 He is being escorted by the Sergeant of Ames. We now turn you over to the House Speaker, Honorable Andy Daniel, as he presides over the House proceedings. Let us pray. In the name of God, his Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. Almighty God, by whom alone kings reign and princes decree justice, and from whom alone cometh all counsel, wisdom, and understanding. We, thine unworthy servants here, gathered together, in thine name, the most humbly besieged thee, to send down thy heavenly wisdom from above, to direct and guide us in all our consultations, and grant that we have in thy fair all is before our eyes, and thine aside all private interests, prejudices, and partial affections. The result of all our counsels may be to the glory of thy blessed name, the maintenance of true religion and justice, the safety, honor, and happiness of the Queen, the public will, peace, and tranquility of St. Lucia, and the uniting and knitting together of the hearts of all persons and estates within the same, in true Christian love and charity, one towards another, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, lead us all down forevermore. Amen. Honorable members, I beg to announce that since the last sitting of Parliament, His Excellency has been pleased to ascend to the following bills, Appropriation 2018-2019, National Seasons and Development Bonds Amendment, Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Amendment. Honorable members, I know you will join me in extending sincere condolences to the family and friends offered in Anne Henry, who passed away on Thursday, May 10th, 2018, at the age of 76. Mr. Henry was a former parliamentarian, representing the constituency of Henry Nock. He also served as Minister of State and Ministry of Agriculture, Land Fisheries and Cooperatives, and the Ministry of Health. He also served as a Minister for Agriculture, Lands Fisheries and Cooperatives. The official funeral for the late Mr. Fudna and Henry will be held at the St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church, Dennery, Dennery North, Larrishus, to be exact. On Friday, May 25th, at 2 p.m., the body will lie in repose at the House of Parliament on Friday, May 25th, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. We offer our prayers to his family. I also wish to note with sadness the passing of former Senator Cyril Alvalandus, who passed away on Saturday, May 5th, 2018. He served in the Senate from October 19th, 1979 to December 1918. Again, we extend our condolences to his family and friends. Another St. Lucian icon passed away, Mr. Garf St. Thomas, famous writer and publisher of St. Lucian History and Poetry, passed away on Tuesday, April 24th, 2018. We wish to extend sincere condolences to the St. Thomas family. I know the member for Dennery North and by extension all members will join me in extending condolences to the family, friends, teachers, students, and the entire Dennery North constituency on the passing of Claret Ford Rambo, principal of the Laracious Combined School, which is Claret Ford Rambo passed away on Wednesday, May 9th, and was laid to rest on May 18th. She will surely be missed by all. I also wish to express my deepest condolences to Ash Bishop Rivers, the clergy and parishioners of the Roman Catholic Church on the passing of Father Thomas on first of April 26th, 2018. May soul rest in peace. Members, on behalf of myself and the Parliament of St. Lucia, and by extension the people of St. Lucia, I wish to express my deepest condolences to the government and people of Cuba following the plain craft on May 18th, 2018, which ended in the loss of lives. Members, I ask at this moment that we all stand for a moment of silence to remember our daily departed. On a brighter note, I wish to congratulate Miss Luven Spencer on the achievement of a gold medal in the women's high jump at the Commonwealth Games 2018, which was held in Australia earlier this year, where she cleared the bar at the season base of 1.95 meters. We shall well in a continued athletic journey. I also wish to congratulate St. Lucia and Chef Nina Compton on attending the titled Best Chef South at the 2018 James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Awards. Again, we wish her all the best in her future endeavors. Honorable members, I'd also like to recognize all the nominees and awardees of the National Youth Awards 2018, particularly Miss Chelsea Foster, who captured the youth of the year title. It is indeed a proud moment when we see so many of our young people contributing one way or the other to national development. Honorable members, I have also, you may know by now that I have commenced visits to all district representatives, constituency offices, along with a team of staff members of the Office of Parliament. To date, I have completed visits to the following constituencies, Castres North, Castres Central, Castres East, Castres South, Ancelary Canaries, Choselle Saltibus, Labry, Pifoth South, Pifoth North, Denry South, and Babono. I have yet to visit the following, Castres South East, Crosley, Souffre-Foncichard, Mikod South, Mikod North, and Denry North. It is my intention to visit these offices within the coming week. I would also like to express my gratitude to all members for the warm welcome, our frank discussions, your advice, and your well wishes. I have taken all on board and I'm hoping that we all will see from whatever discussion we have had and we will have a better Parliament tomorrow. I would like to invite members to a fundraising activity for the Anglican Church Trinity. It is called Jazz for the Soul and will be held at the Anglican Rectory. Trinity Church Road, Castres on Friday, May 25th from 4 p.m. There will be various jazz musicians including Ronald Bo Hingson. Tickets have been sold at just $20. Parliamentarians, I'm hoping that we will be sent in by 20 plus another myself, the clerk, the deputy clerk, then we will. And you also invited to perform a jazz piece if you're able to. So I'm hoping to see all parliamentarians somehow or contribute somehow somewhere to the event on Friday. Statement by ministers. Minister for Agriculture. I would like to extend condolences to all those that you have extended condolences to to their families, especially Mr. Ciri Landers and Mr. Foodnon Henry. And to inform them that I will have them in my prayers and I'm sure with our support they will be able to go through the situation they are now in our case with. Mr. Speaker, I want to make a statement as it pertains to the John Compton Dam. I'm sure by now all members of Parliament here would know that I had that responsibility to provide leadership to the management of the John Compton Dam. Mr. Speaker, if one takes time to review the many promises in this Honorable House between 2011 to 2016 Mr. Speaker, we spend time to research the hands-ups and the journals. What is evident Mr. Speaker? What is indisputable are the many promises made by those opposite on the deciliting of the John Compton Dam? In 2012 Mr. Speaker, in the Senate we heard reported in the Senate that one third of the John Compton Dam is still re-sealed the deciliting of the John Compton Dam will cost 10 million dollars easy dollars and the minister responsible Mr. Speaker went on to say we cannot go into a next dry season like this we have to start the deciliting in 2012 in 2013 Mr. Speaker we heard the first priority has to be the dredging of the John Compton Dam by the then minister of finance that was in his statement he went further to say Mr. Speaker funding for the mobilization of the first phase of the dredging in the amount of 3.1 million dollars has already been approved and in 2014 again Mr. Speaker that's in minister of finance said and I'm putting it Mr. Speaker the outlook is that by the end of 2014 Wasco would have selected a phone to undertake the deciliting he also said that the financing for the deciliting and rehabilitation project is to be provided by the allocation of 10.4 3% of water bill into a special account Mr. Speaker when I was given the responsibility to provide leadership and met with the leadership of Wasco and to declare that Mr. Speaker to declare that based on the discussions I had with the leadership you are not close to start the deciliting of the John Compton Dam Mr. Speaker to me is that we had two wrongs of bidding the first wrong of bidding which ended in November 2015 with two international companies expressing interest had to be cancelled because Wasco could not reach a final bid position with these contractors in 2015 the second wrong of bidding again Mr. Speaker again with two international companies bidding had to be cancelled because the lowest bidder was substantially higher than the better amongst that was provided for deciliting the John Compton Dam in addition to that Mr. Speaker we had to get a government guarantee for the carbon development bank of approximately 40 million E.C. dollars while CO2 is going to cost 10 million in 2012 we had to get a government guarantee for almost 40 million dollars Mr. Speaker what was even more revealing was that the intended contract amongst was much lower than what was coming to through a bidding process and you know the fact is that Mr. Speaker whilst we are under the impression that it will take one year my information is that it will take approximately 8 to 10 years to deciliterate them we could deciliterate them we could deciliterate them based on that fact Mr. Speaker I decided that management, the Wasco Board submit our cabinet and to discuss that matter because there is no guarantee based on the experiences right now with climate change and the luxury without been experiencing some negative impact as it pertains to climate change based on the presentation in cabinet Mr. Speaker the cabinet agreed that Wasco should look at other options and they are not agreeing to come to parliament to get a government guarantee for approximately 40 million dollars to deciliterate them yes member of the cast is Mr. Speaker the other thing was that when the dredging fee was approved solutions were under the impression that the dredging fee would be for three years but the reality is what we found out based on the agreement it would not be for three years it would be much more than three years so cabinet had to be aware of that situation Mr. Speaker what did we do after meeting cabinet because cabinet say we don't have options management of Wasco and the board sat down and they agreed to break the project into two phases phase one and phase two phase one Mr. Speaker was to the construction of the sediment disposable area and what was agreed that that component of the project would be secured for local contractors also what was done Mr. Speaker is to reduce the amounts that we are going to go to the Caribbean Development Bank to borrow from approximately 40 million I can to be correct is 49,956,000 dollars we reduced it to 27,452,000 dollars a reduction of over 12.5 million dollars and we were able to negotiate with the Caribbean Development Bank for a loan without a government guarantee and that is an accomplishment Mr. Speaker and of course we had to reopen the tendering process I want to report Mr. Speaker that as far as phase one is concerned it's local contractors express interest as far as getting involved in constructing the sediment disposable pits and mega contracting was the contractor awarded that contract and the Caribbean Development Bank has given a no objection to the recommendation of mega contracting Mr. Speaker as far as phase two is concerned what realize four international contractors and one local contractor beaded for phase two which is the deciliting of the dam I'm aware that recommendation has been made to the Caribbean Development Bank for that component and we are waiting feedback from the Caribbean Development Bank as far as no objection to start that process it should be noted Mr. Speaker that can only take place during the rainy season and the intention as far as phase one of that development is to bring the silt level to the second port is not to the silt the entire dam like I said it will take 8 to 10 years to the silt the entire dam so Mr. Speaker during that first two years of the contract whoever is given the contract to the silt the dam what we have agreed as a management team is that the equipment that will be purchased for the first two years will be owned by WASCO and during that process we are going to train locals to be able to operate that equipment in addition Mr. Speaker we have been able to negotiate with the Caribbean Development Bank is grand funding where the lands surrounding the dam is very still fragile and through the forestry department we shall see a project where we shall be rehabilitating these lands and planting trees to stabilize the lands, the soil around the John Compton Dam so Mr. Speaker we have started the work and yesterday we were doing the same money in Nile and I'm sure the Parliamentary Representative who was there will be satisfied that the work has started and like I said Mr. Speaker on this side of the house we are workers in this side of the house and that is why that is why we have started the work and we know we are going to continue doing well Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker in closing thank you colleagues for the support that they have given I want to thank the Chairman of OASCO the Directors, Management and Staff of OASCO for the support and for the encouragement and of course for the foresight in restructuring this project of course we must also thank the Caribbean Development Bank for understanding and Honourable Stevenson King because Honourable Stevenson King Mr. Speaker is responsible for the National Utilities Regulatory Commission and we need to express our appreciation to the nook but most importantly Mr. Speaker we have to express our appreciation to Sentutions because they have been asked to pay a dredging fee and I recall when we put the hotel departure tax it was said we do not put one block yet and we put a tax but we had a dredging fee we had not one cubic yard so it was removed but we didn't stop it Mr. Speaker when we came in we continued the dredging fee and that is what we are using to pay for the local component of the dredging so I want to thank all those who have given support and we are looking forward to a successful completion of this project Mr. Speaker thank you very much People's to be laid Honourable Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Minister for Tourism Thank you very much Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker just before I make a statement on developments within the tourism industry I beg your indulgence I would like to recognize a national cultural icon in our society he hails from Ansari Mr. Speaker he is known as for black but his real name is Anthony Sylvester Lois and I want to invite the parliament Mr. Speaker to Ansari on Friday because there will be a special event to honour 32 years of him performing in Calypso his contribution to the takeover tent to honour his outstanding contributions to the tent Mr. Speaker I rise to inform this honourable House of recent developments within the tourism industry the St Lucia Tourism Authority has reported a robust and record breaking boom for the first quarter of 2018 as the island records a strong growth in all sub sectors following a 10% growth Mr. Speaker in 2017 stay over arrivals registered a 9.5 increase for the first quarter of this year Cushia Parivals Mr. Speaker were just as strong with a 13.5 increase year to date March while the yachting sector recorded a 25% increase this is despite a 12% decline in the number of cruise calls port castries so clear indication here Mr. Speaker that the ships are getting bigger Mr. Speaker as we saw in the hosting of the Anthem of the Seas earlier this year when for the first time in our history port castries hosted a quantum class vessel and Mr. Speaker only last week I had the privilege of exchanging the plaque welcoming on their maiden voyage to St. Lucia the freedom of the seas a freedom class vessel Mr. Speaker as the cruise industry commissions larger ships we must prepare for the ever changing phenomenon to this end Mr. Speaker our government is committed to investing in a cruise terminal in the south of the island in order to accommodate larger vessels with a view to establishing ourselves as a marquee phone port destination Mr. Speaker plans spoken about to expand and improve upon the urinary international airport are also towards this objective Mr. Speaker the highlight of the first quarter has been in stayover arrivals where for the first time in history the island recorded 110,000 and 32 arrivals by hotel guests coming to our shores this this Mr. Speaker represents a 9,554 increase when compared to the previous best in 2017 when the record was for the first quarter was 100,417 so Mr. Speaker we are breaking our own records permit me Mr. Speaker to inform this honorable house that St. Lucia has recorded the best march in history of its tourism industry during that period Mr. Speaker for the first time we recorded 41,741 arrivals an increase of 6,314 from the previous best in 2017 when we recorded 35,427 visitors in the hotel sector again Mr. Speaker we broke our record for the month of March Mr. Speaker we are well on target continuing our trend of being the fastest growing destination in the Caribbean again this year Mr. Speaker you will recall that sometime in 2016 we argued significantly that while the Caribbean have led the world with a 7% growth Mr. Speaker it was the leading and fastest growing region in the world and we argued Mr. Speaker that St. Lucia was in fact underperforming to have only registered a 2% increase for that period and so Mr. Speaker we are very very very delighted and elated by the fact that we have returned Mr. Speaker to robust growth and so Mr. Speaker consequently the overall picture suggests as a destination St. Lucia has had a remarkable first quarter registering 491,153 visitors across the stayover, the cruise and the yachting issues Mr. Speaker this totals an overall increase of 13.1% one of the best in the Caribbean for the first quarter in 2018 Mr. Speaker the growth was largely due not to policies by the labor party as they would like to claim for Mr. Speaker by a very focused and a very streamlined approach by this government Mr. Speaker we saw that there were 400 new rooms added to the national stock which were not in the inventory of 2017 and they include Mr. Speaker but are not limited to the following the final phase of the Royalton project in the third quarter of last year the reopening of Beljuhotel Mr. Speaker and you know this property has been closed for several years and we've been managed to find an investor to reopen it with much confidence and is doing very well in the trades and they opened 76 rooms Mr. Speaker we also saw investments an expansion at Coconut Bay where they had a higher tension Serenity at Coconut Bay Mr. Speaker 36 luxury suites Mr. Speaker we also saw a Harbour Club opening of stores in the latter half of the year and it did give us the much added impetus we needed for the robbers growther experiencing with the addition of 119 luxury rooms Mr. Speaker we also saw rapid investments in the non-proditional accommodation sector as more solutions are participating in the leading and fastest growing industry tourism Mr. Speaker strong rebound in the US and world economy and reduced anxieties which to a large degree has been cushioned by initial fears about Brexit can also be attributed to this robust performance of the industry also attributable is the policy decision Mr. Speaker by the government to realign the marketing budget to invest less in administration and events and more Mr. Speaker in the visibility and branding of the destination and Mr. Speaker I'm happy to report that we have reduced the administrative budget from 10 million to 4 million to tourism authority Mr. Speaker this man when you add administration and what we spent in the jazz festival we had Mr. Speaker an extra 16 million dollars to spend in the marketplace Mr. Speaker in exciting marketing campaigns under the umbrella heading let her inspire you to contribute much dividends to the growth of our sector Mr. Speaker I'm also by duty obligated to inform the House that there is also very good news on the airlift side of things Mr. Speaker American Airlines has just announced a second daily flight into St. Lucia beginning December 19 from its Miami hub this will add an additional 1100 weekly seats to our airlift capacity and is a direct result of our government's strategic approach to the management of our airlift situation Mr. Speaker I am happy to report to the House that this new flight came without a single penny of minimum return guarantee a clear indication of the strong confidence that the travel trade continues to have in St. Lucia as a marquee tourism destination Mr. Speaker the announcement of the American Airlines also debunks recent argument that our government's policy decision of the head tax would undermine airlift and suggestions that it would hurt the overall prosperity of the tourism industry Mr. Speaker I'm happy to report that the numbers are suggesting the total opposite and we are moving in the right direction Mr. Speaker we will remain committed to our vision to create the best enabling environment for tourism growth with opportunity for the people of St. Lucia at the center of our every aspirations Mr. Speaker I thank you Minister for Economic Planning Civil Aviation and Transport Thank you Mr. Speaker just before I make my statement Mr. Speaker I have a question before me in extending condolences to the Fuddin and Henry family to Mr. Cyril Lander's family and all other persons mentioned along with the government people family and friends of those who lost their lives in the plane crash in Cuba it is always a sad moment when these things happen and our prayers and our sympathies go to all Mr. Speaker I stand here to make a statement on St. Jude Hospital I intend to be very precise in what will be said in this statement St. Jude Hospital reconstruction project the goal of the project initiated was to rebuild St. Jude Hospital to reinstate the core of the uncillary health services previously offered to the public in keeping with the government's health sector objective and expand where necessary this initial policy decision was made in April of 2010 and some of these decisions were as follows short term solution temporary accommodation for St. Jude this would entail the reconstruction of the surgical building on the old site as well as renovation of two other buildings in other required uncillary buildings also and note Mr. Speaker the statement I'm making here is what the policy decision was in 2010 the second one was midterm solution so I gave the short term solution the repairs to the burn section of the building and the improvement of the existing buildings from a temporary relocation of St. Jude from the George Orlam stadium back to the old St. Jude site midterm solution construction of a new healthcare facility for St. Lucia for St. Jude on a new site and construction of a new 90 bed healthcare facility for St. Jude Hospital at a new site at Moseji that was the original plan back in 2010 the government expected renovation works at the original site to be completed for reopening of the facility and relocation from the George Orlam stadium by September 9, 2011 Mr. Speaker the information I am giving there is as accurate as I can find it these are not made up dates these are real dates and we would recall that the then government, the UWP government did not meet that deadline date of September 9, 2011 this approach was expected to guarantee the reinstatement of St. Jude Hospital completely at its original site with new and improved infrastructure and remove the patients from the George Orlam stadium at its earliest. This project was originally intended to be completed in 2011 because the hospital had been relocated to the George Orlam stadium Mr. Speaker we would recall the elections and the UWP lost the elections in 2011 the George Orlam stadium was a difficult choice to place the hospital there but it was always intended to be a temporary accommodation George Orlam stadium the George Orlam stadium consists of two sitting stands called the east and the west wing with almost 500 feet of football field between them patients medical staff have to cross about 500 feet of football field at this facility every day and if I may add a number of times for the day this is done in red sun wind and loose fiberglass that is blown from the roof sheets in the wind that is the reality that exists at St. Jude and this government is very much aware of what has transpired or what is going on at the George Orlam stadium which now houses St. Jude it was never the intention of the government in 2011 to keep the St. Jude hospital patients beyond 12 months in the deplorable situation the hospital is split across a football field as follows in the east wing operating theaters maternity and delivery wards medical wards surgical wards intensive care biomed dialysis emergency admitted x-ray pharmacy labs outpatient clinics health records between the east and the west wing this is what is going on that you have to move from one side to the other and we know we've not had a dry season Mr. Speaker DEV discord by the UWP administration in 2010 is as follows reconstruction ground floor for St. Jude would be 1,017.1 square meters first floor 1,017 meters the approaching 158 meters squared under roof structure would be 1,258 square meters renovation of other buildings would have been included that is the scope of work Mr. Speaker that was undertaken by the united workers party government during the reconstruction or the repairs to St. Jude hospital I want you Mr. Speaker to follow very closely so you can understand the sequence of events that led us to where we are today contracts Mr. Speaker contract for St. Jude reconstruction project commenced on the 31st of August 2010 total contracts in the amount of $26,123,686 for reconstruction of the main damage section of the surgical building was awarded by the UWP administration to have the project completed and patients relocated to the stadium from the stadium in 2011 when the previous labor party came into office in December of 2011 the plans to move the patients from the stadium changed and the project moved and Mr. Speaker that is the note that is worthy of paying attention to and I will read again when the previous labor party came into office in December of 2011 the plans to move the patients from the stadium changed and the project moved from a $26,123,686 in 2011 to $178.7 million in 2015 so Mr. Speaker the project changed from being on the $30 million in 2011 to a project cost of $178.7 million there was no budget left by the former administration to pay for the $178 million project and Mr. Speaker I will give you the breakdown because it is important Mr. Speaker that the people of St. Lucia get accurate information and if as elected members of parliament we are not going to give accurate and honest information to the people of St. Lucia then we have a serious problem so I am going to give you the breakdown the contract numbers the scope of works and the cost and I am going to give you every contract Mr. Speaker line by line contract number 7 civil works civil and building works contract amount $9,965,000 and that contract was awarded on the 6th of August 2012 contract number 14 $4,627,813 and 11 cents issued 13th of February 2014 contract number 15 $1,033,400 and $5 and 95 cents issued 13th of February 2014 so Mr. Speaker I want you to note that two contracts issued on the same day one for four million one for one million I go on Mr. Speaker contract number 17 11 million $494,693 issued on the 14th of December 2014 contract number 17 is that the one I just called? yes contract number 18 18 million $509,597 and 30 cents issued on the 14th of December 2014 I will come back to that Mr. Speaker contract number 19 civil works and building works $15,027,050 issued on the 14th of December 2014 three contracts Mr. Speaker and if I do the rough calculation 18 and 15 11 and 18 is 27 and 15 that's over $43,000 $43,000,000 issued issued in three separate contracts on the same day on the same day Mr. Speaker over $40,000,000 of contracts on St. Jude all of them every single one of them Mr. Speaker I go on contract number 2C supply and assemble and install furniture equipment $987,216 and 81 cents 1st of September 2015 contract number 14 supply and installation of underground electrical telecommunications infrastructure $342,428 and 35 cents issued on the 29th of November 2013 contract number 16 supply installation underground electrical telecommunications infrastructure yes again $708,928 and 98 cents issued on the 31st of July 2014 contract number 8 supply and installation of radiology equipment $5,848,087 and 83 cents issued on the 30th of April 2014 Mr. Speaker it is worth taking note radiology equipment you paid for installation of radiology equipment in 2014 but you are still issuing contracts for the building of the hospital in 2015 but it is worth taking note of Mr. Speaker contract number 10 no contract number 9 supply and installation of additional radiology equipment $1,132,288 and 48 cents issued on the 30th of August 2013 30th of April 2014 30 30th of April so Mr. Speaker contract number 8 $5,848,087 and 83 cents issued on the 30th of April 2018 but supply and installation of additional radiology equipment on the same day Mr. Speaker issued for another $1,132,288 and 48 cents so Mr. Speaker it begs the question a contract is issued for that amount of money on that day for the equipment on the same day you realize that you need to pay for additional equipment and a separate contract is written and Mr. Speaker that then Mr. Finance is still sitting in this parliament and has refused to answer any of these questions as to how this transpired contract number 11 Mr. Speaker contract number 11 Mr. Speaker supply and installation of underground supply of wastewater infrastructure $776,892 and 8 cents issued issued on the 1st of November 2013 contract number 12 Mr. Speaker supply and installation of water treatment and wastewater equipment $509,405 and 73 cents issued on the 1st of November 2013 two contracts issued together same time same deal a total Mr. Speaker a total of 72 million 72.2 million dollars worth of contracts issued during that phase of the project all of them direct awards Mr. Speaker and Mr. Speaker I will move on in addition to these contracts and take note Mr. Speaker in addition to these contracts that was awarded by the previous Labour Party the government and people of Mexico came to the assistance of St. Lucia and constructed the morgue building for $2.7 million consultant contracts Mr. Speaker HALCRO group limited the supervising consultant was originally contracted in 2010 for a nine month period to undertake the structural and electrical integrity assessment of the surgical and other buildings and for design review and supervision services of the works two consultancy service agreements were signed between the government of St. Lucia the client and the HALCRO group limited the consultant the contracts were signed in 2010 by UWP administration and contract number two was signed in 2014 by the SLP administration contract number one listen to this Mr. Speaker contract number one was increased by $4.2 million between 2012 and 2014 the consultancy contract was increased Mr. Speaker by the labor administration by $4.2 million between 2012 and 2013 and contract number two Mr. Speaker was awarded to HALCRO in April 2014 with a contract two claims of $6.7 million by 2016 so here are the contracts awarded Mr. Speaker on the consultancy contract number one which was awarded by the UWP government $748,500 that contract was awarded contract number one date of contract is 2012 HALCRO group was awarded a contract of $748,500 contract number one that's the one I mentioned Mr. Speaker is an addendum to the original contract of $748,000 contract number one had a second addendum on the 4th of March 2014 in the sum of $1,316,290 Mr. Speaker just for clarification an addendum to a contract is created when you do not want to go into a new contract arrangement but an addendum is usually lower than the original contract price but I have seen some unusual situations where an addendum is lower than the original and that's a case in point so contract number one had a second addendum on the 4th of March 2014 in the sum of $1,316,290 contract number one had a third addendum the third addendum on contract number one was on the 19th of August in the amount of $2,130,432.50 and contract number two was awarded on the 1st of April 2014 and you know what 1st of April is Mr. Speaker on the 1st of April a contract number two was issued to the Halcro Group in the amount of $4,591,975 and $88 and Mr. Speaker there is a variation to contract number two and the variation is in the amount of $2,064,889 and $51 and interestingly the date is June 2016 June 2016 the variation the total amount for consultancy to Halcro came up to $10.8 million $10.8 million Mr. Speaker under period of 2010 to 2016 total contributions through grants and donations received on behalf of St. Jude Hospital was about $41,032,662 in November 2014 a loan of US $20 million $50 million of $54 million was approved from the Export-Import Bank of the Republic of China, Taiwan on the matter of government commitment to the project to end the suffering for the people of Viewfort the previous project manager, Shanta King stated in her handover report that during the year of 2012 to 2015 the availability of funding dedicated the availability of funding dictated the pace of works on the ground despite the request by the project management unit for adequate financial resources to progress work on the site funds made available were inadequate and work was restricted on the work site Mr. Speaker I need to repeat this by the project management unit financial resources to progress work on the site funds made available were inadequate and this restricted the progress of the work on the work site it means that literally that basically the previous government expanded the project to the cost of $178.7 million and awarded over $80 million in contracts after coming into office in 2011 in excess of $80 million was awarded in contracts now Mr. Speaker what is most telling is what they use the money to do and that is what I'm going to give the house a breakdown of in this statement here's what the contracts were issued for a warehouse a gym a gift shop a chapel that we call a cathedral an OTC that's the occupational therapy center the ambulance building the morgue, the laundry the restaurant building and other buildings around the hospital yet at the same time Mr. Speaker the government refused to make adequate resources available to progress the work on the site to complete the surgical building all this went on Mr. Speaker while the patients at the stadium were crossing the football field with flying fiberglass sun, rain and hurricane and if I may add the same continues today equipment Mr. Speaker equipment and material in storage in the handover report the previous project manager Shanta King stated that during the implementation of the project it became necessary to stock construction material and associated equipment and that over the last two and a half years there have been a number of requests from St. Jude Hospital being aware that the equipment was in storage and the medical all the medical equipment that is spoken of about here have been lost because of damage in the storage and shipping containers and there is no warranty anymore by the suppliers and some of the equipment is obsolete the list of equipment that was given to St. Jude that is either damage or partially damage as follows BLT v6 patient monitor 2 SK 600 11 volumetric infusion pump 4 of them BLT any view a6 multi parameter patient monitor 4 of them calf fusion ventilators 4 of them trolleys 1 SK 601 volumetric infusion pump 1 SK 500 drivers 4 standing patient scale 1 GE anesthesia 7 1100 3 of them the 7100 is the number of 7100 is the model number BLT any view a6 multi parameter patient monitor 1 defibrillator 1 biolite m8000 patient monitor 2 all of this list of equipment I have highlighted there was either damage or through the storage spoil and there is no longer any claim because the defects liability period run out on March 30th 2016 the then prime minister Dr. Kenny Anthony was notified through official correspondence that the estimated cost to complete the st. Jude hospital rehabilitation project was easy 178.7 million based on the correspondence he apparently accepted the forecasted amount PM Anthony awarded a direct contract towards the project and I have the letter of reference for this Mr. Speaker so if I need to make it a document of the house I am more than ready to make it a document of the house but I will just read it as part of the statement it says from permanent secretary to honorable prime minister and minister of finance dated March 30th 2016 request for direct award of consultancy for st. Jude reconstruction project design supervision HALCO group limited reference is made to the current contract between the government of St. Louis and HALCO group limited to facilitate the design procurement supervision services associated with the st. Jude reconstruction project this contract expired on the 31st of March 2016 there were various delays with respect to the implementation of works ranging from availability of funding to the remobilization of contractors also delays were in approval of the Mexican grant to facilitate the completion of phase 2 of the building which includes the construction of the Morg building as such there have been delays in the completion of phase 1 and phase 2 of the project which is expected to result in which was expected to result in the return to st. Jude hospital to its original location consequently the revised completion date is estimated as September 2016 which would allow for transition to the new facility to commence by December 2016 so Mr. Speaker in the very letter that we have here it is clear that the completion date the last completion date given by the government was as of September 2016 and I can assure this parliament and the people of st. Lucia that work was continuing way past September at the hospital by his own utterances from his knowledge of the st. Jude project former prime minister Dr. and Kenny Anthony had consistently maintained that less than 100 million was spent on the project in fact he was saying publicly that 60 million would give us a state of the art hospital in the south given his own account of at least 80 to 90 million in direct awards that he issued was therefore to be budgeted by the former government and yet to be spent to complete the project the 100 million proposed by the technical audit for project completion that was also included to the corrective measures for the defects that were identified I therefore will align with the estimate of the former government gentle Mr. Speaker members members members members members members of parliament let me let me let me interject here let me interject here members I have listened members the speaker ought to be heard in silence I have listened through the crosstalk the question of what should be allowed and what should not be allowed in statements by ministers our standing order is silent in fact the only place references me to statement by ministers is provision understanding order nine where in rubric number four statement by ministers is just listed however the members and you are aware that the standing orders make provision that where it is silent on provision then the provisions or the practice of the House of Commons of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is followed now that I have come to that my own conclusion on this matter and remember for economic development house in urban renewal transport and civil aviation I am going to allow you an additional ten minutes in which to complex yes sir if you are going to follow the provisions as allowed in the House of Commons from my own knowledge questions are allowed to minister statements and if we are going to follow that procedure are you going to allow us to question the minister having presented his minister statement I have thought about that and not at this present sitting sir but I will I will come to that conclusion but in terms of time yes I am allowing him ten minutes and so complete honorable members let's not go back down to this honorable minister I am giving you additional ten minutes to complete sir and I will complete in ten minutes Mr. Speaker I was saying Mr. Speaker how many opening dates did the SLP government give us for St. Jude hospital Mr. Speaker some people have lost their way the Labour Party lost their way and their vision on St. Jude but all of a sudden in opposition they have found their way and they now can see and they can see that we are going to finish St. Jude so moving forward the government is now faced with finding the balance of the hundred and seventy-eight point seven million so if we spend eighty million then you know how much more we have to find to complete St. Jude based on the previous estimate by the former minister of finance that does not include funds to correct what was not done properly at the existing facility now in opposition they seem to see over the last week the public was allowed to see for themselves the state of the unfinished facility and some of the problems that have to be fixed as follows so you want me to tell you about it I'm telling you about it let's talk about it the operating theatre is not up to standard the ground flowers dug down to fit in the MRI and X-ray machines with no dreams the rooms and corridors are not to standard the exits that need to be put in in the case of an emergency the rooms that have to be opened up because there are no windows and all the patients will have to be is in air condition and that is going to be a big problem if for a lot of patients based on what they are suffering from the low ceilings that have to be that are yet to be covered the small area for A and E that was built the cracks and corrosion in the steel that you can see above your head in the concrete floor the number of buildings that are scattered around the hospital that all have to be completed for the hospital to work properly people have seen for themselves and now realize that the old buildings are still there and are asking where is the 100 million that was spent where is it people are now asking how the hospital will serve for another 50 years after we have spent 178 plus million dollars on it all this has happened while the stadium falls apart the roof sheets falling down and fiberglass blowing in the wind government is mindful that the hurricane season will soon be upon us and the stadium is in very bad shape especially if it is to withstand a hurricane until the hospital can be completed for the people of the south this government will take all the necessary measures to make the stadium as comfortable and as safe as possible for the people who work there and those who are patients there and as indicated previously Mr. Speaker before the end of this month the prime minister will make a full statement on the way forward and the plans for the opening of St. Jude Mr. Speaker I have given the parliament of St. Lucia a full breakdown of what transpired and what led us to where we are today I thank you Mr. Speaker honorable members honorable members peoples to be laid honorable prime minister minister for finance economic growth job creation external affairs and public service Mr. Speaker I beg to lead the following honorable member for Castro South East please do not call members by the names honorable prime minister Mr. Speaker I beg to lead the following papers standing in my name statutory instrument number 27C of 2018 excise tax amendment of schedule number 5 order statutory instrument number 28 of 2018 legal profession eligibility Peter Andrew Hayden Marshall order statutory instrument number 30 of 2018 fiscal incentive St. Lucia linen services limited amendment order statutory instrument number 31 of 2018 immigration order statutory instrument number 32 of 2018 finance administrative act resolution of parliament to borrow capital expenditure natural disaster management immediate response form Matthew statutory instrument number 35 of 2018 income tax exemption smj St. Lucia LTD order statutory instrument number 37 of 2018 district court place of sittings castries notice statutory instrument number 38 of 2018 district court place of sittings view fort notice statutory instrument number 40 of 2018 excise tax amendment of schedule number 6 order statutory instrument number 41 of 2018 legal profession eligibility Hamilton Carl daily order statutory instrument number 42 of 2018 fiscal incentives viking traders limited order statutory instrument number 43 of 2018 income tax exemption KM 2 solutions to solution LTD order statutory instrument number 44 of 2018 national savings and development bonds act resolution of parliament to raise funds by the issue of saving bonds statutory instrument number 47 of 2018 excise tax amendment of schedule number 1 schedule 1 number 7 order of 2018 economic development housing transport and civil aviation thank you Mr. Speaker I beg to lay the following paper standing in my name statutory instrument number 29 of 2018 motor vehicle and road traffic registration amendment regulations honourable minister in the office of the prime minister with responsibility for commerce industry enterprise development and consumer affairs and public quality order of 2017 technology for economic security safety and safety level I will lay the following papers standing in my name statutory instrument number 27 b of 2018 price control amendment number 5 order statutory instrument number 39 of 2018 annual report 2016-2017. Honourable minister in the office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for tourism and information on broadcasting. Mr. Speaker, I rise to lay the following papers standing in my name. Mr. Speaker, statutory instrument number 27A of 2018, tourism incentives are in forest skyrides limited order. Statutory instruments number 33 of 2018, tourism incentives bucket list limited order. Statutory instrument number 34 of 2018, tourism incentives kismet clover limited order. Statutory instrument number 36 of 2018, tourism incentives sandals resorts international group order. Honourable prime minister motions, Honourable prime minister, minister for finance, economic growth, job creation, external affairs and the public service. Mr. Speaker, I beg to move the following motions standing in my name. Be it resolved that the Honourable Parliament do adopt the attach logo to be designated as the official logo of the Parliament of Salucia. Be it further resolved that henceforth all matters pertinent to the Parliament do bear that logo and that the clerk of Parliament shall be responsible for the management of such logo. Be it resolved that the Parliament do authorize the Attorney General to make an order to declare that the 2014 supplement. Honourable prime minister, you have gone. Honourable leader of the opposition. Mr. Speaker, out of deference to you I second the motion. Honourable members, the question is that this Honourable Parliament do adopt the attach logo to be designated as the official logo of the Parliament of Salucia and be it further resolved that henceforth all matters pertinent to the Parliament do bear that logo and that the clerk of Parliament shall be responsible for the management of such logo. I now put the question. As many as are of that opinion, C.I., as many as are of a country opinion, C.No., I think the eyes of it, the eyes of it. Honourable prime minister. Mr. Speaker, I beg to move the following motion in my name, standing in my name. Be it resolved that the Parliament do authorize the Attorney General to make an order to declare that the 2014 supplement to the revised addition of the laws of Salucia as specified in the order shall come into force on such date as may be appointed by such order as an authoritative version of the law. Honourable members, the question is that Parliament do authorize the Attorney General to make an order to declare that the 2014 supplement to the revised addition of the laws of Salucia as specified in the order shall come into force on such date as may be appointed by such order as an authoritative version of the law. I now put the question. As many as are of that opinion, C.I., as many as are of a country opinion, C.No., I think the eyes of it, the eyes of it. Honourable prime minister. Mr. Speaker, I beg to move the following motion standing in my name. Be it resolved that the Parliament authorizes the Minister of Finance to borrow U.S. $16,192,000 U.S. dollars from the Caribbean Development Bank for the purpose of financing the Salucia Education Quality Improvement Project. Be it further resolved that in the case of the special funds resources portion, the loan is repayable in 80 equal or approximately equal and consecutive quarterly installments on each due date of the first day of January, the first day of April, the first day of July, and the first day of October of each year, commencing on the first due date after the expiration of the five years following the date of the loan agreement or on such later due date as the bank may specify in writing. Interest is payable at a rate of 2.5% per annum, withdrawn and outstanding on the amount of the special funds resources portion. In the case of the ordinary capital resources portion, the loan is repayable in 48 equal or approximately equal and consecutive quarterly installments on each due date of the first day of January, the first day of April, the first day of July, and the first day of October of each year, commencing on the first due date after the expiration of five years following the date of the loan agreement or on such later due date as the Caribbean Development Bank may specify in writing. Interest is payable at a rate of 2.97% per annum, withdrawn and outstanding on the amount of the ordinary capital resources portion, and a commitment charge at the rate of 1% per annum is payable quarterly on the amount of the ordinary capital resources portion withdrawn which occurs from the sixth day following the date of the loan agreement. Mr. Speaker, the San Lucia Education Quality Improvement Project Equip is financed by a loan from the CDB. CDB approved the loan to the government of San Lucia on January 29th, 2018 in the amount of $16,192,000 for the above project. The loan consists of $8,192,000 from CDB's ordinary capital resources and $8,000,000 from CDB's special funds resources, SFR. A grant in the amount of $740,000 is also provided under this project. The grant consists of $615,000 from CDB's special development fund and $125,000 from CDB's other special funds and European Investment Bank. The expected outcome of the project is improved quality, equity, efficiency, and effectiveness of the education system, making it responsive to the needs of diverse learners. This objective will be achieved through, one, the expansion, rehabilitation, and furnishing of selected schools' aging plan. Two, improving the quality, relevance, and effectiveness of instruction across the sector. And three, strengthening the leadership, governance, and management capacity of the sector. Project implementation will comprise of the following, Mr. Speaker. The public preparation to include a preliminary designs, environment and climate vulnerability assessment for four schools, the Gordon and Walcott Combine, Laguerre Combine, Vide Bouteille Combine, and Sir Arthur Lewis Community College. Consultancies that are going to be implemented develop a national policy for special education, customization of special education curricula, strengthen system leadership, develop a national qualification framework, review of the Education Act, develop a policy and strategy for treatment and prevention of drug use among the primary school children. Construction rehabilitation works for the four schools, the Gordon and Walcott Combine, Laguerre Combine, Vide Bouteille Combine, and Sir Arthur Lewis College. The project will also comprise of a project management, supply of furniture and equipment, and teacher training and professional development. The project expected to be implemented over a period of 48 months. Mr. Speaker, the borough shall repay the amount we've drawn from the SVR loan in 80 and equal or approximately equal consecutive quarterly installments. The borough shall pay the interest rate of 2.5% per annum on the amount of the SFR portion and 2.97% per annum variable on the OCR portion withdrawn and outstanding from time to time. The interest shall be payable quarterly. The boroughs expected to pay the bank of a commitment charge of 1% per annum on any amount of the OCR portion withdrawn from the time to time. The charges will occur from the 60th day after the date of the loan agreement. Honourable members, the question is that Parliament offerises the Minister of Finance to borrow US $16,192,000 from the Caribbean Development Bank for the purpose of financing the San Lucia Education Quality Improvement Project. Be it for the resolve that in the case of the special fund resource portion 1, the loan is repayable in 80 equal or approximately equal and consecutive quarterly installments on each due date of the first day of January, the first day of April, the first day of July, and the first day of October of each year, commencing on the first due date after the expiration of five years following the date of the loan agreement on such a dated date due date as the bank may specify in writing. And two, the interest is payable at a rate of 2.5% per annum withdrawn and outstanding on the amount of the special funds resource resources portion. B, in case of the ordinary capital resources portion, one, the loan is repayable in 48 equal or approximately equal and consecutive quarterly installments on each due date of the first day of January, the first day of April, the first day of July, and the first day of October of each year, commencing on the first due date after the expiration of five years following the date of the loan agreement on such a dated due date as the Caribbean Development Bank may specify in writing. Two, the interest is payable at a rate of 2.97% per annum withdrawn and outstanding on the amount of the ordinary capital resources portion and free a commitment charge at a rate of 1% per annum is payable quarterly on the amount of the ordinary capital resources portion on withdrawn and which accrues from the 60th day following the date of the loan agreement. Honorable Minister for Education, Innovation Gender Relations and Sustainable Development. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Permit me to join with you and my other colleagues in extending condolences to the persons we lost earlier this year. But I also want to add further that as a sector we lost three students rather suddenly as well. And so we remember their classmates, their schools, their teachers, and their principal as the endeavor to move along. Mr. Speaker, we have long awaited this day as we are agreed that indeed education is the bedrock of this society. And allow me for a moment to trace the brief genealogy or genesis of this project as we indicate from the get go that this project was being conceptualized even before we came into office. And what we did upon coming in is to ensure that the project more closely resembles and is aligned with the vision of this administration for the people and children of this country. Permit me to go into some detail because there are many questions as to what we are doing or why we are doing what we are. And even before I continue, I want to thank the executive of the National Students' Council with who I had a very frank, insightful, honest and engaged in conversation about the future of the education sector in this country. And I want to thank them for their comments, their energy, their leadership, and their interest in their own business. Mr. Speaker, the EQUIP project as Prime Minister has indicated has the overarching objective of improving quality, equity, efficiency, and effectiveness of the education system, making it responsive to the needs of diverse learners. To do so therefore, we will endeavor to pursue one, improving the teaching and learning environment by expanding and rehabilitating five, rehabilitating the following institutions, Gordon and Walcott combined, Laguerre combined, Videbutterre combined, and the South Lewis Community College. There will be provision of furniture and equipment for new and rehabilitated facilities and for other specially identified schools. Two, enhancing special needs education. We held on very steadfastly to our commitment that no child will be left behind. And so there will be an assessment of the current provision and recommendation of institutional and infrastructural enhancements to provide quality education and equitable access to children with special educational needs nationally. And that of course will involve curriculum review, design and costing of a new special needs school and transitional center, continuing professional development, short term and degree level training for 186 special education needs teachers. The program also facilitates faculty exchanges and study visits for 10 special education needs teachers. And of course there will be provision of learning resources and assistive devices for our special educational needs of those students who may be challenged. Third, enhancing quality, relevance and infrastructural effectiveness. And I want to emphasize this. Continuing professional development, short term and degree level training for 300 and 75 teachers in specific age educators to facilitate sustainability of outcomes across the sector. And very importantly, assessment of a low performing school to determine program and infrastructure needs to facilitate delivery of an alternative curriculum. For enhancing system leadership and operational effectiveness. Again, training and continuous professional development for 120 principals and education officers to facilitate development and monitoring of effective schools. Training teachers to facilitate development and service. That means that they'll be traveling or roving guidance counselors and officers. They'll be roving the country where the need is greatest. They will serve there in short stints. Training officers or teachers in development. And study visits for 15 education officers to enhance their capacity to manage effective systems. And of course very, very close to our heart to his item number five. Technical assistance. Climate vulnerability assessment of project schools and development of prototype guidelines to use in climate vulnerability assessment of schools nationally. Now, Mr. Speaker, this is very good in and of itself, but has a further relevance to the extent that so many of our schools are also used as emergency shelters. And so we have to ensure that they are infrastructurally robust, they are climate smart. So in the event we have an unfortunate hurricane storm, whatever other weather event may be struck with, that those who perhaps are forced to flee their homes are in fact fleeing to a safer environment if it is they are going into a school dubbed an emergency shelter. Naturally, there's a component there for project management. The project is consistent with the strategic objectives of CDB. Mr. Speaker, that accounts for the loan component of the loan, the loan component of the program. But there's also a grant component, as is customary with most loans from Caribbean Development Bank with a social impact. It is customary that there is a grant component and when we met with the CDB, we raised a couple of things with them. One, we have long held the tradition of suspending students who must behave in schools. We suspended them and we send them back into presumably troubled environments or environments that do little to help rehabilitate them. That was one consideration. We were also becoming increasingly concerned about the abuse of alcohol and other drugs. Also, we understand and the science has proven this, that where parents play a critical role in the education of their children via for example to perform better because of the level of interest or the role that parents tend to play. So the grant component of this loan package will address among other things, the climate vulnerability assessment of school buildings. Let me say something further about this. When we walked the compound at the Soath Lewis Community College, someone like me can't tell with my naked eye the magnitude of the problem but you can see with your naked eye that the buildings were severely dilapidated and in need of urgent reconstruction. When we solicited some figures from the college, we had a variance of figures regarding what it would take to rehabilitate Soath Lewis. So we invited the CDB to come and if it experts to give us an indication of the true cost of the rehabilitation of Soath Lewis Community College. I hasten to add that though some accommodation has been made in this equipped facility for some rehabilitation work to be undertaken at the Soath Lewis Community College, the second phase of the loan will deal more comprehensively with some of the other buildings at Soath Lewis as well. So we have asked them to allow us the opportunity to do a comprehensive infrastructural assessment of Soath Lewis versus patch-patch work on some of the buildings. Two, formulation of a gender responsive framework for parent training and support services to families of children with special education needs. I wish my colleague minister, Mary Isaac, was here. I know it is an area that is very, very close to her heart and I recall shortly after this year's debate in the house, I had a family visit me with their autistic child saying to me, Madam minister, I heard you in the House of Parlaments and I'm here to speak with you in person, to look you in the eye and to ask you, are you really going to ensure that we do more for our children with special needs? And I said to her, stay tuned, soon you will hear more about it. And here we are today. And I've had similar conversations with many parents, with children of various kinds of learning difficulties or challenges. I kept to my promise as we are known to do on this side of the hand of a gender sensitive policy and strategy for the prevention and reduction of alcohol and drug use among our school children. I need not say much about this because I'm sure many of you while relaxing on your couch have had to be fed the unsavory news of what is happening in some of our schools regarding the use of alcohol and drugs. And this intervention proposes to cure some of that ill. Consultancy services for the improvement of school community relations in selected schools and communities and the establishment of a national parent teachers association. I challenge any of you to scan our local environment and to look at the schools that are doing really, really well. And if you are to delve within the governance structure, you will realize what a critical role their parent teachers association plays in the education of these children. And I know Prime Minister, you have been a strong advocate for strengthening parent teacher associations in schools so that they can be more involved. And so you have an ecosystem of education services that together will read down to the holistic development of our children. The grant component also allows for assistive devices or technologies and learning resources for use by children with special education needs. Simply that means whatever other artifacts, technology, machines that you need to stimulate learning in those students with special needs, the grant component makes provision for that. So Mr. Speaker, I know I don't have a lot of time, but it was important that I share that with you because the public needs to understand that our approach in the education sector is one that is well thought through, well contemplated, strategic, targeted and that when all the pieces come together, what ultimately you will see is that we in this government have lived up to our commitment to afford the children of this country a globally competitive education. Thank you. Member for Hefaut North. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, before I make my contribution, please permit me to join honourable members and yourself in expressing sincere condolences to the family of the former minister and former parliamentary representative, Mr. Fodin and Henry. And I wish that God will give them peace. As you know, Mr. Speaker, every single one of us may have lost, I'm sure have lost some relative and it is always a difficult time. It does not matter what age, it's always a difficult time for the family. And on behalf of the people of Hefaut North, I wish to extend condolences to the family, to the families, not only of former minister Fodin and but also the others whom you have mentioned and in a very special way to the people of Cuba on behalf of the people of Hefaut North, Mr. Speaker. We have several graduates from the Cuban system, education system in Hefaut North, doctors, engineers, agriculture and so on. So we share the pain of the people of Cuba. Mr. Speaker, I wish to contribute to the debate on this motion and there are some key points in the motion which I will use to guide my contribution. So for example, part of the motion Mr. Speaker says to finance for financing of St. Lucia's education quality improvement project. So Mr. Speaker, we came here to help the government to finance education to make the first year of education with EDE to build in the school with Comedie from Bagaia. Mr. Speaker, the motion speaks to the member for Miku North and Minister for Education and et cetera. Spoke about management when she contributed to the debate on the motion. She spoke about training. She spoke about the physical structure, physical structures. Spoke about schools. She spoke about training the curriculum and so on and she also referred to students with special needs and therefore I will use her wide ranging contribution to respond and to also make a few comments. I also note Mr. Speaker that she did indicate that this is a process which started a little while back. But I want to be even more specific and Mr. Speaker, there is a report which was compiled by Mr. Dill St. Jus in November of 2015 after a team headed by the then Minister for Education, Dr. Robert Lewis. And incidentally he is still celebrating his birthday. I wish him happy birthday through you Mr. Speaker. A team headed by the then Minister, Dr. Robert Lewis went to Barbados to visit on October 23, 2015 ended a fact-finding mission which was partly sponsored by the CDB to deal with this very matter. They went to observe special needs centers in Barbados. They worked with the CDB, the Caribbean Development Bank to prepare the financing proposals. And I am very pleased, Mr. Speaker, that this process continues and the project continues. But I wish to place on record the appreciation of members on this side of the house for the work that Dr. Robert Lewis and his team did to ensure that this project, the process which could see this project to fruition, started. Mr. Speaker, I would like to say that I would like to express my gratitude to Mr. Speaker and to the members of the CDB for the support of the CDB. I wish to express my gratitude to the CDB for the support of the CDB for the support of the CDB. During the 2001-2006 labor administration, Mr. Speaker, a parcel of land adjacent to the Dame Paulette-Louise Primary School was put aside to construct a center for students with behavioral problems. And I am hoping that this will be part of the work that this government will do to continue this project. The motion, Mr. Speaker, relates to education quality improvement. I cannot say, Mr. Speaker, that since this government came into office, that we can speak proudly about quality and improvement in the education sector in general. There are lots of critical issues, Mr. Speaker, that I thought the minister would clarify. Lots of critical issues in education. We are talking about the quality, management, the call curriculum training. We are not seeing the leadership to resolve those problems. And I want to speak about some of them this morning because we are here talking about quality, management, quality and improvement in the education sector. We are talking about quality, quality leadership in education. The minister spoke about training, teachers will be trained. The minister spoke about schools that will be repaired. And I think I am well-placed to ask, what about the school mergers? Mr. Speaker, a lot of the people say about the school, we know, Mr. Speaker, that this government, as part of the policy of cleansing, they have decided that children ought not to get laptops. And if we are talking about a project which deals with improving the quality of education in St. Lucia, when there is a guy who twists, we see, Mr. Speaker, many instances of last-minute announcements. And the Beanfield Secondary School in View 40 is a prime example. While I have seen a statement, Mr. Speaker, somewhere in the social media, we are talking about quality and education. We are talking about Beanfield. We are talking about quality and education. One would have thought that if we are discussing quality education, we would get some clarification I would have thought that if we are discussing quality education, we would get some clarification on this in the parliament. Because Mr Speaker, over the last couple of days, over the last few days, in the general viewport area and in the south, parents are very concerned, parents are worried, I saw parents actually crying after a meeting last week Friday on the streets in viewport. Parents are angry. But I'm going to come back to this. If we are speaking about quality education, we are talking about quality education, we are talking about quality education, we are talking about quality education, we are talking about quality education, Mr Speaker. I don't know what part the improved school feeding program plays in all of this. And if we are talking about quality, a project for quality education, the person who is the chief spokesperson for matters of governance in this country made it very clear that before you repair schools you need a new curriculum. We are here today talking about repairing schools and so on and the Prime Minister said that before you repair schools you need a new curriculum. So I need the Minister of Education to explain whether the government has a change of policy. Are we now going to repair schools without the new curriculum which the Prime Minister spoke of? So eloquently, Mr Speaker, ignorant about what he referred to in this matter of education. And so this issue of quality education, it is not something new and it is the St. Lucia Labour Party government that actually made the issue of education for all explicit in law. And I think it's important when we discuss those things, Mr Speaker, to go back a little and establish the ground in the basis upon which those policies, upon which the actions of former Minister Robert Lewis, Dr. Robert Lewis, let's get the basis. The Education Act of 1999, established by the St. Lucia Labour Party government, Mr Speaker, made explicit our commitment to education for all. So the issue of people with different, differently able students was covered especially in Section 14 of the Education Act 1999 and the revised version of 2001. And Section 14, Mr Speaker, speaks to the rights of all persons who should be entitled to receive an education program. It says, subject, and I quote, Mr Speaker, and the Education Act is a document of the House. And I quote the Education Act of 1999. The revised version was done in 2001. And I quote, subject to available resources, all persons are entitled to receive an educational program appropriate to their needs. And so we on this side understand the value of education for all. And that is why it was made explicit in the Education Act of 1999. Early childhood education, Mr Speaker, has always been dear to our hearts. People with special needs have always been dear to the hearts of members on this side. And that is why, Mr Speaker, our former Prime Minister ensured that parents of children with special needs got an allowance, got an allowance which was never there before to allow them to help with the situation of the child. And so, Prime Minister, Dr Kenny Anthony, you have to put an allowance for those who have a mother who is sick, for those who are sick, for those who have children who are sick, to help every month, you have to put an allowance every month, you have to pay an allowance. We have to pay an allowance to the government to pay an allowance. And so, early childhood education, education for children with special needs was always, always, always important to us. Education, Mr Speaker, and education for all has always been a hallmark of members on this side and of the St Lucia Labour Party. You will recall, I am sure, Mr Speaker, that before the early 1960s, there was no secondary school outside of Cass Trees. You either had to go to the St Joseph's Convent or to the St Mary's College. La Paté Nipièste, they called second there, C-Partier Cass Trees. And it was the St Lucia Labour Party, George Charles, the deceased Sir George F. L. Charles, who established the Viewfort Secondary School in Viewfort. So our record is clear. You can see that the education was always important. In the early 1960s, Sir George F. L. Charles established the Viewfort Secondary School. St Lucia Labour Party, the education for children with special needs was always, always important to us. The first secondary school was in Cass Trees. In the 1980s, when the St Lucia Labour Party came into office, there was the widest and largest consultation on education, led by then-Senator Kenny Anthony at the time. And out of that consultation in education, came a document that guided the development of education after that. Mais c'est pas ça tout seul, parce que pour j'essaie de la cagader à la qualité d'éducation. And I heard the member for Mikunov speak about the training of teachers. Effect teacher too important as a fit training a quality education. Under history, Mr. Speaker, before I come to what I said a while ago about the absence of leadership in education today, let me establish the base. Teachers, Mr. Speaker, are also very important. It is the teachers who fought in the early 1990s, Mr. Speaker. The teachers union and the leadership then for many years fought so that if a teacher had a first pregnancy, they would not be terminated. Like Moon Pithet Kadi, Dubut Paliabot Saasipasa Nuka Paliabot Sapaipoto. But quality education and the improvement of quality education must take the history into consideration if we have to remain grounded and not say things like before you repair schools, you need a new curriculum. Because if those people were grounded in the facts and the history, they would not make fully statements like that. The teachers are very important in all of this. Because if a teacher's union, let a teacher to finish Dubut a go-bu-deo-ko-yo, they can fire you. And the leadership then, the teachers stood up to challenge the teachers union to sacrifice, Mr. Speaker, UWP Amenenu Lodias. This is to show you the grounding that we have in education. Nudi, see, a teacher fae de ti mamai upapu fae ai. Upapu fae ai. And so we went back to court and then we did not win in the courts. But I'm very happy, Mr. Speaker, that protests and resistance forced the then minister, Louis George, to do the right thing. Like myself, Mr. Speaker, de bu ka pali bai kosa, you got chups, you got de tut kalti bai. You got de tut kalti bai. And so this quality education that we are talking about has to also recognize the contribution of teachers. Mr. Speaker, I want to say that people like Henry J. Bell is here from 1934 to 1938 who also was the first president of the teachers union. They were the early pioneers of this quality education that we're talking about. Mrs. Maria Gill, who was the first union president in 1966, we remember Lytton Thomas, Luzka Theophilus, Montormas, Michael Mondezi, Sister Claire, Agafa Jopanel, Irvin Dupre, Gregor Williams, tell her how to see history, I always want to contribute. Hunter J. François, Nicolas Fadric, James Laurent, Lawrence Laurent, Evelyn Pierre, even the mother of our political leader and leader of the opposition was part of that. Louis George himself, and there are so many others, so many others who contributed to this revolution in education. And while members on the other side may laugh and think that I'm wasting the time, I think it is important, I think it is important for us to always take those facts that quality education was always part of the DNA of the Saint Lucia Liberal Party and we put into law, we put into law in 1999 what quality education should be. But I return Mr. Speaker to the issues that really trouble us at this time. And the Minister for Education must clear this issue that relates to the Beanfield Secondary School. A while ago Mr. Speaker, as part of the statements, Yodi said there are workers and nobody saw that the Beanfield Secondary School would not be able to house students after common entrance. Nobody saw that before. They allowed the students to select the school and just last Friday Mr. Speaker, parents are officially told that they now have to go back to change the choices of the children. The reports are that the Ministry indicated to them that they have no money to add any two classrooms or three classrooms to the Beanfield Secondary School. Now Mr. Speaker, I was the principal of the View for Primary School for five years and I was also the principal of the View for Technical School which was then added to the View for Primary School. The View for Technical School was transformed into the Beanfield Secondary School. So while a member for Ancillary can say what he wants, I am St. Lucia. I am St. Lucia. I was the principal of that school. So don't come and talk foolishness. And I know what I'm talking about. Honorable Member, Honorable Member, the word you've used it before but I allow it to go by the foolishness part. Please take it back and continue. Thank you Mr. Speaker. His utterance are nonsensical by the very nature Mr. Speaker, by the very nature nonsensical. So Mr. Speaker, I was the principal of both schools. And so I understand the issues there. Mr. Speaker, the View for Primary School currently has a block that is not being used. And that block Mr. Speaker can simply be refurbished. It is right next to the Beanfield Secondary School. It is right next to the Beanfield Secondary School. There are about four classrooms in there. The roof needs to be repaired and some electrical work and so on. The school is not being used. Why put parents through that kind of trauma a few days before Common Entrance? Common Entrance is in a couple weeks time. And Mr. Speaker, my reports are that there are parents who tell you this would never happen in castries. Just think about it. That parents select the St. Joseph's Convent or the St. Mary's College and three weeks before you are coming to tell them go and change the choices. There would be pandemonium in this country. But they do it in view fought. The same view fought they talk about the south. They are coming to take the south and they are coming to think. Mr. Speaker, this matter is crying out for explanation and for justice. This matter is crying out for justice. And if we are talking about quality education it is not just about Beanfield Secondary School it is about quality education and quality education and education. How can the minister allow that to happen Mr. Speaker? What will the parents do now? Even the children who are going to write the exams that is trauma as a former school principal I can tell you when children, when parents select schools for the children that is a sacred action and they are working night and day to go to their school and you tell them now they have to select schools miles away from where they live that cannot be right that cannot be right that those workers they say they are workers you need to tell me before September the ministry before September Mr. Speaker must find accommodation for those children avoid the trauma and I have given them a way out the block in the view fought primary school can be used at minimal cost all you have to do is to put a fence if you don't want the view fought primary school children to intermingle with the secondary school children when the view fought infant school was being repaired that same block was used that same block was used for the view fought infant school children why can the Beanfield secondary school children use that block there are four classrooms there empty just about 20 feet away from the Beanfield secondary school I urge the minister Mr. Speaker if we are talking about quality education and improvement in quality education there are two things I want to see that the government of St. Lucia should not put the people of the south the people of Pierrot the people of Bellevue Vijay Labry people from there are lots of people sending the children who want to send the children to the Beanfield secondary school don't put the parents through that and I plead in the parliament today I plead with the ministry of education the prime minister and the minister not to let the situation continue the second one has to do with the curriculum and the comments about changing the curriculum before repairing schools I wish for the minister for education to make it categorically clear that this government will not stop this project and wait for the curriculum to change as the prime minister indicated and so Mr. Speaker while we support this project I think it's a very good project I wish to commend Dr. Robert Lewis and his team I wish to commend Mr. Dale Sages and his team who prepared the first report in November of 2015 and I wish to urge all those who are currently working on this I wish to urge the government to continue as we support it but there are lingering issues in particular the Beanfield secondary school I thank you Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker thank you very much for this opportunity to make my contribution to this motion I want to say that I stand to support that motion Mr. Speaker of course listening to the member for the Fort North I'm sure Mr. Speaker that that member for the Fort North when he was in opposition between the years 2006 to 2011 sat on the opposition bench would remember Honourable Aston James and all the projects that he proposed in his Honourable House as he put in to restructuring the education system I'm sure Mr. Speaker while he is speaking to October of 2015 it took them so long after they came in in 2011 it took them about four years 2015 the eve of the election to realise a policy as it pertains to education Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker I'm happy you do that when they came in they found Beep they found Beep with a number of schools identified to be rehabilitated on the Beep Mr. Speaker they found that what did they do what did they do Mr. Speaker they did not implement the programs as they found it and I can speak to it Mr. Speaker because I recall the then Honourable Minister of Education going to Lager with me to visit the parents and the students and the teachers in the Lager primary school to give a commitment to the government to the students and teachers and parents in Lager of a new school that school was financed under the Beep also under the Beep program and the resources was there Mr. Speaker because you had gotten the loan from the Caribbean Development Bank for that new school so when I'm hearing that we have to recognise the past minister Dr. Lewis, I'm asking myself did that member we forgot he sat in the opposition that Honourable Aston James did did he forget that and it took them so long Mr. Speaker for them to come up with a policy but of course Mr. Speaker I'm happy I stand there and I'm happy and I want to I want to say to my Honourable Prime Minister I want to say to the Honourable Dr. Gayle Rigorbutt the commitments we made to the people of Lager in 2006-11 as it portrays the construction of a new school and which the Labour Party discontinued Mr. Speaker you know why they say the people for Lager support the United Workers Party and that is why they discontinued I'm happy that we on this side I want to say to myself Mr. Speaker to the Lager people I'm happy Mr. Speaker that I'm happy that I'm happy that because Mr. Speaker that's not how we operate that's not how we operate Mr. Speaker we do things across the board and of course part of the infrastructure development during the time was a new wing in the Fawasaw community a new wing in the Fawasaw school but of course they went ahead and did a new wing in Fawasaw and discontinued the program for Lager so Mr. Speaker I'm sure that the students, the teachers and the parents in Lager will show a praise will show a praise to the minister of education and of course I must say that I welcome the new approach not only putting infrastructure but looking at the syllabus looking at training of teachers and I'm sure the teachers in the Babono community will benefit from it so Mr. Speaker I want to warn the member from North when you speak about history remember what transpired in his house you should not give the impression that is when they came into office under the leadership of Dr. Luis we looked at education I'm sure Mr. Speaker do you remember Sir John Compton with the head school program I'm sure you remember this I'm sure you remember I'm sure you remember Mr. Speaker when the United Workers Party came in how many second schools were there and when we last election how many second schools were built by the United Workers Party so do not give the impression my brother honorable member sorry my good friend do not give the impression that everything that happens happens under labor everything that happens under labor we have a track record we have developed this country and any developments majority of it was under the United Workers Party and Mr. Speaker we are going to continue we have just started we have just started with the leadership of honorable we shall see the transformation of the south because they neglected the south for too long and that is what they have figured out they are afraid of what we are proposing to do in the south Mr. Speaker because they know the tenure the tenure they are coming to an end they know that so we have no doubts that honorable Alan Shastney will do what he has to do to develop the south so Mr. Speaker I want to support this motion and I'm looking forward to a new school in Lager and I'm hoping that that school is open in 2020 where I shall be there to cut the ribbon before the next election no just five minutes thank you very much Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker I will not be long Mr. Speaker I just want to clarify a few things said Mr. Speaker when we come to this honorable house and we are trying to make political points I just want to put something to the record that are facts the primary and secondary school enrollment interluxia from 1996 I want to speak to the Lager combined school in 1996 there were 99 schools in St. Lucia enrollment was 42,630 students in 2001 there were 100 schools enrollment was 40,842 in 2006 there were 99 schools enrollment was 66,028 but in 2011 there were 99 schools enrollment was 31,657 in 2016 there were 97 schools the enrollment was 27,030 so between 1996 and 2016 the enrollment in schools in the country went on by about 15,000 the Ministry of Education has merged the passengers combined school and the money combined school because of the job in enrollment the job child secondary school was merged with the journalism secondary school because of low enrollment Mr. Speaker I want to deal specifically with primary school enrollment Mr. Speaker on a point of elicitation I think 32B that privileged the Honorable Member has referenced the merging of passengers and money combined I wish to advise that there are ongoing consultations with stakeholders and no definitive decision has been made I'm sure the Honorable Member is aware of the processes involved in arriving at that ultimate end if the stakeholders deem that that is the preferred outcome so I prefer Honorable Member if you would deselect from that list of schools already merged passengers and money combined not being one that is already merged Thank you Mr. Speaker All I was saying Mr. Speaker is that the and my exact words of education is speaking about that's exactly what I said so Mr. Speaker in her hips to make political points I said the minister is speaking about that's what I said now I'm not going to be derailed and I'm going to come back to the point that the schools there's a decrease in the enrollment students going to schools in the country both primary and secondary and I'm going to go I'm going to speak about primary schools Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker I'm going to talk about schools in District 1 that Deborah combines schools the capacity is 250 the total enrollment is 50 the surplus capacity is 80% in the Deborah School in the Babylon School the capacity is 690 students the total enrollment is 186 there's a 73% excess capacity in the Babylon School in the larger combined schools the capacity is 300 the total enrollment is 107 there's a 64.3% excess capacity at the larger schools in the Grand River Combined School the capacity is 420 the total enrollment is 187 there's a 55.5% excess capacity in the Grand River School in the Grosselay Primary School the capacity is 360 the total enrollment is 174 there's a 51.6% there's a 51.7% excess capacity at the Grosselay School the Foresters Combined School the capacity is 250 the total enrollment is 134 there's a 46.4% surplus capacity at the Foresters School at the Borges Combined School the capacity is 126 there are 68 students the surplus capacity is 46% at the Grosselay School there are 210 students the total enrollment is 133 the surplus capacity is 36.7 at the Moshe Combined School the capacity is 230 the total enrollment is 205 there's a surplus capacity of 10.9% at the Balaza Combined School the capacity is 220 there are 197 students there the surplus capacity is 10.5 the total enrollment the total enrollment the surplus capacity is 10.5 and at the Dim Poulet Luigi School the capacity is 900 there are 975 students so that means there are 8.3% students more at the Dim Poulet at the Dim Poulet Luigi Primary School so at the there's a surplus in that there are more places that I've mentioned now the student enrollment at Lager is 100 students the fact is Mr. Speaker there are two schools within two miles of that school the Balbono School and the Moshe Combined School both of these schools have enrollment below their capacity so Mr. Speaker comes to this house and pretends that's a deliberate policy to stop the Lager School the facts do not speak to that but I'm going to go further Mr. Speaker one would expect that the government tries to repair the Cassius Comprehensive School which is in a dire state but I understand that there may be other plans for the land of Mr. Cassius Comprehensive Schools and that is for another show Mr. Speaker I'm speaking about the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College we speak about the physical situation in the Arthur Lewis and the Arthur Lewis Community College I have to ask the minister what's the position with the principal what's the position with the vice principal because who is running the college there's no principal so whereas the buildings are bad there's no principal and there's no vice principal further I'd like to ask the minister I'd like to make a point that when this government tries its best tries its best to make the people of St. Lucia believe that the Labor Party did nothing and they are the workers they are the saviors they will turn St. Lucia around Mr. Speaker this this this equip is not a hand down but it's a revision of a plan that went to the CDB in November 2015 and they come here and they tell you about it took so long causing people to believe that this government has anything to do with the processes at the CDB you know why they are in a hurry to get things done because the procurement processes and the procurement procedures they do not want to meet them they want to be able to give contractors who they want when they want contracts as to when they want by direct awards 40 in one day photo photo they also want to dismiss a thousand nice workers and say that the contracts expired and 90% of them were people who supported the Labor Party that is the mindset that's the mindset of the members of this side a mindset of vindictiveness a mindset that makes you believe that I'll tell you what anything any policy so you take a policy where there is surplus capacity in the schools instead of you meet together and discuss with parents calling the parliamentary reps and let's discuss how we are going to deal with the surplus capacity you come and you say the Labor Party didn't build it because it was in London so Mr. Speaker you know we sit here and we are big and bad and we both Mr. Speaker that we are big and bad whatever you want all I want to see all I want to want all of us starting from here all of us are here on a temporary basis I've been here for 20 years I've been here for 2 years I've been here for 18 years more than you you know what I mean you know position I'm here for 20 years I'm here for 20 years I'm here for 20 years so honorable leader of the opposition honorable leader of the opposition don't be distracted because because rookies getting parliament for 18 months they believe they can speak to men who have been tested tested and succeeded and that's your problem so you only make the point about you just know that you understand so Mr. Speaker when when this government when this government when this government makes the point that any policy any policy that has come into being is because I heard one of them say what's your legacy that isn't right that isn't right Mr. Speaker right Mr. Speaker and the time will come because all of us all of us in this honorable house the time will come when we have to face the people and you can behave, you can boast you can laugh you can never stop tomorrow tomorrow is Wednesday the day after it's Tuesday and what's happening to you is time is running out thank you Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker I beg to suspend the house for lunch for one hour I think that there are other people who want to speak if I'm not mistaken Mr. Speaker honorable members the question is that the house is suspended for the next hour I now put a question as many as of that opinion here as many as of the country opinion you know I think the house is suspended well this is where we take a break from the live broadcast of the House of Assembly from the Parliament building in Casseries during the morning session several papers were led by Prime Minister who also tabled three motions, one of which sought and received approval from the Parliament of San Lucia to adopt a new logo as its official logo the Parliament of San Lucia also approved the motion for the Minister for Finance to borrow just over 16 million US dollars from the Caribbean Development Bank for the purpose of financing the San Lucia Education Quality Improvement Project also known as EQUIP Education Minister Honourable Dr. Gail Rigabet Expounding on the relevance and objective of EQUIP said the initiative will improve the learning and teaching environment and also place a new focus on special education also focus on providing continuous learning and training for teachers education officers and also principals five schools have been identified to pilot the initiative sorry in addition to the loan component there is also a grant component and so we've come to well not the end but you just have a lunch break and as you heard from the Prime Minister the House will resume at about 2.30