 Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise to make a contribution to the motion before this Honourable House. In fact, Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the resolution put forward to this Honourable Chamber by the Honourable Prime Minister and Minister for Finance to borrow an amount of 11.5 million special drawing rights from the International Development Association to finance the organization of Eastern Caribbean state skills and innovation project. Mr. Speaker, the maximum commitment charged on the credit is one-half of one percent per annum on the on-with-drawn balance, and the service charge is payable at a rate of three-fourths of one percent per annum on the withdrawn balance. Mr. Speaker, this is in keeping with how an expert manager deals with the business of the management of the country. The principal amount of the credit is payable in 40 years with a grace period of 10 years. After the grace period, the loan is to be repaid on the first day of April and first day of October in each year. Mr. Speaker, we are aware that our economy has moved from a monocrop economy in the 1980s to a mono services economy focusing on tourism. Currently, tourism as measured by the food and accommodation sector accounts for about 20% of GDP pre-COVID. COVID has taught us, Mr. Speaker, that this model is increasingly risky and unsustainable. This dependence is compounded by the very large workforce currently dependent on the tourism sector. It is to be noted, Mr. Speaker, that while there has been extensive discussion on diversifying the economy, there has been limited progress thus far. It is to be noted that OECS economies contracted by an average of 14% per annum in 2020, with St. Lucia in particular recording a contraction of 25.4%. This compares, Mr. Speaker, to an average of 7% decline in Latin America and the Caribbean economies. So St. Lucia had an out of the ordinary contraction because of poor management of the economy, which of course saw our economy move into a recession in 2019, the year before COVID. While the industry has recovered from the COVID pandemic, it has been recognized we cannot continue to place all our eggs in the tourism basket and there is need to diversify. It has been long in recognize, Mr. Speaker, that those skilled shortages have negatively impacted productivity and growth. Mr. Speaker, I was alarmed when I saw in the World Bank Project concept document for this particular loan that in 2019, 57% of all workers in St. Lucia were under qualified for the jobs. According to the concept note, this situation is exacerbated by the fact that there is a high immigration rate for highly skilled population, a phenomenon known as the brain drain, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the brain drain coupled with the relatively low attainment of post-secondary education contributes to skill shortages, especially what has been called transversal skills, skills that are also called soft skills or transferable as they cut across different tasks and roles. These skills require higher order cognitive, digital and socio-emotional skills. Mr. Speaker, these considerable skill shortages explain the reason for high youth unemployment and low productivity, which in turn affects business competitiveness and causes low growth and hampers employment opportunities and reduces returns to education in a vicious spiral. In the case of St. Lucia, while unemployment has come down to 16.5% per annum in 2022, a sign, Mr. Speaker, that our policies are beginning to bear fruit, the youth unemployment rate is 26.9% in that year. It should be noted that in 2019, youth unemployment in St. Lucia was three times higher than that for the population aged 25 years and above. These figures increase during the COVID pandemic. It is to be noted, however, that increase in youth unemployment was not a homogeneous shock. As youth with higher education and skills were less likely to become unemployed during the pandemic. So certainly, Mr. Speaker, it wasn't something across the board. It shows the importance of education in protecting employment. It is to be noted, Mr. Speaker, that while the region and St. Lucia perform well along several human development dimensions, including relatively high access to education and anti-natal care services, OECS foundational skills, St. Lucia included, are weaker than those students in OECD countries and lack countries, including Mexico and Chile. Research done by the World Bank, Mr. Speaker, shows that the human capital index estimates that the child born in the Eastern Caribbean will be 53 to 60% productive as they could be if they had enjoyed full education, health and nutrition. This, Mr. Speaker, is due to a large extent by the low quality of education. Moreover, Mr. Speaker, the learning adjusted years of schooling indicator in the human capital index shows that students in Boise countries who complete the expected 12 or 14 years of schooling only acquire the equivalent of approximately eight years of instruction in a high-performing education system. Still, Mr. Speaker, from the concept note from the World Bank, all the features of our education system show that there is low participation in post-secondary education, especially among males contributing to shortages of skilled workers. Again, continuing from the documents, it should be noted that fewer than 10% of all adults in the Eastern Caribbean, fewer than 10% of all adults in the Eastern Caribbean, have attained higher education, which is low for middle-income countries in which the average is 54% in Latin America and the Caribbean. St. Lucia has the lowest tertiary enrollment rate in the OECS at 15.4%. Enrollment rates are also systematically higher for women than men. Female enrollment at post-secondary education is typically over 65%. It is to be further noted that expenditure on post-secondary education is low and this constrains access to unquality of skills development and also limits the contribution of the higher education sector to innovate, tap into digital opportunities and capitalize on emerging technologies. The OECS countries spend a cacada on research and development. As a result, Mr. Speaker, the contribution of OECS post-secondary education institutions to research, local development and innovation remain largely untapped. A major part of the problem, Mr. Speaker, is that the Sao Paulo's community college is limited in size which makes it challenging to have the capacity to build research economies of scale. It has also been shown, Mr. Speaker, that the quality and relevance of educational programs suffer from inadequate collaboration among post-secondary institutions in the OECS and with employers. That nexus needs to be addressed in a salubrious fashion. Mr. Speaker, the use of digital technology could be leveraged to allow institutions in the OECS to build research networks and pool resources in selected areas of common interest and high value added such as agro industry, blue and green economy. It is to be noted, Mr. Speaker, that digital economy now accounts for one of the highest growth rates for employment globally. The digital economy, Mr. Speaker, can also allow OECS workforce to access jobs in high-growth fields such as big data, programming and graphic design without leaving their countries. This project, Mr. Speaker, is to enhance skills and foster regional harmonization, academic excellence and innovation in post-secondary education. Component one of the project focuses on strengthening participation in post-secondary institutions in regional networks and regional activities. This component will support regional activities to strengthen the participation of OECS national colleges and post-secondary TVET institutions. What's wrong with that, Mr. Speaker? Component two provides for fostering better skills and regional academic excellence in post-secondary education. It will develop state of the art learning environment in post-secondary institutions. What's wrong with that, Mr. Speaker? Component three, Mr. Speaker, is a contingent response component and is due to the OECS high vulnerability. Mr. Speaker, as I prepare to close, I must signal my full support to this resolution as it seeks to improve post-secondary education in St. Lucia through building relevant digital skills and promoting innovation. Mr. Speaker, I wish to accentuate at this juncture that this is how you build resilience in a country, not by taking a whole set of little gadgets from some country and paying millions of dollars for it, disturbing the laptop programs. As a matter of fact, Mr. Speaker, members opposite, I wish they were there when they talk about Ojo Labs and Orders. It was because of the efforts of the St. Lucia Labor Party Administration under the leadership of the member of UFO South, the honorable Dr. Kennedy Anthony. It is because he gave the people of this country, the young students of this country, access to a laptop program that Ojo Labs and Orders were able to have some skill labor force in there, introduce in the workplace. And while he was criticized for giving people who couldn't do chemistry and economics laptop, you know the amount of musicians that we have in this country because they access a laptop? You know how many of them that could fix up laptops today because of that experience, Mr. Speaker? So, Mr. Speaker, when the United Workers Party which brings nothing of importance to the development of young people in this country, when they come to this house, if they have nothing to contribute, they must stop their propaganda. And talking about propaganda, Mr. Speaker, I had the unsurpassed glory of speaking to St. Lucia in St. Croix recently as we celebrate our 45th Independence Anniversary. And as usual, the protocol at Miami would permit that when you land, border control would come and assist you in navigating the formalities. I traveled with an ambassador and while we were waiting for the ambassador, we were in conversation. You know UWP had nothing else to do because the devil always find work for idle hands. One of them took my photo speaking to border control and united back, which is the propaganda arm of the United Workers Party, had my photo with the border control officers and said that I was being questioned. I was being questioned. That never happened, Mr. Speaker. But you see, all of that is to insult the truth of the work of this government, Mr. Speaker. And it is because of the useless propaganda like this that the good Lord that I serve has already condemned them to a permanent life in opposition. They must never re-emerge from the ashes of time. They have peed at me and they are going to remain there. You do not, you do not make up stories like this and carry out an unnecessary assault on our country. And when that's what you have to contribute, you walk in here, you have nothing to contribute. The leader of the opposition, when he visits, he finds himself in the house. If you are visiting, you know, put your sunglasses, take your camera, you know, spend a little time with us, but don't give us make we, because we are on ground taking care of the business of the people and the business of this country. So, Mr. Speaker, when they put the thing on Facebook, one time I was traveling to Washington to an OAS general assembly once a year I traveled. Somehow they have the check on Facebook and it is on the page of the leader of the opposition. And any minister would be traveling for that time and seen at the hotel, the rates would be no different. But no, he had to make a row. And I'm prepared to sit with them, any one of them, and look at our travels. And I'm sure that it will be lower than theirs, number one. And I would have something to show for my travels. You take a just pomela oz, pomela oz. Just move from place to place, aimlessly doing absolutely nothing. But you know, he had the courage to stand there this morning and talk about tourism, about tourism. During the time of the leader of the opposition, the tourism guru, vales to bring in a hotel room. And you want to come and criticize this government about tourism. No one promised, how many islands? 23 islands. When you cannot manage one, you can manage one that you inherited with a solid economy from the member of Ufotsau. But you want to build economy. Mr. Speaker, we are trying to address the health care challenges that we have on the security challenges. We have introduced a 2.5% levy. Anybody with the interest of solutions at heart will never oppose that. Anybody with the interest of the most vulnerable at heart will not oppose it. You know why? Because when VAT was introduced in this country, over 100 items were either exempted or zero rated to protect the most vulnerable. So whether you take the VAT from 100% to zero percent to whatever percent you want, it does not impact that basket of goods that was set aside to give the vulnerable relief. The 2.5%, these were people who can afford to make an effective demand for those goods. So that we can raise the required revenue to finance expenditure to assist the most vulnerable to ensure that we move in the direction of universal health care to provide a safer and more secure environment for the people of this country to build resilience in the economy. And this is what this is all about, Mr. Speaker. It is not about the Rourou and the Papi show that is going on there. And even the member for sure, Zell, want to join in that Papi show. Well, I will say something, Mr. Speaker. I give my full support to this resolution because it is in the interest of the people of this country. And I will end by accentuating the fact that education is the way to go. And I know that it is not the best thing. A lot of people say it's not the best thing to do politically because investment in education has a long gestation period before it gives both to the type of results required. But the Labour Party every time in office has made health care and education urgent priorities. And we are not going to stop because of the propaganda of people who plunge our country into a recession in 2019, the year before COVID. So, Mr. Speaker, like I have said to the leader of the opposition, I said, Kenny Rogers, you had your time to sing. Now it is the time for the great Ray Charles. The member for Cassis East to do his thing. Mr. Speaker, may God bless the government and continue to guide Prime Minister, the Honourable Philip J.P.M. Thank you.