happy to see this sir mr. Speaker head 41 agriculture fisheries and and and rural development and so on mr. Speaker i see an allocation for the banana management unit project and as you know nunia shai farmer view for north a shai farmer feed to you and i'm i'm looking forward to some benefits there for them the expansion of the food crop production program the coco sector enhancement project we are very strong in the area of coco production and coco development mr. Speaker some of the individuals on view for north who are here in the gallery today are very powerful coco farmers mr. Speaker and i'm sure they'll be happy to hear that there is even more support for them livestock development fisheries mr. Speaker at savans bay there is an amount to continue to rehabilitate the jetty i wish to thank the minister for finance and the minister for agriculture some work was done and there is more work to be done mr. Speaker the timber is deteriorating and there is work to be done i hasten to add mr. Speaker that every time i speak to the fishers and the seamos farmers of savans bay mr. Speaker i continue to implore them to take care of the facility to keep the facilities clean keep the facilities clean work together to ensure that the area has health and safety um requirements that are positive mr. Speaker having the facilities is just one thing but to keep the facility clean because it's yours mr. Speaker you are the ones making millions of dollars out of seamos there i continue to be available to a system mr. Speaker head 42 the ministry of commerce manufacturing business development and cooperatives and consumer affairs mr. Speaker the loan grant facility i know there are individuals on v4 north who are in in the process of benefiting and we are praying mr. Speaker that the processes go a little faster because some of them mr. Speaker are waiting they told me just yesterday that it things will work out for them but i know that many of our small business people in v4 north will benefit from this department of infrastructure ports and transport mr. Speaker everybody will speak about roads for their constituency i am not here mr. Speaker least i will not list all the roads mr. Speaker there are there are two numerous to mention but i will say so mr. Speaker that between 2006 and 2011 no major infrastructure projects in terms of roads what are in v4 north between 2011 and 2016 with the assistance of the now prime minister and then minister for infrastructure mr. Speaker we embarked on the completion or the start of a number of roads the backstreet dimai funda monkaen culture lane eliot lane tevan mon view bua bleke vj drains and partial surface of the road mr. Speaker between 2011 and 2016 there were roads to be done under the q80 program mr. Speaker the woodlands farm road the vj road the bamboo road the belvi road a lab or their road mr. Speaker hope a state laritwet these are farm roads mr. Speaker all of these were removed when or stopped together with the the q80 package which should have worked on the road from from castries to grozily all of this by the last government mr. Speaker stop and between 2016 and 2021 you know about the belros doctrine we started the opi konto belvi road mr. Speaker up to zabo and nothing else was done on it contracts were issued to contractors on backstreet eliot lane et cetera se mona tezani contract you anlamayo eliot lane kumese shimea kinute za kumese mr. Speaker leg uved ma vini leg uved ma uwp vini your duty contractor for whole five five plus years they stopped the works i'm happy to tell you mr. Speaker that a number of these roads these small community roads since coming into office in 2021 between that time and now a number of these community roads have been completed mr. Speaker i will not spend time to go through them but i wish you thank the minister for finance the minister for infrastructure and the cdp program for for some of it the community roads are very important very very important mr. Speaker and while some work was done on molly lane and veversel and teva sukaya and so on we really look forward to our major roads being done mr. Speaker we we don't have to describe them you just have to drive you just have to drive to vj from canals you just have to drive to grace you just have to go to hopa state you just have to drive to vj for example mr. Speaker bamboo and you will realize labo there you realize mr. Speaker that these roads really need to be done these are main carriages main main roads into the communities and these roads really require attention and i know that the people of v4 north have stuck with the labor party and they know why and i can guarantee you mr. Speaker that action will be taken and the people will see i don't like to speak before i see i've always told them so when the tractor is on the road that's why i'm on that is when i'm an announcement i will announce it when i when the tractor is on the road so i trust in our government mr. Speaker as the people of opi kong and and sukaya and veversel and perin olen and dimai road in belvi many of these roads were never done mr. Speaker there have been generations and generations of people living there you can count over 150 years of families living there i can go back when you look at teva many of the people in teva they came from teva went to belvi and populated the area when you look at belvi and crescent vision these places these roads have never been touched mr sessile god bless him cut some of these roads when he was a member of parliament between 1979 and 1982 the asukae road the vizier road mr speaker a lot of these roads the vizier road only reached up to a point and it was labor party they say lucha labor party and mr sessile who cut a lot of these roads but since we lost in that time and we took almost 30 years in the wilderness a lot of these roads mr speaker were not done except in 1991-92 from piero going to the riso except that main road mr speaker which was done during the time also john except that road none of the other roads was done so we have to pure this deficit and we have started mr speaker i wish you thank the minister for finance some of you are mr speaker no no no problem she may have been for north like nozaku must say a million way maybe we must say minister finance because he knows how to talk to her by going to veer office let you wp up over say say kalote yo kakalote se muna paskayo pavotibayo let you guys see muna che before with labor party paskayo sav no sav kise labor party kika delivery banu evak nozaku must say deliverance nozawa mrs speaker shimea opikon shimea tevan shimea asukaya shimea ada kome plasra vefonov shime vevesel shimea dimai eliotlain en sayse plasra kote denye government yo te dupu tse contract la mrs speaker belvi yo pa kote denye me guved masa a konu atue nuka kuma se a million way evak labor guy kai kuma se let turn over kai treat se lesala marai anose mrs speaker hope a step and so on the woodlands road belvi waterfall road mrs speaker head 44 constituency development program i wish mrs speaker to thank the minister for finance for his allocations on the constituency development program the constituency development program the funds there mrs speaker are committed by the taiwanese government and i wish to thank the government and people of taiwan for their assistance to our communities throughout and lushak housing infrastructure with small concrete roads mrs speaker drains and in view fort north what i have done mrs speaker i have taken or allocated a portion of it to assistance to micro micro businesses mrs speaker a number of our micro businesses have received assistance through the injection of funds for them to purchase whether it be refrigerators for their business hairdryers chairs for for hairstylists you name it deep freezers mrs speaker a number of pieces of equipment air conditioning units for barber shops you name it mrs speaker all around view fort north sewing machines mrs speaker we purchase brand new sewing machines with the latest the ability for the latest designs and all kinds of styles for the people who are interested in that kind of craft and last year we did it and this year mrs speaker i'm finalizing a list to again provide to the micro businesses in view fort north and all of this is from the constituency development program the prime minister mrs speaker member of parliament for castris is mandated that a certain percentage of the cdp must go to social programs mrs speaker must go to social programs not the flashy things the last government was doing that you cannot account for certain things must go to social programs and that is how mrs speaker i am able to allocate monies when people are in difficulty mrs speaker a caring government we can't do everything but when people are in difficulty come to the parliamentary office and we give them assistance as best as we can mrs speaker in many cases obviously like many of my colleagues we will not tell you who these people are or what they are going through or what we are helping them with in some cases when it is business or when it is certain things we will we will tell you but in a number of cases you will not know who these people are but the accountability is there the ssdf is the one doing the accounting ministry for finance and we are not given any monies people must bring in the invoices mrs speaker so that is what we are using the constituency development program for head 48 housing and local government mrs speaker there is an allocation to continue the national housing assistance program we have assisted many families with the refurbishment of their homes there are a few cases of critical need where we had to rebuild the houses mrs speaker but most of the cases either we replace the roof or the walls or the flooring and mrs speaker i will not give you the number but we have assisted a number of people in vie for north and just today mrs speaker work continues on on on one of them people when they get the materials mrs speaker they go to the stores to get the the assistance mrs speaker thank you mrs speaker the head 48 we continue with proud and mrs speaker as you know the proud program the opicon area has been part of the proud program for a very long time since when we were in government between 2011 and 2016 and the work continued mrs speaker but the work i am hoping with the allocation this year that we can accelerate the works mrs speaker some surveys have been done i know that surveys are ongoing and the people of opicon are eagerly waiting for for the the the deeds and so on and we are hoping mrs speaker that this program will there will be an injection in terms of the speed and so on this year we should thank the minister parliament for castries central for for the work there are some challenges there mrs speaker and i always try my best to speak frankly to my people there are some challenges we have opicon where there is proud there is a piece of land at the top of opicon mrs speaker people from everywhere believe that they can come to the top there squat and build houses mrs speaker i have said over and over again that this land does not belong to the government when people come to my office i tell them su ales squat and let that mon opicon your ita ca yula pasque sa parte government this land belongs to the national insurance corporation and the national insurance corporation will come to clean the land mrs speaker i know that we have social problems and people squat at times but what this government is doing is try to regularize this so if you have squatted the government in with proud which is not part of the of the program so i say so every time i speak in the parliament the land does not belong to the government mrs speaker i know very well and i can tell you this is where this is the general area where i live there are private lands on the other side where i live and right next to me there is a pyroplane field investor nusha is surveying lands around the pyroplane field for sale but beyond that beyond the investor nusha lands the land belongs to n i c from my home i consider n i c lands beautiful land it doesn't mean you cannot own the beautiful land but we have to do it properly mrs speaker n i c has to come in there and they are going to come in there i'm taking time on this n i c kai vinla yokai aponte they will survey the area and possibly make lots available but for now i urge you do not squat on n i c lands please do not squat on n i c lands so we are trying mrs speaker the town and village council still on the head 48 mrs speaker ministry of local government i wish to thank in a very special way the chair mr lingon francis and the council of the view fort north constituency council they are doing a tremendous job mrs speaker they have caused to be constructed some beautiful bus shelters some drainage works in the area and i urge the the member parliament for castries central to give them even more money because the council in view fort north can they have some beautiful projects that they want to that they want to implement head 51 ministry of equity and social in fact mrs speaker there is a bus shelter which was built by the council you must go to tetmon you must go to tetmon to see that's a simple bus shelter in terms of art no it doesn't it doesn't have upstairs and downstairs but it doesn't have so long yet so i wish to thank all those who are working in the council i wish to thank the contractors and everybody for doing some wonderful work the ministry of equity the after school program the home care program for the elderly hope mrs speaker i look forward to it major rehabilitation of schools on the head 52 mrs speaker i'm very pleased to report and the member of parliament for denry north has mentioned it but i'm pleased to report that if you look at my mini manifesto for the last election you will see the rehabilitation of the piero combined school on it and i'm pleased to report that we are starting that process 10 minutes left thank you mrs speaker i am pleased to report to the people to the house and also the people of piero in particular that we are going to begin this process with the construction of a section of the school from the a block a new block from the loan from the afro eximbank and more details will be forthcoming and this is the beginning of the total rehabilitation of the school plans and and we are hoping we're going to 1.6 million has been allocated and this is going to be a wonderful block which will be the the start of the rehabilitation of the entire school plans mrs speaker the piero combined school is one of the best performing schools in st luccia and it has been so for many many many years i wish to congratulate them for their work and it's only fair that people like mrs mooney and her staff we had mrs saltibus mrs mathew etchinson and past principals and so on it is only fair that that school which is too mighty infested it has a lot of problems mrs speaker and we are starting the process we will continue i also recognize that the other schools like the belby combined school the vigy school and the other school grace combined schools will all receive attention i wish to thank the minister and the minister for finance for the work on the the roof of the belby combined school which was done there is more work to be done the tiling and the doors and so on but mrs speaker i'm sure it's going to come at 54 youth development and sports i'm pleased with the provision mrs speaker for the credit core constituents will benefit and i'm very pleased with the provision for playing fields the belby playing field rehabilitation project has started mrs speaker and i wish to thank the member of parliament for grozile who promised it and work has started on it the construction of the the building for for the the lights i don't remember the name the control room that has started the excavation of the ground has started and there's a big activity for easter so i told the the contractors to stop for now and we are going to continue after the community activity for easter so i should thank the minister for finance mrs speaker the saturday before elections the member of parliament for castries east came to view for north saturday before elections it was night we had this motorcade and he went to the belby playing field and when he saw the condition i told him pm in waiting that is one we must do and on the microphone he said to the people when you vote for us we are going to rehabilitate this feeling we're going to put lights on it mrs speaker i am happy to tell the people of belby and they're saying it for themselves that it has started mrs speaker there'll be lights we're working on the sitting area washrooms in phases but the lights will come first the surface and everything mrs speaker i wish to thank the prime minister again for the work in infrastructure community roads i wish to thank the staff of ssdf mrs speaker for all of the work that they're doing to assist the people of vefort north i wish mrs speaker to say to you that the youth economy the youth economy on the head 56 continues to benefit the people of vefort north and i want to tell the people of vefort north that all of these programs to say programs are mrs speaker you're a government you have to get up and get get up live belby grace vige kako wherever you are go to the offices of government come to the parliamentary office we will help you we have officers in the field link on frances show me on popi we have angikedu we have these people in the field to assist you go to the office you'll meet sister angikedu we have all the programs connected go to them and they will help you but a felbert elbert sen kaffir with the housing we are there to help you we are not like the last government super kappa vote banu nupaka edu we are helping everybody and this is throughout the country mrs speaker so get up and get come to us we want to help you come to us we are government a caring government come to us and will help you mrs speaker as i close mrs speaker i want to say to you that this minister for finance i know you have five minutes left thank you mrs speaker as i close i wish to say to you mrs speaker that this minister for finance is a better manager than the last minister for finance a better manager this minister for finance we'll keep sen nusha safe this minister for finance over the last fiscal year despite all the challenges mrs speaker we had a total revenue of 1.68 billion dollars a primary surplus of 104 million 42 more than the last year mrs speaker 62 million more than the approved estimates is a better manager than the last minister for finance the current surplus is 156 million mrs speaker 47 million more than the last year the recurrent accounts surplus of 46 million of 39 million over 2023 results show mrs speaker that this fiscal year was better than last year mrs speaker the economy has improved and i remember them the member for castry south and minister for tourism always says to me in our discussions a rising tide raises all boats we always talk about these things and the minister for finance his skill is his dexterity his passion for people his passion for doing things right has caused this economy to grow never never never again mrs speaker should this country ever find itself in the hands of the former minister for finance mrs speaker i say to all those who assist me my family mrs speaker my family who pray for me and who who keep me i say to those who love me and who pray for me those who call me every day those who play my constituency who work for me who work the ground who campaign to ensure that they return me to the parliament of sen nusha i thank you continue your prayers i thank the holy spirit for giving me strength mrs speaker and i will use that strength by the holy spirit to do everything everything that we have to do to ensure mrs speaker everything right everything legal everything on the ground to ensure that we give the people what we promise them and for this side the member parliament from microsoft never ever ever ever ever to return as prime minister in this country thank you mrs speaker