 Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise to join my colleagues who would have spoken before me in expressing our support for the appropriation bill budgetary statement as presented by the member for Casteries East. And I think all members have said very eloquently that this is one of the best budgets that they have ever listened to. It continues a very fine tradition of budget statements presented by Prime Ministers who have sat on this side from the St. Lucia Labour Party. But before I proceed Mr. Speaker with the substance of my contribution, I think we need to just reflect for a few moments on what transpired earlier today, as it relates to the member from Miku South. I think Mr. Speaker, for those who were watching and certainly for us in this honourable chamber, it was very disconcerting the behaviour of the member from Miku South and the attitude that he showed towards this honourable house. It's never our intent Mr. Speaker to disenfranchise any member or for that purpose to disenfranchise any constituency that elected a member to sit here to represent them. But I think we needed to get across to the honourable member that in this honourable house there is a code of conduct. There is a manner in which you ought to behave and there are respects and there are conventions and other accepted practices in this honourable house. I have been asked before to withdraw statements that I was convinced I did not have any reason to withdraw. I have been asked Mr. Speaker, during my five years in opposition, to express my apologies for what I would have said because another member would have felt offended. Even if I felt I was right when the Speaker asked me to, I exceeded Mr. Speaker. I never showed disrespect even when I believed I was right. And our actions today is to show to the honourable member not that any one of us in particular but as a collective, this chamber, this institution that we are part of, asks that he shows respect and regard for it. I have no desire Mr. Speaker to see that the honourable member does not participate in future deliberations. Mr. Speaker, I suspect it would be up to you to engage him on moving forward. But he has to accept that this house demands from him a more civilised conduct in this honourable chamber. And that Mr. Speaker, I want to put on record as the intent of the decision we took. I hope the honourable member recognises that he ought to be in this house as elected by the people to represent them. He may remain arrogant, he may remain very haughty, and he may believe that he has no reason to show any respect to the chamber. That's for him to decide. But we want the honourable member to understand that there's a particular way you ought to behave in this honourable house. And Mr. Speaker, I trust, like I said, you will engage him and ensure that we can move forward because our ultimate aim is that everyone who's elected by the people should be in this house representing them. Mr. Speaker, I sat and I listened to the member from Castro's, his present, his budget. And as he presented, Mr. Speaker, I started to make notes of all the benefits and who was benefiting, benefits, who's benefiting. And after a while, I stopped writing, Mr. Speaker, because for me, every sector got something in this budget. This was truly a budget for all, Mr. Speaker. Your tourism got, Mr. Speaker, taxpayers got, businessmen got, Mr. Speaker. You know, the working people of Saint Lucia got, everyone got something from the budget, Mr. Speaker. It really showed, Mr. Speaker, that the honourable member thought of this economy where we are going, what we have to achieve. And yet, at the same time, Mr. Speaker, saying that there have been successes, there have been growth, and how can we share it, Mr. Speaker. And I think it's important, Mr. Speaker, that we accept that this budget has covered all the sectors, Mr. Speaker. I have not heard from anyone who can say that they believe they will left out this year. But I reflect that, Mr. Speaker, against the comments that have been made that the honourable member has no plan. The government has no plan, Mr. Speaker, that we don't know what it is that we are about. And of course, Mr. Speaker, you would have heard the member from Miku South saying that the growth is because of his stewardship. Can you imagine that, that the 18.5 percent last year was him? The 12 percent this year is him again? But the other way around, 18.5 percent in the first year. 18.5 percent. So, until last year. Mr. Speaker, think about it. In 2016, 2017, when we had growth, he said it was not the stewardship of Dr. Kenny Antony, it was his works. The following year, there was also growth. It was not the stewardship of Dr. Antony, it was his good works. So, the two years, it was his works that just came in. But in this instance, the two years is not the Prime Minister's works, it's his again. Think about it. But then we say to him, okay, if you are taking all the benefits, the crime we have, is it your stewardship? And then he says, no, it's your stewardship. He says, tourism arrivals is him. Really? But then you cite to him what happened in 2016, 2017, he says, it was me again. So, all that is good is him, but all that is not so good is never him. And it tells you already, Mr. Speaker, how the member from Microsoft speaks, Mr. Speaker. You see, Mr. Speaker, the member from Cassius is actually made reference to it in this budget, Mr. Speaker, where on page seven, he says that this government continues to be guided and inspired by the philosophy and values of the founding fathers of our great party, the St. Lucia Liberal Party, to open doors of opportunity for every St. Lucia, irrespective of the social and economic standing in the society. Our party originated from the bosom of the labor movement and has consistently served the best interests of the workers in this country. But he goes on, he goes on, and where he makes a statement of the political economy of St. Lucia where he says, we must continue to build a society where free enterprise can flourish and that the rights of workers are protected and that they can get a fair day's wage for a fair day's work. We must build a society where meritocracy and inclusion are valued and embraced as basic principles for progress and development. You see, Mr. Speaker, and it has been said by the member from Cassius, we believe in generating growth. Why? Because you can have development only when you have growth. You can have growth and no development. You must have growth with development. So we must always seek to promote growth. And when growth takes place, to make sure that the benefits accrue to all, which is why this budget was a budget for all. So we are encouraging growth and we develop it and make sure everybody can benefit. We believe in generating wealth and for wealth to be generated by all St. Lucia's. And he made a statement to create opportunities for all. We believe, Mr. Speaker, inherently, that we must create opportunities for a new entrepreneurial class to emerge in St. Lucia. We believe that. And if they say that I am promoting bourgeoisie and bourgeois economics, well, so be it. I know we want poor people to get out of their circumstances and to live better lives. We want poor people, children to go to university to become lawyers, doctors, and engineers. And we want them, Mr. Speaker, our constituents to open businesses, to create wealth so that children can have better livelihoods. It is why, Mr. Speaker, there is the MSME, why there is the CTA, why there is the youth economy, because we want our people, Mr. Speaker, to be able to generate wealth, to create opportunities, to grow, Mr. Speaker, and in growing, their lives get better. And, Mr. Speaker, it's important that you understand, Mr. Speaker, why we are doing so. The member from Vuefort South probably led the largest expansion of the middle class in St. Lucia when in 1997, 1998, he took the decision that the banana industry was no longer going to be as it was before, that we needed to shift to a services industry. In that period, Mr. Speaker, we had the growth of the financial services sector. Tourism expanded under the member for Cassress East like never before. We created new opportunities all over. We established NSDC, bell fund, poverty reduction, proud, Mr. Speaker. We started to open up St. Lucia, to give many more St. Lucia's an opportunity. Never before in the history of St. Lucia had we given more scholarships for students to go to university. And it's why the member from January North is so motivated to ensure that most opportunities are created for most St. Lucia's to go to university and get degrees. Because we believe, Mr. Speaker, if you don't have baka, if you don't have money in the bank, it is education that's the most powerful tool for social mobility. We believe that. So we are investing in people. We are giving more to people. Only last year the member from Cassress East adjusted the tax code to allow over 3,000 persons not to have to pay tax anymore. Now those were not persons earning a thousand dollars a month, a thousand five, but those have a higher income. But who are those people, the middle class? So when some people say, who is only certain people we want to care for? No, this budget provides for everybody. Everybody can claim something of benefit in this budget. And that is what is the brilliance of the budget. So we've had growth, but everybody must benefit from the growth. And when I thought there was nothing in it for the businessmen, I heard the member announce all those that are owing taxes, I'm going to weave the interest payments, the penalties, and then allow you to pay off what you earn. It is because we believe we must create opportunities for everyone, everyone. So we don't approach this from a negative sum game, but a positive sum game. Not if you get, it means I won't get. No, let's make it big enough so everybody can get. So those that have will also get, maybe even get a bigger slice, but those that did not have can now get a slice. It's a positive sum. Let's not think negative that for you to get, I must get less. So Mr. Speaker, that is how this budget approached it. This is how we construct a new political economy in St. Lucia, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, there was a lot said, Mr. Speaker, in the past and we probably is an opportune time to just reflect on some of it, Mr. Speaker. I heard what happened earlier about the sale of land and the accusations that were made. And Mr. Speaker, I must tell you, I was one who suffered in this house through persons using documents and twisting them and turning them around and changing the version of the story. First I stole a vehicle, then I defrauded and then I bought it, but I gave it back as a gift and then I didn't pay my taxes and then when it was shown, I didn't have to pay taxes. It's because I didn't give one document. The version changed and changed and changed because they wanted to label you as something dishonest, Mr. Speaker. That's the nature. The United Workers Party is a nasty party. I will not have to say that. When I say nasty, Mr. Speaker, it's because of how they treat people, how they approach people, Mr. Speaker. When you hear what has taken place on the platforms, Mr. Speaker, what does the G in the Prime Minister name means, Mr. Speaker? When you hear what was said, when you heard what a former senior public servant, senior member of the United Workers Party described the former Prime Minister as normal, you know, normal sort and things like that, when you hear the quality of this course, Mr. Speaker, you really wonder the member from Souffre yesterday at a beautiful ceremony in Souffre where she launched her vendors association. She described it well. She said the event has been held the same place where all of that took place because she was sanitizing the space, Mr. Speaker. She said it that the last time they had a political gathering there, it was the most vile things being said and she's now mobilizing the women. Ninety-one vendors yesterday. Ninety-one, Mr. Speaker. And that is a difference between them and us, Mr. Speaker. How we approach the politics, how we approach the economics, how we approach the management of the economy. And I tell you, Mr. Speaker, I don't want to be any part of that kind of language and description, you know, of other persons in the political space, Mr. Speaker. You heard the Prime Minister being attacked because his daughter got a job at the CIP, Mr. Speaker. And I sit back and I wonder, the member from Grozily, his wife worked in a mission. His son works in an agency. Former. Former. Former. Sorry. His son works in an agency with me and I will tell you, Mr. Speaker, from all accounts, he's an excellent worker. And as long as he does his work and he's excellent, he will remain working there, Mr. Speaker. He will. Because, Mr. Speaker, it cannot be about we going after people because their family members get a job and whatnot, especially when people are qualified to do it. Let us respect those things, Mr. Speaker. We're not going to be part of that politics. And, Mr. Speaker, I smile when I heard the member from Miku South, you know, took on the member from Viewport South about, you know, he's this and that and he should have done this and he never did it. And I really smile. And you know why, Mr. Speaker? Because Prime Ministers must not be selfish people. They must not be. And you look at Prime Ministers all over the Caribbean. Anyone that is Wolfie Salt will tell you when the time comes to share the spoils and to share what is before us, they put themselves last. They put themselves last, Mr. Speaker. Any Prime Minister that tells you I look for myself first and then others after, tells you a lot about the quality of leadership that they have. And I know the member from Viewport South on many occasions, and even our present Prime Minister, I keep saying to him over and over, chief, check for your constituency and he tells me it will come, it will come, but he wants to make sure that everybody feels comfortable. The member from Viewport South did the same. He did the same. And I know, I can remember 97 as his attache, going to Viewport with him and what Viewport was like after 40 or years of United Workers Party rule. And I know what he did in Viewport. But on every instance, he always thought he had to put himself last. And most times they were nothing left for him. Nothing left for him. Because that's how he led the government that said, look, let me make sure I take care of all the others before I start thinking about myself. So if he has a fault, that is what the fault was. That is what the fault was. And if the member from Microsoft cannot understand what leadership is, and I've said to him before, we have leaders, he's a chair leader. He's not a leader. All he can do is make noise and grandstand. But he really cannot, Mr. Speaker. So Mr. Speaker, let's go back to the budget directly, Mr. Speaker. The theme for the budget is health and security. And that's deliberate, Mr. Speaker. Very deliberate. I stood up in this house on the conclusion of the debate on the estimates. And I made a special appeal. I knew the Prime Minister and the Minister for Health had been thinking about it. But I made a special appeal to make sure they stayed on that course. Because in my constituency, so many people come to me for assistance for healthcare, Mr. Speaker. Especially the elderly, Mr. Speaker. And I appeal and I said, we had to do something at the earliest to make sure we provide a better health service to our people. Now, I must say to you, both parties have tried, have come up with different ideas. But the Labour Party, I know, has been a lot more progressive in what they've tried to do to make sure Senoja has a proper health system that cannot please deliver a much better service than we have now. And I'm really delighted, Mr. Speaker, that we have decided that this budget will provide the resources to make sure that the Minister of Health can deliver on the promises that we've made to have a better health service in Senoja. I am really pleased with it, Mr. Speaker. And of course, security, Mr. Speaker, we all know, we all know, Mr. Speaker, the challenges that we face. There can be no development in this country if we do not have, Mr. Speaker, the law and order and the security of our citizens to enjoy the growth that we speak of, Mr. Speaker. So I'm really happy, Mr. Speaker. Now, Mr. Speaker, I have spoken of how this budget had a piece for all, and I will go into some of the specifics of what the member said. But do you remember a few years ago, the member from Meku South stood up as Minister of Finance. He said he was going to manage the economy differently. He was going to be a CEO, Prime Minister. Do you remember that, Mr. Speaker? I know your memory short, Mr. Speaker. But if you just reflect on it, he said he was going to be a business. He was going to run the country like a business. And a lot of people clap, yeah. Because he said he's a businessman. I cannot tell you one business that he has managed or he successfully led, but he's going to lead Sen. Lucia as a CEO, Prime Minister. And he's going to manage it as a business. And Mr. Speaker, I want you to reflect on some of the decisions that were made in this country in the last five years. And for you to tell me if you have confidence in a CEO, Prime Minister. I need you to give me your honest opinion. I need to ask you about DSH, the decision that was made to sign the DSH agreement within a month of being elected. Now, Mr. Speaker, nobody accused his government of being corrupt and accused him of being corrupt. And the member who sits next to him from Strasza and Salty Bus said he signed the agreement, but he never read it. Now, this is an accomplished banker who's now elected to the House. He's a minister and he signs a billion-dollar agreement and he says he never read it. Do you believe that? Can you believe that? If anybody signs an agreement that has put Sen. Lucia in so much trouble and never read it, how would you describe it? How would you describe it? The Prime Minister, within a month, the former, the member from View for the South will tell you for months there have been negotiations going on with DSH. We could not agree on a common framework, could not, a document did not even reach Cabinet for consideration. That's how far apart we were. But within a month you signed it. How are you going to be described, Mr. Speaker? How do we describe you? If you want to stand and describe a member who's sold a piece of land which you believe should not have been sold, he was not involved in any of the transactions and you describe him as you did. Repeatedly, how should we describe you as a CEO, Prime Minister? But let's go on to the next one, carbot lands. Mr. Speaker, have you really reflected on what happened with the carbot lands? Those were lands worth over $30 million, not $3.5 million. It was going to be bought by the NIC, for the people of St. Lucia. Think about that. NIC was told, do not buy it. Instead they knew of somebody who wanted to buy it but did not have the money. So take the money and give it to those people to buy instead. We've debated this in this house. How do you describe this? I will not venture and describe him as corrupt or his then cabinet as corrupt, but it's rather very unusual and if he will define what happened, then what happened with the banana lands as corrupt, how should people see what he did? That's $30 million of solution money given to a foreign entity when no money has ever been taken by NIC to give anybody, not even locals, to buy land and rather than buy it for the people of St. Lucia and make it the common heritage of St. Lucia, the money has been told to be given to a foreigner to buy the land. How do you describe this? This is the actions of a CEO, Prime Minister and he says he was the best custodian of the economy in St. Lucia. I think the member from GeForce South answered him and said, Hurricane Allen entered the Treasury. That's what happened, Mr. Speaker. How do you describe, Mr. Speaker, Health City came in? What CEO, Prime Minister? What CEO, Minister of Finance can make a decision like this? In the middle of COVID, when people are focused and concentrating on saving lives at the hospital, you're bringing a consultancy firm at a million dollars a month for two years, $24 million. Nobody takes them on because everybody's focused on saving lives, but we have to pay them $24 million, not $3.5 million, not $3.5 million and we have no choice but to pay it. The technocrats said, we didn't even know what they were really doing. We couldn't even really review all the documents they prepared because we were focused on COVID. And that's a CEO, Prime Minister, CEO, Prime Minister and he says we don't know what we are doing. Mr. Speaker, I can go on, Mr. Speaker. Look at St. Jude's Hospital. Mr. Speaker, I don't know if St. Lucian's really sit and reflect on what happened at St. Jude's. There it is, you have a hospital being constructed. You can have all your criticisms of it. You can have all your criticisms, but then you decide that one wing is not good enough. That's your decision. That's your assessment. You paid a million dollars for that assessment, which did not say you should break it down. It said it can still be used and gave you a price of about $80 million, I think it was. It would take to complete the hospital and open it. You decide, no, no, no, I'm going to replace that wing and you spend over $100 million building a box and with significant more debt still to be paid to replace that wing. But you never told St. Lucian's, you still have to complete the rest of the hospital. So, although you stop working on it to build a box, you still have to come and finish it. That box was just to replace one wing. Think about it, Mr. Speaker. Is that wise? Is that not an usual thinking and reasoning? Is that the confused thinking of a CEO, Prime Minister? Tell me. And then you look at this budget as presented and you say, this budget is produced by men who don't know what they are about. But compare the CEO, Prime Minister, the CEO, you know, the business, Prime Minister. And then let's look at what was stopped, Mr. Speaker. Look at RSL. We now have to bring back RSL, Mr. Speaker. Chido, look at the fisheries complex, Mr. Speaker. Look at the Viewford Administrative Centre. And then you know what he says. The reason why he stopped it is because DC had not approved the transfer of the, no, no, he said the transfer of the lands to Wasco had not been completed. So he stopped the project. And then he says about Viewford not getting any attention. And I'm hearing there's a substantial increase now in the cost of putting up the building, Mr. Speaker. And Mr. Speaker, I can go on and on and on and expose to you the failings of a CEO Prime Minister. On and on, Mr. Speaker. But, Mr. Speaker, I have to end on two notes on the CEO, Prime Minister. The first one was to start off his presentation by calling on all the senior public servants he saw as heroes. As heroes. And I wondered immediately, but there were zeros when he was actually a CEO Prime Minister. So much so, he hired Eunsan Young, paid them millions of dollars to teach them how to do budgeting. Something that had been done by public servants for years. So he had been admired for how we prepare our budgets, our professionalism and everything else. But those heroes were not heroes when he was Prime Minister. And if he should ever become Prime Minister again, if he should ever, by some wayless imagination, Mr. Speaker, they will be reduced to zeros again. And probably a more vindictive approach to them. Then, Mr. Speaker, the Massey bag. I was, I did ask the member next to him to pass the cheese for me and the eggs, Mr. Speaker. Can you believe the member from Mikusov can be so shameless to bring a bag with groceries and to be on the verge of crying? Because he says, we are not taking care of the poor. I've read my colleagues' recounts how much we've done for the poor. From vouchers, Mr. Speaker, to subsidies, $20 on every gallon of every tank of gas, Mr. Speaker. We've read about the laptop, paying the school fees, paying the school subjects of the poor, the flow bundle to make sure they have the internet housing assistance, Mr. Speaker, all in a year and a half. But we don't care about the poor. But I want to remind you, Mr. Speaker, of some what he said about helping the poor. I want to remind you some of the things he said about helping out the poor. He says at a press conference, we're subsidizing the people by reducing the price of rice, flour, sugar. But everyone is benefiting from it. But not everyone needs it. That's the same person who said we should be giving more to the people of St. Bush. And he, when he was CEO, Prime Minister says we should not be doing that. He goes on, in parliament, we can no longer continue to subsidize all sections of society under the guise of protecting the poor. Now, let's examine that briefly. He's saying if other people are benefiting when we protect the poor, don't protect the poor. That's what he meant. If other people are benefiting when we are protecting the poor, we must stop it. Let the poor suffer. That's what he says. But then he comes in with a massive bag, you know, Mr. Speaker. And I heard afterwards parliament had to really clean down because the chicken wings leak water all over the place, or took the wings whichever one he had, Mr. Speaker. And then finally, finally, hear what he says on Newsmaker Live with Timothy. We have this idiotic process. Let me repeat it. We have this idiotic process, honestly, where we subsidize rice, flour, sugar, and say we help in the poor people. Have you heard that statement? Now, think about that. An idiotic process, an idiotic process where we subsidize rice, flour, and sugar, and say we help in poor people. The same member from Miku South, Sam, who stood up here with a bag, begging us to help people, which we are doing. In fact, I hope the member from Cassius is going to give me some more vouchers next week, because I want to continue helping the poor people in my constituency. And, you know, there is the constant demand. But he says help poor people with a massive bag. But then he wants to describe it, helping poor people as an idiotic process. What kind of thinking is this? Is this just show? And he compares it to this budget statement made by the member from Cassius. Mr. Speaker, I tried to note the top 10, top 10 of my favorite offerings in the budget, but I couldn't. I reached about 13 and I decided no, I had to stop because only 10 I wanted. Mr. Speaker, $25 million for public assistance. Increasing public assistance. The same budget we listen to, where he says we're not helping poor people. We are increasing it to $25 million to help in public assistance. Maternal and child healthcare. When I spoke about healthcare already, Mr. Speaker. I heard about a semi-professional football league. I love this one, Mr. Speaker. I really love it. I hope we can also next year, Mr. Speaker, find money to support the Saint Lucia T20 league. Because, Mr. Speaker, I'll tell you, there are two spots I always maintain. We are world-class in track and field and cricket. The average Saint Lucia at 15 years old, 16 years old, can be a world beater in cricket and track and field. Julian at 16 was already world-class. The last two Westinese and the 19 cricket captains were from Saint Lucia. We are world-class in two spots, in my view. Cricket and track and field. But I support this, because most young people are involved in football. We need to create a pathway for them. So at least, Mr. Speaker, they can aspire to play for Arsenal, who is beating Chelsea right now. So, Mr. Speaker, I really believe our young men and, eventually, our young women can get the support, Mr. Speaker, can get the support. And the semi-professional league is a way of changing the mindset, introducing greater professionalism in their thinking, so they can start dreaming. I once, Mr. Speaker, served as Permanent Secretary for Youth and Sports, and there was a young man from Viewfort who was getting an opportunity to play, Mr. Speaker, for a team in Miami. I won't mention his name. But when he left, and he had to go to Miami, Mr. Speaker, when he picked him up, the owner of the team, the coach, dressing their free-piece suit, his pants was halfway down, you know, dressing his sneakers, and not even laced properly. And from the first sighting of him, you know, they were not impressed. But that's his upbringing, that's his mindset. And then he had to go into a camp where there was rigid professionalism, wake up five o'clock in the morning, have his light thing to go and train. He couldn't fit in, because he had not gotten that training and developed that kind of professional outlook. So, despite the ability, there are always those limitations. The semi-professional league will start teaching our talented young footballers that modern talent, modern talent, you have to develop a certain professional approach. You have to respect the game, not just play the game and be good at it. You must respect the game. And therefore, Mr. Speaker, I'm hoping the professional league will do this, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, tax refunds of almost $9 million for over 3,000 people. We promise it and we delivered it, Mr. Speaker. Over 3,000 Saint Lucians got tax refunds, Mr. Speaker. I spoke about the penalties being waived. This one is a serious one, Mr. Speaker, because a lot of those monies were monies collected for the government of Saint Lucia and they have not been paid. And now we're giving them another opportunity to pay the money that is owed to the government of Saint Lucia. Another opportunity. So, the penalties will be waived. All the dues will be waived but to pay the money, Mr. Speaker. The withholding tax on $10,000 or less contracts. Now, some people do not really appreciate how important that is. Just imagine you're a small contractor and you do a government contract, $9,000. You have to pay the 10% withholding tax plus they keep 10% retention. So, just think about that. On your little $9,000 contract, almost $2,000 has been waived. $2,000. Now you have to pay for materials. Now, if your profit is about $3,000 on it, it's virtually gone, Mr. Speaker. Gone. And some of them will not even earn enough because it might be one contract they get for the year or maybe two where they even have to pay tax in the first place. So, this, Mr. Speaker, is a very significant achievement. Those who don't know it and they're not in the trenches will not have heard people saying to you, the little work, the little job I get to make some cupboards at somebody home, to do something for government, they take 10% and then 10%. So, I'm glad, Mr. Speaker, that has been put in. The teachers, Mr. Speaker. An extra $600, Mr. Teacher. $600 more for teachers. I think it should be more, really, but you know, it's a little bit at a time. No, because teachers, Mr. Speaker, teachers use so much of their own resources to help students and to help their classes, Mr. Speaker. And when they meet needy children, they also provide assistance. When you find a conscientious teacher, Mr. Speaker, when you find a conscientious teacher who really does their job as a teacher, $600 is nothing more for them, Mr. Speaker. Well, six plus six, we get a thousand one, but it is something. And I'm really proud that as a government, we're able to do this. Mr. Speaker, when you listen to the Prime Minister, Minister from Catrish East, you would hear that we're finally getting the economy stabilized, finally getting it stabilized. We are putting in place all the fundamentals for long-term sustained growth. And at the same time, we're providing benefits to the people of San Lucia right now, Mr. Speaker. We are achieving all three objectives with this budget, Mr. Speaker. So revenue is up, Mr. Speaker. Investment is up. Borrowing has declined, Mr. Speaker, and you can see that on page 15. Debt, Mr. Speaker, to GDP has declined significantly. Of course, as the economy grows and debt is reducing, then, Mr. Speaker, the debt to GDP becomes more favorable. But, Mr. Speaker, the unemployment is also down significantly. Now, the Prime Minister used a figure of about 19%. I believe from reading the social and economic review, the unemployment is really 16%. Mr. Speaker, and I guess the economists and them will probably explain why they use the relaxed unemployment rate rather than the traditional unemployment rate that we always use. I never knew in the past we used to use the relaxed unemployment rate. I always knew that it was the unemployment rate that we use as stated in the social and economic review, Mr. Speaker, but that's for the economists and other them to explain why the change, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to comment on two points raised by the Prime Minister in his statement, the 2.5% levy. And I want to ask St. Lucian's to fully support the levy, fully support the levy. If we are going to have the monies that we need to be able to ensure that the lady in Cicero can get an MRI, the lady in Bannon, Mr. Speaker, who has cancer, can get a cancer treatment, can get a chemotherapy, Mr. Speaker. The person in Belmont, Mr. Speaker, who, Mr. Speaker, has hypertension and needs medication, if the people of St. Lucia who cannot afford it has to be able to be provided if those services, the government needs the money to pay for it. And of course, Mr. Speaker, when we open St. Jude's Hospital, Mr. Speaker, there will be increased costs. So let us collectively as a nation, collectively as a nation all agree that we must contribute something to the pie to be able to get better health care in St. Lucia. And I believe every solution will agree. If you ask them, should you pay a little bit to be able to get the health care you need, they will say yes to you, Mr. Speaker. Yes to you. So when you had a talk shows asking, can you survive the 2.5% levy? Can you survive without it? Because the day you get a stroke and you go to the hospital, what would be there for you? The day, Mr. Speaker, they tell you your sugar level is too high and you need to get met for men and you need to do this and to do that. Can you afford it, Mr. Speaker? You won't be able to. But collectively when all of us contribute 2.5% purchases on selected items, not on food, not on medicines, but on selected items, all of us are taking that and putting it towards health and security, Mr. Speaker. And we need to do so. And we need to tell St. Lucia that in a phase approach, and I was lectured by the Minister of Health who explained to me, no country succeeded by introducing everything one time. Everybody did it in a phase approach. You expanded your capacity, you mastered the delivery, and then you go on to the next stage. And you go on to the next stage. And that is how it has worked. So when they ask, why are you only giving 80 plus? Why only hypertensive? Why only mothers and children? Because we take it in a phase approach. Every phase, we expand our capacity, we master the delivery, and therefore we able to ensure that slowly but surely our population will get the health care that they need, Mr. Speaker. So I support the level, Mr. Speaker. I will defend it any and everywhere, Mr. Speaker, because I know my constituents will be the better for it, Mr. Speaker. So I actually believe, Mr. Speaker, it was about time that we did this. It was about time that we had put this in place, Mr. Speaker. And of course, Mr. Speaker, to use it also for security, we are facing a challenge in our society. And therefore, Mr. Speaker, the more resources we can give to the police and broadly the criminal justice system, the better it is for everybody, Mr. Speaker. So I support the level. My final comment, Mr. Speaker, is the removal of the vat, the 12.5 percent on wood, lumber, steel, cement, Mr. Speaker, and galvanized. The only thing I think you should have added, Mr. Speaker, is windows and doors. Windows and doors, Mr. Speaker, are very expensive. I've had to buy a couple of windows, Mr. Speaker, for constituents. For constituents, Mr. Speaker, I've had to buy a couple of windows. No, Mr. Speaker, I know it's very expensive. I know. What about? No, I don't know. So, Mr. Speaker, we need to, because what we have to be able to do, Mr. Speaker, is to say to our constituents, here we have the housing assistance program. We're going to give you X amount, but I want you to put the balance. I want you to put the balance. So if I give you 5,000, 10,000, can you put the balance? And most will tell you, yes, I will try to put it. But then when you see the prices, it hits them. This will give them the relief where they, Mr. Speaker, can say to you as Parliamentary Rep, it's a lot more affordable now. I can do a lot more for myself. And therefore, Mr. Speaker, the money we have can spread wider, Mr. Speaker. I'm sure, Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister, knowing him, is continuing, Mr. Speaker, to look for ways in which he can give even further assistance, because he, like me, represents a constituency that has serious housing issues, serious housing issues, Mr. Speaker, from Fuashou to, you know, Cemetery to, you know, Monkey Tongue, all over my constituency. There are people at that desperately need of assistance to improve their housing, Mr. Speaker. So the sooner, and I noticed, it's coming into effect in July 1st, if you can do it June 1st, Mr. Speaker, it would be even better, because I know that would be welcome relief. Mr. Speaker, let's move on to tourism, Mr. Speaker. Tourism. The Prime Minister, in his statement spoke of the successes of the tourism sector. And he said, Mr. Speaker, essentially that it is the tourism industry that is driving the economic revival of Saint Lucia and his correct, Mr. Speaker. During his address, Mr. Speaker, he gave figures of the significant growth that we've had in the tourism sector, Mr. Speaker, compared to 2022 and compared, Mr. Speaker, to 2021 when we were affected by the COVID crisis, Mr. Speaker. Now, sometimes I always have to go back to the member from Mikusov, because Mr. Speaker, he pretends that he's the authority on tourism and that he's the guru on tourism. And he's claiming all the successes we have now, Mr. Speaker. It's because of him. But what he did not know, Mr. Speaker, in the latter days leading up to the elections, the Prime Minister and I had a discussion, you know, and I was teasing him about, you know, where things will go, where things will not go. They were a group of us, colleagues, together. And he threw out a couple of ideas about tourism immediately that once we win, that's what we have to do. We must go there aggressively and we must be upfront and we must do even more to make sure we put Saint Lucia in the minds of people when they are starting to decide to travel. So we already knew that once we won, what our first action would be. We knew it. We had a plan already. So once he said to me that he was going to ask me to serve as the Minister of Tourism, I knew what my first action had to be. I knew it. I knew it because we understood where we were. And I must say to you, Mr. Speaker, I'm not going to take it away from the last government. They had started the process of opening up. Let's not pretend, Mr. Speaker, that they did nothing. No, they had started the process. But once we got in, we accelerated it. We created a vibe about Saint Lucia. We started to sell Saint Lucia as the place to go. So when others were even uncertain, we were bold. We knew what we wanted and we were positioned in Saint Lucia. So even when people were saying, when we spoke about Vaxmas, we were mad to be doing that. We knew what we were doing. We knew that we had a position Saint Lucia as the destination of choice. But more than that, we had to go to the core of what we believe tourism ought to be. Tourism has to be about authentic, inclusive experiences. That's what it has to be about. So as soon as we started Saint Lucia, selling Saint Lucia, we started selling it as such. We were saying to people, you're coming out of COVID, you're traumatized, you're distressed, whatnot. Come to the island that gives you the most authentic experiences. Come to the island that has the most exciting, inclusive offerings. We will sell it to the tourism industry, that the benefits must accrue to everyone. We were talking community tourism, saying to visitors, you are about to travel, you're making up your minds. It is Saint Lucia, you must come. We will sell it. We had a plan, but the guru believes he alone has a plan. Five years as Minister of Tourism, never built one hotel. Five years as Prime Minister, never built a hotel. And promise, it was it in Miku where he said he's going to build seven hotels in one year. You know, Mr. Speaker. But he's the guru. But you know why, Mr. Speaker? We don't believe we know all the answers. We don't believe we have all the answers. We ask a lot of questions, we seek advice, and we move forward, Mr. Speaker. So tourism is doing well, Mr. Speaker. Other markets are opening up now. We went up front very early, but now the FIS is opening up. Europe is opening up. So the competition will restore to a state of normalcy. There are certain challenges that we face, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the truth is, airfare is significantly high right now. But the airlines have no interest in reducing airfare. And I can share with you, Mr. Speaker, I went to a trade show with the CEO of the Tourism Authority, and we would say to an airline that people are complaining about you, complaining. And they ask us, what are they complaining about? And we said, well, your prices are too high. And the guy opened his computer, looked at it, and said, what can I just tell you, March 2023 was our best performing month in the history of being in St. Lucia, 95% load factor. So he asked us, who's complaining? So just think about it. We are complaining about airfare, but people are paying it. People are paying it. And of course, the airlines are still saying to you that there are equipment issues. They don't have enough planes. They don't have enough crew. It's getting better, but it's not back to state of normalcy. Member of the guys we saw here, 10 minutes left. 10? You saw me like a member of your thoughts out. Member for Daniel, no, sorry. I couldn't see you. I couldn't see your mic behind the lectern. This is because I'd like to move for the invocation of standing order 3210 in order to allow the member of the castry south an additional 30 minutes within which to complete his presentation. One of the members, the question is that standing order 3210 be invoked to allow the member of the castry south an additional 30 minutes in which to complete his presentation. And I'll put the question as many as their opinion say aye. Aye. As many as the country opinion say no. I think the eyes have it. The eyes have it. Thank you very much, colleagues. And thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, we've set forth some objectives for ourselves in the tourism industry. I want to point out a couple of them, Mr. Speaker. One of which is that the benefits of tourism must accrue to as many people as possible. We believe that fundamentally, Mr. Speaker. And it is why we launched the community tourism program, Mr. Speaker. When we took over, it was supposed to be village tourism. You had to sign a franchise. And you know, when people you tell solutions about franchise, they think of Kentucky and Subway. And they start thinking of whether you'll be controlling their business. We said to them, no, no, no. And they talk about village. And somebody asked me whether Babuno and then Babuno. And they will not qualify because Babuno is not a village. So we have to say to them, no, no, no. It's a community tourism program. Once you're part of the community, you can qualify. And we want partnerships. So you sign a partnership and no franchise, Mr. Speaker. But we believe, Mr. Speaker, that more solutions should participate in the tourism industry and should own the tourism industry. More solutions. So when we've launched the CTA, Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister made an extra $5 million available, Mr. Speaker, for online mail for solutions who want to be able to enter the tourism industry. So you can get up to $100,000 with no security and up to $300,000 with security for you to be able to start your own business enterprise. One foot of this up to one foot can be given to you as a grant. So not all is loan up to one foot is grant, Mr. Speaker. And we're saying to solutions, this is a chance for you. If you have an idea, if you believe you have something that you can offer, come and seize the moment. So we have almost $14 million, Mr. Speaker. Just think about that. This government, $14 million making available to solutions so that they can, Mr. Speaker, benefit from the tourism industry, Mr. Speaker. And that was not enough. When the Prime Minister heard of the interest and people approached him, he realized we had one issue. The last government, even before the CTA was launched, even before there was an office, even before there was legislation, had used all the money for the community's infrastructure. They had used all. So when we came into government, there was no money for community infrastructure. The Minister of Finance spoke to the Caricom Development Fund and said, I will need another $8 million, because there are communities that need support for community infrastructure. And therefore, later on this year, and it's not stated in the budget, but they've already informed him and agreed in principle that we will have another $3 million U.S. to assist a number of, oh, you did mention it in the budget statement, sorry. And he named some of the communities. I think Montrepo, Pralé will get something. Euphotnoff will get Serenity Pack. I think Marsha will get something in it. So, Mr. Speaker, you know, so many other communities will now be able to build their infrastructure, Mr. Speaker. And Kareli, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I need to quickly point out, a few days ago we had a ceremony last week, Wednesday, called the G-MIS, Mr. Speaker. The Tourism Awards, Mr. Speaker. I know G-MIM on G-MIM belongs to Souffre. And I know the member from Souffre has cautioned me about copyright issues for the use of the name G-MIS, Mr. Speaker. But the G-MIS was really important, Mr. Speaker. And let me just quickly point out something to you. The member from Miku South stood in this house, an almost question. Why are you all doing this? Why do you have to make a location for a Tourism Awards? Why can't you go and ask the private sector to assist you? They are assisting us. But he's missing the point. And that's the difference between us and them. We need to recognize the ordinary people that are making this country successful. So, at the ceremony, we recognize the institutions, the organizations. But we also recognize the ordinary vendor, the bartender, the tour guide, Mr. Speaker. These are the people that really create the lasting impressions on the minds of visitors, Mr. Speaker. And that's what the G-MIS was about. In the most glamorous way we could, we said to them, we appreciate your contribution. And I'm sure some of them, Mr. Speaker, are looking forward to next year. I was in Souffre yesterday and somebody was saying how they're going to be announcing that the winner of a G-MIS, the best restaurant in St. Lucia, Mr. Speaker. So that is important for us. Mr. Speaker, I need to say a little thing about jazz, Mr. Speaker. In the next few days, we will officially open the Jazz and Arts Festival, Mr. Speaker. It is a festival as very dear to the heart of St. Lucia's. Very, very dear, Mr. Speaker. Because St. Lucia's ownership of it. St. Lucia saw it as part of the personality of who they are. It was an opportunity, Mr. Speaker, for all of us to celebrate. And people would say it's not a pure jazz festival. It is more than just jazz. It's about the creation of an atmosphere, an environment of creativity in the country from music, Mr. Speaker. The last Labour Party government and the Dr. Anthony, the member from Juvenile South, introduced an arts component, Mr. Speaker. An arts component where our visual artists, our painters, everybody else, Mr. Speaker, can now join into that creativity. What you have to see the festival as, as transforming St. Lucia into an arena of creativity, whether through music or art, Mr. Speaker. And that's what it represented. But even more important than the festival itself, main stage and the main activities, were the fringe events. And I'm really pleased, Mr. Speaker, to see this year the return of the fringe events with a bang, Mr. Speaker. With a bang. Because the community, it shows that the communities of St. Lucia are once again taking ownership of this. Monripua Jazz yesterday. You know, I think Villefort, Villefort had some jazz yesterday, Mr. Speaker. And there'll be many more next year. Mr. Speaker will be even bigger because I know, Mr. Speaker, for all, Denry North will come back alive, Mr. Speaker. I know that, Mr. Speaker. Denry South, we got a proposal from Denry North, Denry South, but it was a little too late, you Mr. Speaker. And the member from Miku South said, as if, you know, we can't even sell jazz, we can't even market jazz. Can I share with you? So far, so far, for online sales alone, we have sold more tickets than the entire 2016 Jazz Festival. And the 2016 Jazz Festival was the biggest ever. And so far, online alone, we have sold more tickets than 2016 entire Jazz Festival. So reflect on this from 30 different countries. And the member from Miku South is saying, virtually is a waste of time, we can't even market it, we have no flights. We don't have all the flights we want, but this is our, our comeback here. And I can tell you the best is yet to come. The best is yet to come, Mr. Speaker. Because this is just the year we are saying, we are back. And it will get bigger and better, Mr. Speaker. And do you know the weekend after Jazz, Mr. Speaker, finishes? We start the community carnivals. Right until July 18th, every weekend, there will be the launching of a community carnival. And of course, the culmination. So we, from this weekend, we never end until July. And somebody would ask, but why all of this? And then we take a two week break and we go into emancipation month. Mr. Speaker. And, well, I haven't, next year, we haven't started talking about next year. But why are we doing all of this? We are doing all of this, Mr. Speaker, because we are determined to establish a creative economy in St. Lucia. We are determined. If we have almost every month, every weekend, some creative expression in this country, whether it's theater, whether it's dance, whether it's music, whether it is visual arts, we are creating in St. Lucia that kind of creative arena. The creatives can now have a sustainable livelihood on the fact that every weekend or so, there is something for them to do for our fashion designers. We've had three fashion shows in the last year or so, exports in St. Lucia has done two and we have one next week. Our designers now know they can produce clothing and fashion and wear for jazz, for carnival, for emancipation, for juniperiol, Mr. Speaker, creating new opportunities for them to bring out their creativity, but also for them to earn a livelihood. So we are creating a creative economy. We are through carnival. Mr. Speaker, do you know carnival is the largest single economic activity in this country? Largest single economic activity. Last year, July, 10,000 people arrived in this country and stated on the ED cards that they came here for carnival, 10,000. And I think the Minister of Finance, the member of the Cabinet will tell you his returns on revenue in July, August last year were the highest for the year. He will tell you so. That was the importance of carnival. That's the importance. So when you add throughout the year, we have dance productions, theater productions, we have exhibitions, we have street arts, we have La Rose, we have La Margaret. Mr. Speaker, last year, La Rose and La Margaret was like never seen before, never seen before. And I hope this year is even bigger, Mr. Speaker. Very soon we will be launching our emancipation program and our La Rose plans, Mr. Speaker. And again, St. Lucia will become this creative hub. And that is the importance, Mr. Speaker, that the Prime Minister spoke about on page 26 when he spoke about the importance of culture and the creative industries to St. Lucia. Because if we can get the creative industry to start rivaling construction, start rivaling the real estate contribution to GDP, think of the importance of that. Think of who is benefiting from that. In all the communities, I remember, export the runway, almost every designer was from Forsythiaq, from Babono, from all parts of St. Lucia. And I was shocked. I was surprised. I didn't know people in Forsythiaq and they could have designed that kind of, you know, bugs and because I was ignorant of it, even as the minister. I really got an eye opener when I saw what was being produced, Mr. Speaker. And he convinced me that this government is doing the right thing, Mr. Speaker, to establish the creative industries in St. Lucia. Mr. Speaker, let me move quickly to investment. And if you look at page 56 and 57, Mr. Speaker, in the Prime Minister's statement, he speaks of the hotel projects to come. And he still did not state all. Because the Prime Minister says, unless work has started, he's not announcing. So he only gave you half of the story. And you can see the tremendous progress. And I have to ask myself the question, how could the last government not even get those projects started? How could they have spoken so much, said so much, but they couldn't get any of the projects started? What was going on with the CEO, Prime Minister, the business, Prime Minister? Why couldn't they get any of those hotels going? We've had to sit with them, Mr. Speaker. We've had to find out what their issues are. We've been working hard to overcome their issues and to get the projects going. And a couple of them were actually stopped. And we had to get them started again, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, is because of how we've approached our work, the importance we recognize of investment in this country, the importance we recognize of construction, and the importance we give to the tourism sector, Mr. Speaker. So you will see a lot more happening during this year, Mr. Speaker. As more of the hotels advance, Mr. Speaker, we hope, Mr. Speaker, sometime next year we can open at this one new hotel in St. Lucia, Mr. Speaker. The Prime Minister spoke about GPH, Mr. Speaker, because again, a lot has been said by the member from Meku South, and the member from Vuefort South briefly mentioned it. And he chastised the member from Vuefort South and said, you know, he should, if he wanted, he would have started a cruise terminal in Vuefort, then he didn't do it. I can tell you, I remember, as he attached it to the then Prime Minister, going on the first cruise ship that came to Vuefort South, and he was the one who brought it, because even then he had started working on Vuefort and how it would develop, Mr. Speaker, and for it to be accommodating cruise ships. I can't remember the name of the ship, but I remember going on the ship with him and the vision that he had. But here's what the member from Meku South did. When there were two cruise lines who were interested in developing Vuefort South, as for whom porting and for other calls, he asked them not to proceed, and instead asked them to work with DSH to build a cruise terminal by El Pirata, by Cocodan. That's what he did. He stopped it. So he inherited something from the member from Vuefort South, inherited the work that had been started, and told them to go and work with DSH, supplement, agreement, see, I think it is, covers that. Can you believe that? He stopped it. He actually stopped it, because he said it has to be built by Tewakin, by El Pirata. But then he chastises the member for Vuefort South and says he should have gotten it done. You found work in progress. You found the work being done, all the studies and the surveys and the designs, and you stopped it. And now he was negotiating with GPH to have his own agreement. And then, Mr Speaker, he never signed the agreement. And I always wondered why? Why did he sign the agreement? When we got the preliminary agreement, we thought it was not enough for St. Lucia. We wanted more, and the Prime Minister said, to ask for some more. And of course, the member from Souffre, for Sezac, got into the picture, and she said, she wants it too. And then the agreement now includes redevelopment of the Souffre waterfront. A fantastic achievement, Mr Speaker. And we are very close, Mr Speaker. Tomorrow we are going to have another call to try and finalise the agreement, Mr Speaker. And I heard again a member from Miku South talking about who would want the whole thing, and GPH will have no interest in Vuefort South. It's a little too early for me to say all that. We have to say, Mr Speaker. But I can tell you, the GPH agreement, once we conclude it and we sign it, will transform for castries and the Souffre waterfront, Mr Speaker. And a member from Miku South will continue to advise other people and not put the interests of Saint Lucia first, Mr Speaker. Because that's what it was about. It was not about Saint Lucia being put first, but advising other people what they should do and what they should not do for his own personal benefit. Mr Speaker, the CIP. So allow me to say a few things about CIP. In 2015, 2016, when we launched the CIP, we launched it with a clear view that Saint Lucia had to be a preferred destination. So in the original legislation, we provided for a limited number of applications each year for very high net worth individuals to be applicable to be part of the Saint Lucia investment program, Saint Lucia investment program. And of course, the government changed. We never really got to implement it. For us, it had to be Saint Lucia being sold as a brand and people taking pride in knowing that it became a Saint Lucia investment. And changes were made. And we publicly in this house opposed the changes and we debated it. But that's history. Time has moved on. A lot of people have applied to Saint Lucia, have become citizens. And the industry itself has changed over the years. So this Labour Party comes back into the government. And again, we've adopted a consistent approach, a consistent approach. Saint Lucia is a brand. We may be small, but we believe that we are a preferred destination for investment, for visitors and certainly for citizenship. So we adopted the tagline beyond the passport. And we say to applicants, think of Saint Lucia as more than just a passport. It's a citizenship. It's a chance for you to be part of the landscape of Saint Lucia to invest in Saint Lucia. And I can say to you that we've now received applications for investment in Saint Lucia for incentives and concessions from a number of persons that have become citizens of Saint Lucia. And very soon the Prime Minister will announce a major hotel project, hundreds of millions of dollars from investors who are Saint Lucians. Who are Saint Lucians? And in cabinet we've approved a couple of applications already because the intention is to say to persons that become citizens of Saint Lucia, you must also invest in the country. We offer opportunities what not, Mr Speaker. So the other thing I want to point out, Mr Speaker, is that we cherish the emphasis on due diligence. And even the last board and the last CEO and staff, this detour must be applauded for at least ensuring one thing that Saint Lucia was respected for its due diligence. We've come into government, Mr Speaker, and we've decided, Mr Speaker, that we actually going to strengthen the due diligence. Strengthen it, Mr Speaker. We are determined that in consultation with our other partners, stakeholders to make Saint Lucia even more robust and even more diligent in how we approach our vetting. So, Mr Speaker, in July 2021, when we came into government, July 2021, there were 15 staff members at the CIP, at the unit, two doing verification, two doing due diligence, and six due diligence firms hired. So two verification, two due diligence, and six DD firms. Today we have 26 staff, eight verification, six due due diligence, and eight firms. So we've actually enhanced the staff in complement because we want to make sure that we are more robust and we are more following what we do. But we're also getting a lot more applications now, a lot more than before, Mr Speaker, because the brand is growing and there are more people willing to become citizens of Saint Lucia. We also, Mr Speaker, going to introduce even more changes to the program, Mr Speaker, more changes. So we've agreed, Mr Speaker, together with the other islands to introduce some enhanced due diligence to make sure that Saint Lucia remains really committed to this. And I want to mention them to you, Mr Speaker. The first one, Mr Speaker, we all agree in the Caribbean, anybody who was denied from another country cannot apply to another. So once you've been denied, we will share the names, so you can now want to another island and apply. So that there will be a collective, you know, sharing of information on denials. An important one, interviews. We've agreed and we are trying to describe, define how we're going to do it in operations. Everyone who applies to be a citizen, we have to interview you either in face of virtually. And that did not exist before. So we actually want to have an engagement. Some people cannot travel very far and we don't have embassies and consulates all over the world. But at least you have to do an interview before we can approve your citizenship. There'll be additional checks, Mr Speaker. And of course, for obvious reasons, I will not go into details on those additional checks that we'll be doing, Mr Speaker. Every year we will commission an audit of the unit, Mr Speaker. If not every year, every two years, we will commission an audit of our due diligence processes to make sure, Mr Speaker, that we remain cut in edge and certainly very effective in what we're doing. Mr Speaker, we're going to introduce a special ID card for our citizens who come from the program. And it's going to be a machine-readable ID card issued by the same company that does our passports. So the ID cards in the passports would be linked, Mr Speaker. So they now can also have ID cards, but they qualify for ID cards, but they get the honorary solution ID cards we have. So we want to have ID cards now that we are more aware of its use and everything else that goes with that, Mr Speaker. And we will be the first CIP program that will be offering those specialized ID cards, Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, I shall not go down that road. But the big issue I want to announce, Mr Speaker, is that we have four options, the bonds, the donation, the real estate, and what we call the enterprise, where it would be given to persons who invested like in restaurants and other economic generators in the country. But at a very high price, that would be up to $5 million. So we've decided, Mr Speaker, we're going to do a way with the enterprise option. And we're going to introduce a national infrastructure option, where we will be, Mr Speaker, using the program to raise resources for us to build our roads, our bridges, to help with school plant improvement, and other infrastructural needs, Mr Speaker. We believe equally important equally important to real estate is the development of the infrastructure of the country. And once we launch it at mid-year, we will go all out to raise the resources so that the infrastructure option can provide the government which may create an infrastructure fund to help us have the resources to improve our roads. And of course, like I said, to deliver the other needs of this country. Housing, Mr Speaker. And I am sure the Prime Minister very soon will make a major noncement on a housing project that will be financed through the CIP, Mr Speaker, as the CIP investment. So our CIP is growing, Mr Speaker. It is a lot more robust in its management of the vetting and due diligence process. It's also bringing in more income. You will notice in the estimates that the CIP is required to bring in a lot more money to the country. And we certainly intend to achieve that request made by the Ministry of Finance, Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, I need to end, Mr Speaker, by again focusing on the budget and what it means to average Saint Lucia to the middle class, to the business class, Mr Speaker. Because this budget really seeks to capture that we are Saint Lucia. We are one people. We have one destiny. And that we must take care of all, Mr Speaker. Of all. Very shortly, we will come back to this house with a tourism development bill. Because, Mr Speaker, in that bill is consistent in the philosophy of this budget that we must make sure that benefits accrue to all. We must make sure that there is something being offered to persons that want to get involved in enterprise. There is something offered to persons who want to become a professional and aspire to go into school to be an engineer, a doctor. It will also have something for the small business person who wants support for government to make it happen. It will also have something for the working class, the working people of Saint Lucia, where they took an aspire to own a house, own a piece of land for the children to become the lawyers and adopters of tomorrow. And I'm very passionate about this, Mr Speaker, because I believe our people will progress when we give them the educational attainment that they need for social mobility. I believe that. I believe our small businesses. And the Prime Minister put it so well. He said not everybody will start off as an entity. Some of you will be non-entities, but you will become entities. And he was riding on the division of the member of Mikusov when he described somebody as a non-entity. Who is she? She's a non-entity. She has nothing in her life. But these are the people we want to help. That's what we are about. That's what we are about. We want people who do have name, who are non-entities, who promising us having nothing in their lives to give them a chance to become something in this country. That's who we are. That's what we are about. But we also recognize we must support the business enterprises. We must give them the support. This country cannot grow and develop if we don't support them. So we have to support them and we will support them. And the records show that under the Labour Party government, Dr Anthony, and even now, is when we have the most investment, Mr Speaker, this is why I want to associate with this budget. This is why I feel confident I can go anywhere and defend this budget. Anybody that says to you, what's there for poor people? And I heard one said it looked like now I have to eat plywood. She has to eat plywood because it's plywood we give in poor people and not food. So, Speaker, the truth is we have done a lot. The member from Souffre will tell you how much we've subsidized flour to keep down the price of bread. How much we subsidized fuel, gas, Mr Speaker, rice, Mr Speaker, sugar, Mr Speaker. How many vouchers we've given out, Mr Speaker, because we care about poor people, Mr Speaker. How much public assistance we increase in, Mr Speaker, because we care, Mr Speaker. And we will continue to care, Mr Speaker. And every time this economy grows and there is, Mr Speaker, surpluses and benefits, it will be shared among the people of St. Lucia, Mr Speaker. It will be shared, Mr Speaker. Member because she saw the opportunity on his left. I'm at 10. So, Mr Speaker, no, I'm going to end now, Mr Speaker, because if I start on another topic, it will take more than 10. But, Mr Speaker, I certainly look forward to the implementation of the budget. There's a lot more I could tell you about tourism. And some of the projects will be, you know, working on during the year, Mr Speaker. They look out point at unfair, they look out at the month, Mr Speaker. The ancillary development, Rosalie, has been on my case, Mr Speaker, to get their park going. Serenity Park, Mr Speaker. There's so much that will be happening during this year, Mr Speaker. In probably the same most experienced, Mr Speaker, looking forward to implementing it. There's so much, Mr Speaker, that will be doing. We will be working hard. The tourism authority, Mr Speaker, has been asked to go out there and to push St. Lucia, like never before, Mr Speaker, to create new sales strategy, new marketing and promotion to make sure St. Lucia remains at the forefront, Mr Speaker. So when somebody is making a decision to travel, St. Lucia is at the foremost of their minds, Mr Speaker. We won't always get it right. We will make mistakes, Mr Speaker. But we are human. And I'm sure, Mr Speaker, when we come back next year to report, Mr Speaker, I hope, Mr Speaker, and I'll be working together with all my colleagues for us to have double-digit growth again, Mr Speaker. That is the hope, Mr Speaker. And we will be working hard to achieve it, Mr Speaker. And for us, we offer even more next year, Mr Speaker, to more sectors, Mr Speaker. And I'm sure the Prime Minister has already joined up his list of where he wants to position us next year, Mr Speaker, because this year is health and security. And next year will be another theme, Mr Speaker, that I'm excited about. I don't even know what it is yet, but I'm excited about it, Mr Speaker. Because when we focus on an issue, we believe in people and we put people first, Mr Speaker. There's no way we can fail. And that is what we are about, Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, I end by congratulating the member for Casseteries, the Minister of Finance, and to congratulate all my colleagues for all the hard work they've put in last year and look forward to working with you this coming year to achieve even more than we've achieved before. And I hope I see all of you are just. I hope all of you get ready for Carnival and you enjoy it. And I see you in the respective community carnival supporting your people. And then let us together, Mr Speaker. Take that, Lucia, to another level, Mr Speaker. Thank you very much.