 Good afternoon members when we rose We were debating the special prosecutor bill member for Souffre for Seja Thank you, mr. Speaker mr. Speaker Before I speak on the bill before us I If your permission May I join at the members before me in Acknowledging the still-in-service Provided to this parliament by the former's clerk Miss Linda Gustav Also, mr. Speaker Who meet me to join again members before me in expressing condolences to the family of the former Speaker of the house mr. Donald Alsey and To express gratitude For his contribution to the parliament of Centrusha and the people of Centrusha In addition, mr. Speaker with your permission Let me congratulate mr. David Jordan and his team at the Anglican Church For their bread food festival Mr. Speaker Mrs. Speaker, I had the good fortune on Thursday last to visit the Anglican Church annex What I saw was several Centrushans exhibiting the products and What I was pleased that as a Member as the minister for commerce was to engage my ministry to ensure That we assist those persons In terms of taking that product from where they were To the domestic and international market, mr. Speaker mr. Speaker now to the business before this honorable house and That is the debate On the special prosecutor bill Now on the floor of this august house Mr. Speaker I rise and as I rise I want to say very clearly that I support the bill before us and as I look again at the purpose of the bill in Close to and the purpose of the bill is to provide for the special prosecutor the investigation and a prosecution of corrupt conduct of public officers and public officials and For the appointment of the special prosecutor Mr. Speaker on page 28 of the SLP manifesto There is There are several promises me But on page 28 item 5 there on that I had in good governance anti-corruption and constitutional matters on the item 5 Very clearly there was a promise by the centrusha labor party to an a net Anti-corruption legislation so mr. Speaker this today is a promise kept Mr. Speaker throughout the term of the last administration as we went about our daily business We heard an outcry from the public and That outcry was discussed At the corrupt acts of the last administration People continued to query the abuse of authority The perceived acts of corruption and wastage and mr. Speaker Last week and week before In social media The United Park Which I believe Is an arm of the last administration was looking for friends They were looking for friends To tarnish Reputations They were accusing Yours truly of Selling sugar or receiving funds from selling sugar mr. Speaker, but I want to I Remain quiet and watch for the past two weeks to see what the commens were mr. Speaker Members of the united workers party that I have served with and some of them are in this august body members of the public and The persons that I have served with throughout centrusha Understands who Emma Hippolyte is and knows of the DNA of this lady standing here And one of these DNA is anti corruption all my life. I Have served at the bank with the member for suicide assault abuse I Have served at the national insurance Where the checks were bigger and had all the zeros I Have served as the director of audit of dishonorable for this country. I have served internationally I have served on all NGOs and Not once Not once Have any person have any reason to point they think Not once So when we offer ourselves for public service I needed nobody to explain to me That I was giving myself up for selfless service because if An accountant if I wanted to make money I wouldn't come in government Because I know how to make it I've gone through all the world. I've seen salaries. I've been offered proposals so I was very disappointed at United Park Trying to tarnish the reputation of persons Within this country we must realize Where we are Where we were and where we ought to be going We need to do so and Tarnishing other person's reputation should not be one of them. So with these few words and Remember I've used this august body to make my statement. I don't go on public media and so on I have been elected to serve in this honorable house and I've been elected by the people of Sufra for Shashak to serve them And I will do so with a fair of favor and I'm standing here to say I support this bill in its entirety and Let the cheap fall where it falls I Support your new prime minister and our members of the executive To say that we need to take a turn. We need to take a stand in this country Mr. Speaker We hear of accusations And today I'm not even going to articulate them I think other members are going to do so, but I don't have to remain the members of the public of the numerous Accusations of corruptions wastage and excess cost This has caused our country significantly. So today The discussion on this special prosecutor bill is the beginning of a new direction for us as a people And I am pleased that I'm part of This august body that is going to pass this piece of legislation So mr. Speaker the rampant act of corruption and abuse Has cost this country dearly all of us when we took public office took a public oath and That oath was to serve our people and our country We did not take an oath to serve ourselves the current bill This current bill The special prosecutor bill is focused is to hold Public servants and public officials accountable and to remind us That we need to walk the streets and narrow Mr. Speaker, I am one who believes that the tone at the top must be right The tone at the top must be right and today I want to publicly send the Honorable Prime Minister Because at all our meetings, he continued to exhort us That this government will not tolerate corruption. So I want to thank him I want to thank him publicly Mr. Speaker, we cannot hold the young people We cannot hold the poor among us accountable and let public officials and Public officers Cannot allow them to plunder the national resource We cannot We cannot continue to allow this to happen Nor should we condone it Nor turn a blind eye So today I'm saying We cannot allow public officials To estimate projects to overestimate projects and to share the proceeds We cannot continue to allow persons to pay people for projects that never took place We cannot continue allowing shoddy and poor quality work and Allowing people to pocket the excesses. That is what we have done. That is a corruption that has happened in our country That is why some of our roads are in such poor states That is why as a government we do not have the excess resources now to take care of our health care programs Because we have not done what we are supposed to do Mr. Speaker the net effect of corruption is the bleeding of a nation and Corruption at the top is a guarantee That we will have corruption in every institution and throughout our country Therefore we must take action to reverse this cancer That is quietly and slowly choking us as a nation Mr. Speaker Corruption robs us This country and not only this country it rob nations of investments Investors when they appear when they get to a country wants to know that they are operating in a country Where there is ethics where they have values and where the rule of law prevails Where the investment these investors want the investment To be impacted solely by market forces not by public officials and public officers requesting upfront payments Immediately we do so. We are increasing the cost of the investment Investors do not like that and as long as we have that practice in the country investors stay away So as a government I am very pleased That we are signaling to the international world That this inclusion will not tolerate corruption Mr. Speaker Corruption causes instability inequality Poverty and it erodes our national wealth mr. Speaker, but the good thing about this mr. Speaker is That Corruption is as old as the hills and there are ways and means To reduce the risk of correct corruption for our country So mr. Speaker the passage of this special prosecutor bill Is the first or what you'd say one of several actions that we must take as a country to fight corruption It's a speaker. There is an international corruption perception index the CPI published by transparency International and this Report is published annually mr. Speaker The CPI runs countries by the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of zero Mean highly corrupt To 100 being not corrupt mr. Speaker St. Lucia is wrong at 56 Remember zero is highly corrupt and 100 not corrupt we had 56 We are the wrong Current we had 56 Which is saying we are almost at the center So what are we saying to the international world? When somebody goes On and look at that international CPI index and look at St. Lucia because any investor thinking of coming in to invest That is one of the searches They do they go and check your corruption index in a they won't check your ease of doing business And if St. Lucia is wrong at 56 We are saying that 50 percent 50 percent of our people are corrupt Mr. Speaker said that in Creole No, I think young government want to meet time Is he? Hey, Pima Nia, you take a face a fail On shy mean is to take a shit turn a shy bag guy Moon cut a paper a put a value parfait moon cut a pay contract and people can do met a player So contract la Puyo a biotimate a la chance a lot to put a Mr. Speaker move lady to just at the sea That's a corruption Exaka affect a Passelman mania government car up away Me he car also see affect a pet pay because he see And then, as I said, we are an international index that has put the whole country at risk of corruption in a country. If we have a zero, we can pay for the corruption. If we have a hundred, we can pay for corruption. And then we can index it to 606. 56. That explains why it's not good for us. Because we have said to these people, other international countries, that they are not here to pay for corruption. What are all these people who are listening? What are these people who are fishing in a barren's drive? What are these women doing? Are they happy for the people of other countries to look after them? I would like to thank the Prime Minister for today, for looking after us, for putting us in place, for putting us in place for civilians and politicians. For us to act first, for us to attack, for us to manage, for us to pay first, Mr Speaker, as I have said, this gives the international world a very poor impression of us as a people. Mr Speaker, we need to work towards getting a score closer to 100. Mr Speaker, as a government, we must tackle this cancer head-on. We must take steps to expose corrupt activities and risks that may otherwise remain hidden. We must keep the public sector honest, transparent and accountable. We must help stop these honest practices. And we must ensure that public sector employees act in the public interest. And how do we do this, Mr Speaker? We churches have told us ways to reduce bribery and corruption risk. We need to update our anti-bribery and anti-corruption policies. So in addition to this piece of legislation, which is the first step, we need to update, and that is looking at our financial rules, that is looking through the Ministry of the Public Service to review the rules and regulations within the public service and to focus this culture within the service. This would require for us, Mr Speaker, significant training within the public service. Civil servants need to understand what is acceptable and what is not acceptable. They need to know what is acceptable, they need to know what is not acceptable and they need to understand their role in fighting corruption. And in order for them to understand that, we need to train them. Mr Speaker, we need to create an anti-bribery culture and that has to be clear and consistent and that message must start from the top. That message must start from the top. And after we present that message, we then have to practice it. It is not enough for us to say it, we need to practice it. Because if within the Cabinet of Ministers we pass this legislation, we speak here today and tomorrow we go back and do everything that is not in this, then we will not fight corruption. All of us know of the cancer on the ground, everybody wants a contract. And they want a contract without doing the work. Or there is a contract and the quality of work is not, everybody is looking for a shortcut. It is a cancer that is slowly eating up our economy and our people. There is significant work that we must do, significant work at all levels, not only within the public service, but the public must start understanding what an act of corruption is. The children at our school level must start understanding. We need to start teaching them ethics, values. We need to teach our children ethics. They need to understand it because we don't go silent and then somebody at 20, we start changing that DNA. We need to tackle this cancer at every level of our society. We need to do that. They need to do that. And how we fuse that, we start today. But the message must be continuous. We must have public notices, campaigns to get our society to a different level. And that is why I stand here today to support this act. The Ministry of Education has significant work to do to infuse the values, the ethics into our curriculum. We must do it. And if we don't do it, then we don't expect our young people to just follow the right path. We need to do it. When I look at certain sections of the Act, section 20, Disclosure of Interest, now this is not only applicable to public officials. It is a good governance practice. And all the persons we have sitting on boards, whether it is private sector or public sector, if you are sitting on a board and there is an issue being discussed, and that issue, you have an interest in that issue. Directly or indirectly, you need to publicly say that at the meeting and get yourself out of the meeting so that a decision is taken. That is private and public. Because I don't want us to think that this corruption act that we are doing there, this one is specifically to the public service, but there is a wider societal problem that we have to address. I am saying so because I get a request every day, even when people walk into my constituency office. The things they ask you to do, and you have to question them to say, are you asking me to do so, so, so, and so? So I am saying I don't think sometimes they understand what they are asking us to do. They are asking us to turn a blind eye. They are asking us to turn a blind eye. That's right. And it is fundamental, Mr. Speaker, that that public education, that public discourse is continued from after the passage of this act. It has to be continuous. And today I want my eyes are on the two members opposite. My eyes are on the two members opposite. Because this is a historic moment for us. And as leaders, we need to change course. So I am asking you to join me first, to change course today. That is why I am not even articulating what has happened. Change course today. That's right. Because unless we change course, that boat is going to sink. That's right. Mr. Speaker, section 26 of the protection of persons making complaints. I think this is extremely important. Because in order for us to end the corruption, we need to have protection for the persons who are willing to share the information that they have with us. Not only do we need the protection, but we need a system. So the member for Babono, who is the minister for the public service, needs to ensure that a whistleblower's policy and system is implemented at the same time that we are passing this act. Because unless you have a whistleblower protection system in place, then we will have the act and people will not have a system to provide the information to which the public prosecutor will get. Mr. Speaker, the other office that is not mentioned here that I believe that this bill is going to impact is the office of the director of audit. Most of us and I think had a private conversation with the attorney general. But the director of audit has a significant role to play in the performance of independent audits of all government, central government, and all government institutions. Now I know that the director of audit, that office seems to have gone comatose. So I'm really hoping that with this piece of legislation and that office is an independent office. So they do not report to the prime minister, it is an in-order minister of finance. They are receiving finance from the budget, but the office of the director of office is another constitutional post. And whoever is sitting in that office now must understand his or her role in terms of fighting corruption and providing independent audit reports that must, the processes that director of audit is going to perform these audits and they are going to be tabled in this honorable house and then it is passed on to the committee, special committee of this place and then we take it from there. So with the appointment of a special prosecutor, my eyes will be on the office of the director of audit. He or she, that office needs to wake up and perform its function effectively. These reports has to be tabled on a timely manner so that the information flows straight in. So Mr. Speaker, with these fuels, I want to say that this is a historic moment for us. I am pleased to support this bill that is before us. And I want again to exhort all members to support it. I support it and I believe that we are in the right direction. May God guide us. I thank you. The member first reserves octopus. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if you would allow me, before dealing with the bill beforehand to first extend sympathies to the family of Miss Diana Theodore, who was found dead at her residence over the weekend Mr. Speaker. You know, every loss of life brings sorrow to loved ones. But when it's as tragic as what happened over the weekend, Mr. Speaker, it is very depressing, particularly to a community like ours, Chosal Saltibas that's known for its love, tranquility and peace, Mr. Speaker. And so Mr. Speaker, I take the opportunity to continue to urge each and every one of us as members of parliament, the highest office in the land, to continue to play our part to ensure that we preach to our citizens the issue of tolerance, Mr. Speaker. We speak to our citizens of trying to settle differences other ways, Mr. Speaker. I mean, no way I'm trying to determine what is the reason for what happened. But Mr. Speaker, I think the message has to be that we have to put an end, Mr. Speaker, for this kind of hideous crimes that happen in our society. Mr. Speaker, I also want to take the opportunity to bid farewell to the club, Miss Gustav and wish her all the best in her endeavors. She still has a lot of life ahead of her and I wish her the very best. God willing. I also want to take the opportunity, Mr. Speaker, you know, when you have to say thanks, you have to say thanks. And some of us for political reasons may not want to when something happens. But I want to thank the Prime Minister for keeping his promise and his assistance through the SSDF. The children of Social Salty Bus with the Baptist school supplies, Mr. Speaker. But I want to also take the opportunity, Mr. Speaker, I beg your pardon, maybe more than you, yes. But I want to take the opportunity, Mr. Speaker, to remind this House because, Mr. Speaker, when we were in office and we had the six members here, one of the things that they continuously said was, there is one parliamentary representative. And I know, Mr. Speaker, wrong is wrong and right is right. And we have to recognize there is one parliamentary representative for Social Salty Bus, Mr. Speaker, and Mr. Speaker. No, but that's my point. Wrong is wrong, right is right. Because this is what they, this is what. So, Mr. Speaker, no, the Honorable Prime Minister, likewise, the colleagues when in opposition indicated what was happening was wrong and they would deal differently. So I'm saying an experience has shown, Mr. Speaker, that when we behave that way and it's on the record, you will not win. Okay. So I just wanted to put that out there, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Honorable Prime Minister, the Honorable Prime Minister, Mr. Speaker, made mention of something that was put out on social media yesterday with regards to, I think it was murder or something that happened in the country. Mr. Speaker, you have to condemn anything that happened. And I'll tell you why, Mr. Speaker. And we must not be one-sided when we condemn him, Mr. Speaker. Because all of us, I am very happy if this country succeeds under this government, Mr. Speaker. Because if this country succeeds, I succeed, Mr. Speaker. And all of us succeed because at the end of the day, Mr. Speaker, if the world is going in the direction it is going, the little caca they have in the bank will have nothing at the end of the day. So all of us must want the country to do good. So when it is said, and my good friend from Kashi's office, while he was speaking, he was, you know, chiding me. Kashi's office was chiding me. But Mr. Speaker, at the end of the day, it is, if it's said, and all of us, and one of the things we have to do, Mr. Speaker, is to encourage our surrogates if they want to have intelligent discussions on social media. That's what we should do. But this may be, and this back-to-front, Mr. Speaker. We need to stop that, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, I will continue. I just, Mr. Speaker, the meaning of corruption just went online and the meaning of corruption speaks to dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery. And so, Mr. Speaker, with that interpretation of the word corruption and with the intent of what this bill is supposed to become into the parliament, Mr. Speaker, I want to say, Mr. Speaker, the intent of the bill, I, as a parliamentary representative for Chosal-Saltibas, I, as John Bradley-Felix, support the intent of the bill, Mr. Speaker. There's no two ways about it, Mr. Speaker. Okay? Because if it's one thing, Mr. Speaker, and I'm the Honourable Member for Sufras and Forsyth, I've said it, the background we come from, Mr. Speaker, we can sleep well at night. I have always said to people, I associate with my friends, I am not afraid of anybody coming at my home at any time of the night and knocking and asking for anything that I owe them. Mr. Speaker, you know one of the rude awakenings I had when I was in office? The kind of people, and it would surprise you, Mr. Speaker, the kind of people who would meet you on the road and you know what they would tell you? You need to take care of yourself, you know, in these five years because when you see you out there, nobody are watching you. And I was a rude awakening to me, Mr. Speaker, because it appears to me that it's an acceptance. It's an acceptance that you need to get involved in something to take care of yourself, Mr. Speaker. So this thing is far-reaching. It's not an overnight revelation. This thing has been going on for a very long time, Mr. Speaker, but I can tell anybody who wants to come for John Bradley Felix, I have a very clean slate, Mr. Speaker, and you can come. So, Mr. Speaker, I support the intent of the bill. However, Mr. Speaker, my concern has always been with what I believe to be duplication. Duplication, Mr. Speaker. You have seen a few bills coming to Parliament and there appears to be an issue of just doing the same thing over again and giving it a different name. And why I say that, Mr. Speaker? And the Prime Minister, in his presentation, he said that this bill, and he mentioned the areas, he said this bill section three. This bill does not affect the authority of the DPP. I'm just shortening what he says. It does not affect the AG. It does not affect the Parliamentary Commissioner. It does not affect the Integrity Commission. It does not affect the FIA, the Financial Intelligence Authority. And all of these institutions that I named here, Mr. Speaker, actually are doing what the Special Prosecutor is the intent of what the Special Prosecutor is supposed to do. And if I go further, Mr. Speaker, and I look at the constitution, section 73, Control of Public Prosecution. It says there shall be a director of public prosecution whose office shall be a public office. The director of public prosecution shall have power in any case in which he considered undesirable to do, to institute and undertake criminal proceedings against any person before any court of law, other than a court marshal, in respect of any offence alleged to have been committed by that person, to be, to take over and continue any such criminal proceedings that have been instituted or undertaken by any other person or authority, and see to discontinue at any stage before a judge is delivered any such criminal proceedings instituted or undertaken by himself or any other person in authority. And quite a bit of other things which I believe is in conflict. And Mr. Speaker, what I'm driving at here is that under the constitution, the director of public prosecution seemed to have a very significant role and a role that should not be equivalent to any other role under the constitution. But when we look at what is given to the special prosecutor, it seems to me, Mr. Speaker, that there are some cases where the director of public prosecution is siding some of his authority to the special prosecutor and that cannot be constitutional. Now, I would think that to make the director of public prosecution more legitimate if I could use that expression, we would have come here and maybe change an aspect of the constitution. I think that would have been the easier and the best way to do it. I heard the Prime Minister speak to... There's a similar case in Jamaica. But in Jamaica, from what I saw in a brief glance, the leader of the opposition is also involved in that particular legislation. So, Mr. Speaker, we cannot seem... The Prime Minister was very insistent that this is not a wish and it will appear that way because obviously it was a campaign promise and that kind of thing. So, we must never put any doubt in people's mind as to why we pass various legislations, Mr. Speaker. And I think that's what this bill is doing. As I indicated, the intent is good, but what the bill is doing, Mr. Speaker, is going to be misread by a lot of people, Mr. Speaker, because I think based on the bill, I think there's a lot of... It could be various bias in terms of the vetting of some of the cases that can be taken up, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, while I was the Minister of Commerce, I've had to deal with a lot of public officers. In my ministry, public officers who work in overseas offices and officers from other ministries. And I would much prefer if we would come to Parliament to address the issue of some public officers, some because they always say the bad apple rots all the other apples. If we would come to Parliament to address, and you can call it dishonesty, where public officers steal the people who pay their money, the taxpayers with their time, Mr. Speaker, with lousy service, Mr. Speaker. We have some public officers who believe they're king of their domain, Mr. Speaker, and it must never be that we have to... from the top to stop some of the things that happen where people will tell you if you want a service, pass something on a side. That is corruption. These are the kind of things that we need to come and make sure we strengthen. And the problem is from a political... You see, all of that thing stems from a political wave, you know, political, because if one government decides to take a certain action in a certain direction, then you get the other side making a political thing about it. And we just continue to be spinning top in mud. If, as the member for full suspension has said, we have to start, and as the member for Cassidy's office, we have to start somewhere, let us start now. Let us start now. Yes, let's forget about all the errors of the past if you want to turn a clean slate. That would be good for all of us, Mr. Speaker. But there are too many public officers making solutions suffer for a service that they deserve and they require, Mr. Speaker, you know, there are public officers collecting salary and they are on disciplinary leave for years. That's corruption in my mind. These are the kind of things that we have to address, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, as I said, I support the intent of the bill, but I do believe it is a duplicate of what we already have in existence. If at the end of the day, what the Prime Minister wanted to do in terms of appointing a special prosecutor, it could have been strengthening the DPP's office and you have an individual with the same qualifications that he has expressed, part of the DPP's office. But from my, and I am no constitutional lawyer, the member for UFO South is not here, I'm not sure if he's returning. But I would love to have heard his take as he calls himself a backbencher, you know, on how we interpret this thing versus the constitution. I would love to have heard his take on that. Because we, Mr. Speaker, have to be very careful when we pass certain bills. And I am thinking that this bill will have to be put through the test at some point in time. And if anybody, whether it was any of my colleagues, well, if they're cacais up, they're cacais up, but if on your side it's the same thing too, Mr. Speaker, you understand? So it has to, it has to, and we have to have a very clear, a very clear guideline, Mr. Speaker, as to how we're going to identify what is taken before that special prosecutor, Mr. Speaker. But at the end of the day, I support anything that's there to stump out corruption. I just believe, Mr. Speaker, the manner in which it was brought to this parliament, Mr. Speaker, you know, at least a lot of open-minded, open-ended questions, Mr. Speaker. I thank you for my brief contribution. Thank you. Member for Denry South. Mr. Speaker, let me take the opportunity to always fund the people of Denry South, particularly Denry Village, Larka and Lima, for electing me to be their parliamentary rep and to make me be very proud of myself standing in this honourable house, representing them. Mr. Speaker, I would also like to express my condolences to the family of the former Speaker and to say to the family, you know, to ask them to, you know, be strong as they go through the period of bereavement. Mr. Speaker, in the thrown speech by the acting Governor-General, His Excellency Cyril Charles, he focused on the anti-corruption and emphasized a zero-tolerance approach to corruption. The Hon. Prime Minister, Philip J. Pierre, additionally stated in his budget policy statement that legislation respecting the appointment of a special prosecutor to carry out investigations into acts of alleged public corruption would be enacted during this financial year 2022-2023. Mr. Speaker, in the thrown speech by the acting Governor-General, he made an announcement that the government would not support a zero-tolerance approach to corruption. The Hon. Prime Minister, Philip J. Pierre, said in his budget policy statement that a special prosecutor would investigate acts of corruption. Mr. Speaker, today this government is making this happen. Mr. Speaker, when you allow corruption to flourish, Mr. Speaker, it is not just a feud that will suffer in this country. Everybody will suffer, Mr. Speaker, because you are actually depleting the resources of the state and making it more difficult to meet the needs of the people. It diminishes our ability to build and maintain our roads, Mr. Speaker, like the member for Sufremension, building new schools, Mr. Speaker, assisting our farmers with fertilizers and other inputs, Mr. Speaker, and assisting our young people in terms of employment opportunities, Mr. Speaker. Our social programs, Mr. Speaker, it makes it very difficult for us to be able to meet financial resources, to meet, to deal with those programs because of the whole issue of corruption. Now, Mr. Speaker, when I became a candidate, I met a number of persons when I visited their homes during the campaign. There was a call. It is because Mr. Speaker, they are all aware of the levels of corruption that was going on, or that has been going on in St. Lucia. And they voted for the St. Lucia Labour Party because we made that an election promise during our campaign, Mr. Speaker. And I'm very happy to be part of this team. Make sure that we do what we promised electorates, Mr. Speaker. And I want to say that this is just the beginning. This bill will not solve the problem immediately, Mr. Speaker, but it's a stat and a demonstration by this government to prove to the people that we are doing what we promised. Mr. Speaker, every Wednesday when I sit in my constituency office, there are a number of persons coming to me for various forms of assistance. And Mr. Speaker, initially I said, I wonder why I went into this because they were of the view that once they asked for it, Mr. Speaker, you were supposed to deliver it to them. They couldn't understand when you said to them that I will try to assist you. I will give you some form of help, but they were of the view that once you are a politician, you should always have the financial resources in your pocket to just give to them. What are they thinking, Mr. Speaker? You tend to wonder whether they think aside the salary that you get in monthly, there are other means of generating income. And it's because Mr. Speaker, this has been a concern for our citizens of St. Lucia and I am very happy that this government is making a big effort to address it. Mr. Speaker, it's not a bill that speaks only to civil servants. Politicians like us, as I mentioned, people seem to think that we are the most corrupt persons in the country. But this is not the case, Mr. Speaker, and I want to call on them to let them know that this is not the case. Mr. Speaker, it is not the case for persons on this side, Mr. Speaker. This bill is a new bill, Mr. Speaker, and it really demonstrates a bold step by this government to address the problem of corruption. I'm happy that my government is taking that bold step in appointing a special prosecutor because a special prosecutor would need to direct the operations or the procedures in terms of investigating corruption, Mr. Speaker. Too often in the past, we've played a blind eye on corruption. It's as if we want it to continue to fester. Persons will think twice before thinking of engaging in corruption following the passage of this bill. So if public officers who have been engaging it and seem to think that they can continue, Mr. Speaker, from today this bill will circulate in their minds, Mr. Speaker, that there is legislation in place to deter me from continuing whatever practices or acts of corruption in the day-to-day activities as a public server. We must really change the way things are done in this country, Mr. Speaker. And corruption is one that I think needs urgent, urgent attention. And this bill, as I said, will not solve the corruption problem in its entirety one time, but it is a mechanism that will help to get in this problem on the control. Mr. Speaker, I remember the days when my mum and other persons would tell you in Creole, as I quote, and Mr. Speaker, I have grown, living a life where I listen to my parents. If it does not belong to me, Mr. Speaker, I will not take it. And this bill is an indication that you tamper with what does not belong to you. The bill will take the necessary actions to deal with the situation. Mr. Speaker, and I want to encourage our young people not to follow this path of corruption, Mr. Speaker. Let them focus. I want them to focus on what we call a fair day's work for a fair day's pay. A fair day's work for a fair day's pay. So if they focus and remain focused on that principle, Mr. Speaker, they will not even want to think of getting involved in any acts of corruption, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't want to be long, but I want to say to this honorable House that I stand in support of this bill because I know it is a step in the right direction to address and deal with all the acts of corruption that has been happening. And I know once and for all, Mr. Speaker, the St. Lucia Labour Party is delivering on a promise that it made in its election campaign to address all acts of corruption by this bill that we have before us for discussion, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my PM for giving us the opportunity to speak to it. And I want to say, before closing, I stand in support of this bill. Thank you. The member for Miko North. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I intend to be very brief in my presentation this afternoon. I think the members who went or spoke before me made it very clear what the intention of the bill is. I think the Prime Minister, we must commend him for his initial presentation on the bill. I think he did a very good job in explaining and making it abundantly clear what the bill and what the intention of the bill is, Mr. Speaker. But before I delve into the bill, Mr. Speaker, let me just thank the constituents of Miko North from the Pralem Bridge to the Tomasi Bridge for placing their confidence in me, Mr. Speaker, giving me an opportunity that they gave no Labour candidate before this is an opportunity that I relish, Mr. Speaker. And I always promise them that I will make the most out of this opportunity. I will do my utmost best to represent them and to give expression to their cause and their plight in Miko North. I also want to extend condolences to Mrs. Smith, the family of Mrs. Smith, a teacher, a beloved teacher in the constituency who worked their night to ensure that the growth and development of our children was not something I was taken lightly in the constituency of Miko North. Now, Mr. Speaker, today we have before us the Special Prosecutor Bill and one of the reasons I stood to make a very brief presentation, Mr. Speaker, is because I remember during the days of the campaign as a young man and I'm happy that I remember for Denry North is not there when I speak about young men, Mr. Speaker, but I remember going house to house, engaging young persons, having conversations with them, Mr. Speaker and what I realized was there is a general feeling of disenfranchisement and disenchantment among our young people. The general perception was one where they believed all politicians are the same. I even remember, Mr. Speaker, asking a young man who is my age, a young businessman to try to convince someone from my constituency who was at the time working with the Den Parliamentary Rep and asked if he could have spoken to him to convince him to vote for me and his words were that all the soldiers are going there to make themselves and I think that is the general perception that politicians go into politics with the motive or the intention of going and make themselves and they tell you all the nice things before they go in and when they get in you know exactly what to expect and Mr. Speaker, I'm happy that I sit in a government chair by the Prime Minister, a man who I can remember the very first time that I sat at a cabinet meeting and it was not the only time that you would always hear him say that corruption is not something that he is going to allow and if he smells corruption that he is going to do everything that he can with his power to deal with it and usually your mother or father depends on how they raise you Mr. Speaker you are going to take a certain course of action or you are going to take a certain direction and with the Prime Minister serving at the helm and with him having such principles Mr. Speaker I think this trickles down to every man and every woman that serves in this current cabinet Mr. Speaker, Government officials are ketikers of public trust and we are placing positions of trust that affects the lives and finances of public and I heard several members speak to the fact that when we engage in corruption we don't sit and think of the who are the people who ultimately suffer these young children Mr. Speaker that we come and today you hear us talking about passing or the Prime Minister making allocations available to different parliamentarians to assist in back to school these parents who are severely affected by Covid who don't have any means of employment Mr. Speaker these are the people who really suffer from the acts of corruption it's not the men who are as the Prime Minister like to say or the men who can afford to pay the lawyer and we came here a few weeks ago about two weeks ago Mr. Speaker and we passed legislation to increase the penalties for firearms we are making it more difficult to make it more difficult for the little men and I'm happy today that this piece of legislation this special prosecutor bill Mr. Speaker the intention of this bill is to ensure that the special prosecutor can investigate and prosecute corrupt conduct of public officers and public officials because for too long and we need to really eliminate that mentality and I think that bill is aimed at doing that the mentality that politicians can get away with anything there is always a back up kind of deal and we need to take we need to know and understand our roles as politicians and I'm happy that young people Mr. Speaker who are listening today understand or they can listen to the debate today they can listen to the different presentations and they can take from it the fact that we as a government are doing things and putting certain legislation in place to hold members public officials accountable when they decide to engage in acts of corruption not to stand in that Mr. Speaker I think it's sometimes as politicians we get labeled immediately upon entering political arena and I say that because I heard the member for Souffre make mention of what she had to go through last week in terms of public media, social media posts casting certain allegations at her she's using her office and getting revenues from sugar or whatever it is and Mr. Speaker I think I myself have been a victim of that I've seen several social media posts where he just enter politics and he don't have a car again but people also need to understand Mr. Speaker that as a politician you do have a salary and I wish the special prosecutor was there already he would have been able to go to the credit union and he would have seen that I make a monthly contribution to pay for the fund that he said that I have so we need to dispel this type of things that because you're a politician that you're not supposed to have anything or you're not supposed to be able to engage in any sort of investment I think what we need to do is we need to be open and transparent about the type of investments that we engage in Mr. Speaker so that persons can feel comfortable and see nothing wrong with me buying a piece of land if I can afford a piece of land Mr. Speaker but I should not have to go and hide and buy land under people's name or anything of that sort and I think that is a culture that has brewed over a period of time where we've seen persons or we have people in the public domain tell you that they're very uncomfortable because and I see I think section K in corrupt conduct Mr. Speaker is acquiring directly or indirectly property or pecuniary resource disproportionate to his or legitimate sources of income and I think Mr. Speaker there are things that we can call disproportionate or there are things that I think the leader of the opposition the member for shows they should be able to afford as a politician and I think also so Mr. Speaker I think this bill holds members of the public officials or people who hold public office accountable and I know what is very good about this bill Mr. Speaker because even if I remember for shows that you know there is no bias in the bill and I say there is no bias in the bill because the bill is not for the members of the opposition the bill is for public officials everybody who assumes public office the bill does not favor you or favor me and the prime minister I remember one time in cabinet he said that when the member for view for itself was then prime minister he always reminded them that when you're passing legislation remember you're passing it today and you're in government but you also have to remember that tomorrow these same legislations that you're passing they're still going to be there if you find yourself out of government so we should never pass legislation because of our personal emotions or we should not pass because of vexations as it could be done this bill does not discriminate against any particular member in opposition or in government so Mr. Speaker I want to give my full support to this bill I want to find the honorable prime minister for bringing this bill getting the confidence and courage to bring this bill before the house for some it may be an unpopular decision but for the prime minister because he understands the importance of ethics and honesty he has decided to bring this bill here to hold every 17 of us responsible and accountable and put measures in place to ensure that when we decide to not be accountable or transparent that we can be dealt with accordingly just like when other members of the public decide to assault somebody or do anything to someone they are held accountable and I think Mr. Speaker that this is an excellent bill as I said they may have it's a step in the right direction if the bill needs to be worked on Mr. Speaker there is nothing wrong but the general intention of the bill is a very good one I think the AG chambers have done a wonderful job in drafting this bill Mr. Speaker and I just want to give my full support to this bill thank you Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker let me take this opportunity to thank the people in Babono for their confidence in me and I promise them that I will give them representation in this honorable house Mr. Speaker let me take leave to congratulate our fastest who won the bill and I hope that Mr. Speaker will congratulate our fastest woman in St. Lucia Ms. Julian Alfred for her excellent performance at the recent Commonwealth Games in Birmingham UK and let me congratulate team St. Lucia for representing us well we have to congratulate our women who continue to make us proud as well as students of national development that's so many of them Mr. Speaker in this honorable house let me express condolences to the former speaker of the house Mr. Donald I'll say express condolences with the families thank him for his contribution to national development former clerk Ms. Linda Gustav miss that voice I have heard that voice very pleased when I met her in person and I said I have always admired your voice I'm happy she will still be around to pass on some of her skills to her colleagues Mr. Speaker let me express condolences to the family of the lady who was brutally murdered in Choselle and hope the perpetrators are brought to swift justice on a positive note Mr. Speaker I need to report to this honorable house that I have spoken to our miss Mina and she indicated that she is recovering speedily I'm here today to conditional support to this special prosecutor bill of 2022 Mr. Speaker I mentioned the two incidents of tragedy of our women just to remind our people that we need justice in this country this government has inherited a country that was experience make destruction and the erosion of social values Mr. Speaker this government is committed to do damage control and put this country back on a steady course for recovery and a path to national advancement we need Mr. Speaker to raise the hopes of our people that continues to flood our media houses on a daily basis when I heard my colleague Minister of Agriculture spoke of bananas back in England I feel so proud Mr. Speaker because I heard so much talk about bananas that would have gone to France and it need not even reach Martin Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker this special prosecutor bill is not about them it's about us to deal with prevention treatment and cure of malpractices corruption and corruption in the public service the people of St. Lucia put a government to manage his affairs to enact laws develop policies put regulations and guidelines in place to ensure good governance safety security and productivity of his people the bill is not for politicians it is for public officials meaning persons who work for the people of St. Lucia who are employed by the government whether you're a politician a public servant official what is meant by special prosecutor and the meaning given in Google August 2022 special prosecutors also known as independent councils are typically appointed to investigate and prosecute high profile cases where the ordinary criminal justice machinery cannot be trusted to produce fair results and local governments occasionally use special prosecutors I heard the member opposite indicated that we have several several agencies that are already addressing some of the issues that are in this bill well let me remind him that this bill is an upgrade it has captured the weaknesses of the others and put it together so that we can deal with some of the deficiencies that exist in existing legislation Mr. Speaker this bill speaks to corrupt conduct actions by public officers or officials that knowingly achieves for the public officer public official or for another person an undue advantage Mr. Speaker after I read this bill I said according to some of the people how is me meaning why now I have been following parliament for so long I have been out of parliament this bill was waiting for when I came to parliament so some people will tell you how is me but Mr. Speaker I applaud the prime minister for keeping to the promise that we made to the people of St. Lucia and we promise to right the wrong we promise to improve the situation in St. Lucia and we are doing exactly that Mr. Speaker there is a popular phrase which says follow the money some say bubble some say Koko Makakri conversation with the prime minister and I said prime minister in this tone of office the salary that they pay ministers will not amount to a million dollars I just did the mathematics and by doing so people are asking how some people became millionaires overnight Mr. Speaker this bill addresses public office public officer public official these are government positions and persons employed by the government there are persons who could these are the persons who could be prosecuted as defined within the parameter of this bill Mr. Speaker I did raise the point that getting rich quick is one that will raise many people's eyebrows and there are persons we notice in our society who are gotten rich very quickly and they are spoken about in the constituencies but certain devices and operations are used as cover up and some people camouflage it and they said they sold books they published a book and they were able to raise money I didn't know that was the best seller some said they had transports we don't know how many roadblocks some said they have agriculture we don't know when banana shoot up again some said the mother, the father and well off so they themselves got some said is the wife I've been following the media to justify how some persons that are alleged to be millionaires among us how did they get rich so quickly as a former teacher principal trade unionist community activists quality involved in non-governmental organizations civil society organization I recalled once I used to hear about bubble and I said but what bubble could I do in the school am I going to steal somebody's child and bring the child home we had markers Mr. Board pens those little things we have to do to try and help school going there was no room for any bubble we could not have been millionaires Mr. Speaker and even becoming a politician it becomes even harder this bill is keeping us in line I told the prime minister this bill will handcuff all of us and put a yoke around our neck and it is not about us it's about St. Lucia it's about the future of the next generation I recall during the campaign there was a young man in my constituency in his thirties and he said he is a millionaire I said what is the trick why don't you share it with the other boys on the block once it is through the legal means I don't know what strategy he use but he said he is a millionaire I heard the member opposite said he has a little cacada in the bank he alone has cacada and the others have toothpaste didn't go to the same store so that you leave out the cacada and purchase some toothpaste Mr. Speaker this bill is there to protect me and to protect you and I will tell you Mr. Speaker why the persons in my constituency are putting pressure on me to do certain things and I said no it's not right I'm not doing this I'm not engaging in any on the hand so now I have the instrument that will justify my actions and my behavior and this is what our colleagues on this side preach every day let us do everything above board let us do what is right and Mr. Speaker if I had any aspirations to be millionaire in this government I am further away from it because every day people walk into my constituency and they ask for assistance now every dollar this prime minister has you have to sign for it and you must go in the treasury to pick it up and nobody else signs my name except me so I cannot let people go and collect money on my behalf on their names I wish I could get one and for those Mr. Speaker it is alleged who purchase property transferred on other people's names they have difficulty now to take it back on their name because some of the people refuse to transfer is my property why should I transfer it back to you so Mr. Speaker this bill is one that will help us it will strengthen our position it will give us the legitimacy to continue to practice and do what is right in this country so that we can thump out corruption Mr. Speaker St. Lucia a few years ago ranked very high in the region and Mr. Speaker I can tell you that because I work regionally and I work internationally and I listen to what people were saying about St. Lucia and today maybe starting from last year July 2026 we are trying to bring it back to where it was July 26, 2022 we are trying to bring it back to where it was Mr. Speaker one thing I would have to do here in this house is to document the number of legislation that this government has passed in this house and every piece of legislation is to enhance and improve the quality of life for people in this country Mr. Speaker you recall in March we passed the domestic violence bill and Mr. Speaker that has worked wonders for St. Lucia continues to work wonders we just went through the bill dealing with the youth economy we deal with the bill dealing with amendment to the firearms and a number of other legislation and if you compile that into a booklet you would have seen the look that this country has taken in one year and this will suddenly give us the kind of ranking that will put us apart with our other countries in the region because when we pass this legislation Mr. Speaker is going to send a signal to the regional and international community that St. Lucia is not accepting corruption and with that people are going to develop confidence in this country that is the nature of this bill regionally and I did not know some people underestimate social media there is no discussion that we have here we think because it's in this room it's about us it's about the world and after we pass the domestic violence bill this bill Mr. Speaker it was in high demand before it became an act people were asking for it regionally they said they need a copy of the bill so when we go through this special prosecutor bill people are going to ask what are they doing and then the eyes of the world will be on us because they are going to watch us like a hawk to see if we are engaging in any form of corruption so Mr. Speaker it's a message that is sent to public officers we manage the public service we work with public officers and we have to tell them no it's not like before things have changed according to the law this is what we are supposed to do I cannot help you in this because this is crossing line with the special prosecutor bill Mr. Speaker upon the appointment of the special prosecutor the ministry responsible for the public service shall on the advice of the attorney general in writing set the terms and conditions of employment of the special prosecutor for the avoidance of doubt the special prosecutor is also a public officer so if the special prosecutor decides to go on a side or go below a board then that special prosecutor is also open to be prosecuted too so it is not for one and not for all it's for all of us so there is no escape Mr. Speaker in keeping with modern trends for productivity in the public service there will be the need to ensure that the terms and conditions of employment include key performance indicators Mr. Speaker we appoint public officers and we do not put proper measures in place to evaluate the performance in the job of poor performance how do we measure performance of our officers many times we hear persons request promotion and an increase in salaries without adding value to performance and responsibilities so the solution public will be out there to see what is it our public prosecutor will deliver and the expectations are very high so the public prosecutor has to deliver because people want to see don't tell me all the talk about corruption that the public prosecutor cannot get one case Mr. Speaker the special prosecutor has to get to the bottom of many of the statements alleged cases of corruption in the government all by politicians and persons employed by government the people need answers to the questions Mr. Speaker this is a promise we made to the people of St. Lucia in the manifesto and I cited by minister for Soufre on page 28 under the section Good Governance anti-corruption and constitutional matters and not anti-corruption legislation and we have no choice but to fulfill that and that is what we are here to do today Mr. Speaker this bill is designed to ensure that we as politicians and public officers work a straight stay on track and work on a straight road path it's almost like a handcuff Mr. Speaker those who went before us may not end up being any better the Creole phrase says what so they may have they may be having a diamonds who put cocoa out to dry to wash out for the rain Saki may take exaki exaki say Mr. Speaker I'm telling the prime minister I hope he has the library not the book the library that he has found in government to pass over to this special prosecutor when that person will be appointed because I have read so much I have seen so much I want an independent person to examine it and tell us what he or she has found Mr. Speaker when a prime minister could pay over 7 million dollars for vaccines and we have not received one Mr. Speaker where did the money go Mr. Speaker the prime minister has of money that was wasted prime minister I hope you have it in a safe safe so when the prosecutor comes he can examine that we need this money Mr. Speaker to help the people in St. Lucia to improve the quality of life send the children to school take care of the health improve housing table and wage Mr. Speaker we need that and that special prosecutor will help us recover some of the money we have a wash Mr. Speaker because it cannot be deposited in the bank a young lady met me and she told me some guy told her he is tired of holding these monies I don't know I hope the special prosecutor can reach there Mr. Speaker what is of critical importance is protection of persons making complaints because we know we have a challenge with protection for witnesses and persons making claims Mr. Speaker the people have been asking for a special prosecutor so today we are here to deliver the wish they need to be mindful that the prime minister and the ministers cannot arrest or charge anyone even if you have the evidence you do not have the power to do that it must be done according and within the law let the person appointed after this bill has become an act and a law let that person do what we expect and what is right Mr. Speaker I give all my support to this bill 110% so that we get this bill in operation after it has become law Mr. Speaker I thank you and I thank my colleagues for the very patient and attentive hearing I rest my case Mr. Speaker the member for Castro himself Mr. Speaker I want to join my colleagues who have expressed condolences to speaker from a speaker who passed away I also want to join the representative from Schroesel when he expressed condolences to the family his constituent who was horrifically killed Mr. Speaker and I think all of us on this side would know the individual very well she was very active in our party and all of us would have shared space with her in various gatherings Mr. Speaker today is a very special day and it is special for many reasons but for me it is especially significant Mr. Speaker because today is a day when we honour in an election promise where we said to the electorate that we are going to put in place the mechanisms to ensure greater transparency and accountability in our political system while many people have asked us to take action against what they saw as the unmitigated abuse that took place during the last administration they've always been accusations of corruption throughout our political life and even during colonial days Mr. Speaker but what happened during the last administration led by a leader who was unrepentant in his conduct and behaviour led many solutions to desire a change of government and that action be taken of course we've had to advise and counsel supporters and the wider public that you cannot just do what they were asking for there has to be a process and a proper way of doing it and the calls kept on coming that we had to do something and we had to act and again we counsel that it had to be done properly and I think the member from Casteries went to great clents to explain that the public has this perception that all politicians are the same that politicians are corrupt and they don't say public officials they don't seem to include the fact that there are public officials apart from politicians that are corrupt in various endeavours but it is in politicians and they probably are justified in doing so because they would have seen manifestations of persons who became very rich after entering into politics and the member from Casteries gave an example of persons that entered in particular ways and what they became after a few years in politics and today really is an attempt for us to start the journey of restoring public trust in public officials through this mechanism where an independent person would be required to receive reports of persons they believe may have been involved in corrupt behaviour for it to be investigated independently and if on guilty or if there is reason to believe that there is a case for charges to be laid and those individuals to be made to pay if they are on guilty there is now an independent process by which that can be done and we are saying to the public that we are standing firm on our promise that we are going to do everything possible to restore public trust in the governance of this country it's not an easy task Mr Speaker it's not an easy task there are people that will willingly accept payments and inducements and bribes to facilitate other people Mr Speaker and it doesn't and I said it a short while ago it's not only politicians across the wide spectrum you hear talk that the police force is corrupt you hear that customs is corrupt and those allegations are perpetuated and perpetuated and now we will have a mechanism where citizens can actually make reports provide evidence and it can be investigated but it's also important Mr Speaker because it creates an avenue where known cases at the official governmental level and we'll come to some of these the address Mr Speaker Mr Speaker I'm also personally happy that this bill is before the south today because Mr Speaker it's going to depoliticize public accountability and I want to spend a few minutes Mr Speaker to focus on this issue the politicization of public accountability I have a lot to say about it Mr Speaker because not many members if any in this honorable chamber went through what I went through in the last five to six years not many members Mr Speaker what I went through Mr Speaker is enough sometimes for a man really question what this is all about and sometimes Mr Speaker you have to be strong and your faith carry you through because Mr Speaker I really you know sometimes reflect on this I spent my life Mr Speaker as a student leader a youth leader I went to a couple of good schools Mr Speaker taught at a university you know worked my way Mr Speaker you know to be to be at the University of the West Indies I've been a political activist in the Labour Party from very early you know a prime minister introduced me to Dr Anthony he came back to Senusha I came I was part of the campaign we won the elections in 97 Mr Speaker I became his attache I then went on to London School of Economics did my PhD in the capitals of the world Mr Speaker never before anybody question my integrity never before Mr Speaker and then I entered politics and somebody in the most malicious and vindictive manner because that's the nature a narcissist Mr Speaker decided that they were going to attack you now during political campaigns those things happen Mr Speaker it happens and you allow it you fight the battle and you move on but then it continues Mr Speaker because it's the nature of the being to destroy Mr Speaker and then Mr Speaker I had to take action because if you are accusing somebody of something you must be able to prove it Mr Speaker and it got nastier and nastier because somebody cannot accept that they have to lose Mr Speaker and even when they win they want to be able to make an example Mr Speaker and somebody made the point about the persons can seek to destroy your reputation accusing you of all kinds of things Mr Speaker and sometimes knowing Mr Speaker that there is no basis for it Mr Speaker so somebody thought I was rude to sue them because I am a shasny and who are you to sue me and then he asked the High Commissioner in London see what you can find on UNESCO see what you can find and he went for the documents in the High Commission and using the resources of the state because I have to destroy UNESCO it's too rude to stand up to me who is that little boy who feel he can stand up to me do you know who I am Mr Speaker they got a document that show the vehicle approaches have been registered in the High Commission the then High Commissioner did not ask the staff what happened he didn't ask them whether they had paid for it he wrote saying there is a missing state asset any investigation we've already reported to any special prosecutor they then write to the Director of Finance who writes to the control of Custard and says this has been reported to us we have no record that we bought this vehicle we have no record that it belongs to us but I wanted investigated I wanted investigated and the narcissist continues Mr Speaker but they will come because they did the elective no longer leader of UWP okay where okay where so Mr Speaker he continues goes to the control of Custard and ask him to investigate it because the vehicle does not belong to me now ownership of a vehicle is theft if it's not yours and you claim it's yours is theft the police handles that customs, customs handles, customs duties and what not the controller does not play ball he's removed and they put in a lady who is supposed to be a supporter of the party and of the premise that she will take action against NSLF and the individual is available now to give evidence and if a special prosecutor should look into it we will get all the information she does not play ball she is removed transferred to be a PS in sustainable development and a gentleman a gentleman who foolishly writes a report saying that the prime minister had a meeting and expresses this he's I'll come to that in a while because I have the document there so the prime minister was displeased that they were not taking action quickly enough against NSLF but what is the action the action against NSLF according to his claim and I'm not even sure exactly what it is first it was I defraud the British government then I did not pay taxes but I'm an ambassador in England I don't pay taxes on the purchase of anything then it is I did not give customs a document so I didn't give customs a document which I didn't have really I must be made to pay and you're telling the entire world I'm a thief I stole a vehicle the entire world I've lived my life as a professional served my country well I have a reputation I've worked and I don't want to boast but I've worked in some very distinguished places and our friends calling me from England saying to me that they got a call from the Met Police saying government of Central Asia asked them to investigate me and they're wondering what's going on the Met Police to investigate me for what because you say I didn't give customs a document the Met Police and different individuals in England are calling me saying to me what's going on because they are calling all acquaintances to find out what kind of person you are when you've lived your life well people don't forget that so every once I had sent in me copies of the notice they got from the Met Police and they said to me there's one thing they can assure me they have nothing but good things to say about me because the politicization of actions you did it for political reasons to destroy somebody with no regard for families, siblings or anything because you claim I did not give customs a document show wickedness this bill stops this this bill stops this if there is an accusation against somebody submit the evidence to a special prosecutor and they will investigate it that's what this bill does it stops that now Prime Minister always tells us we must set a new tune in this country we must create a Saint Lucia that is more tolerant understanding loving and caring this is what this will do you will not go through what I went through but the story continues it continues the investigators they sent from Saint Lucia to go up to England to get the information and Covid struck and they got they got lost in a hotel somewhere because they can't travel the whole everywhere shut down you made them on the flight at state expense you know sent two officers to England to find out what they can on UNESCO because he must destroy UNESCO because he claimed I didn't give a document the same person leader the opposition goes on Andre Paul and when he's asked isn't there evidence at UNESCO for the vehicle he said yes it's his vehicle he bought it he gave it back as a gift and he took back the gift the leader of the opposition he did and you know what he says to Andre is his vehicle he bought it but he gave it back as a gift and he took back the gift without permission that's what he says that's what he says because he believes he can destroy and he can break but you cannot break you can break and watch where you are today the worst leader in the history of the UWP and he kicked him out just now to as leader of the UWP that's the vindictiveness and the nastiness it gets worse it gets worse than that worse than that so then now he installs a new acting commissioner who has promised that as promised he will deal with UNESCO I have good friends good friends who put up their hands and say we represent you free of charge free of charge and then I get I learn later on that they wrote to the U.S. Department of Justice to ask Google to give them all emails that UNESCO have in Gmail and I get all the documents somebody left it somewhere so I got a copy of it and one day we were in parliament and I was presenting and after I'm finished the member from he said to me CIE investigating you and we thought that we laughed it off I did not know then that he had actually written to the U.S. government for the agencies to investigate me because I did not give customs a document so can you imagine you are so you know they have formal mechanisms so which they can do it but why would you ask Gmail to give you all my emails so you can read them what you can find about UNESCO to destroy UNESCO that is what the member from south did this bill stops this stops it so then now he has the Met Police trying to find out what he can on in England he tried to get the Justice Department and the Justice Department gave them a nice long response asking him about 20 questions obvious questions that government of central looks so stupid so stupid elementary things they asked them to answer that is what he is engineering because I did not give a document to customs according to him for something he admits is mine this bill stops this it stops this what he did will go down in history as one of the most vindictive acts ever ever committed in our political history no diapayment yet you know once I made a joke in our exchanges I said to him when we finish the film he will be like a Jombie in gas series so you see because that is the wickedness that the member from microsoft had this bill will make sure we don't treat people in public office in such a manner anymore so he has met police and he has the US authorities and do you know what it is like to enter an invitation to attend a conference you get an invitation to come and participate in an exchange and then you learn and the immigration officer is looking at you because you know in the system they have flags because you under investigation but why would you just destroy somebody's professional reputation why would you do it because they didn't give a document is that the only way your mind can conceive of defending your body politically is by doing this I mean this is a quality of individual that heads united because party right now that's the nature of the person who was once prime minister of St. Lucia but he cannot break me he cannot break my colleagues because I'm not the only one I probably got the worst they have others and others will speak if they want about their tribulations so let's move on and then when they cannot find anything they decided charging me because I didn't give a document and at my home customs officials reached to seize my vehicle including friends of mine they are professionals they are doing their job and they know what they are doing is wrong but the controller has given a directive to seize my vehicle seize my vehicle and to press charges against me as it turns out Mr. Speaker as it turns out we go to mediation and that's where the real folly is exposed now I was advised by my lawyers then do not speak in public about what's happening in mediation because it is a confidential process but a control you've given me permission the controller of customs the former acting controller Chico has since gone public and said what took place in mediation so I think I can take the liberty to say a few things in trying to resolve the matter in mediation he's asked what do you want us to do to resolve this matter he says I need a copy of the document we said okay the High Commission had it the High Commission sent it to St. Lucia it went to customs but we will try to get it from London to satisfy you he says I need to take it to my superior to see if I can accept it they're like who's your superior the minister, finance and prime minister that's what he says that he will accept the document if we can provide provide it now as it turns out when customs had called me for an interview we had no idea what was going on but they gave us the file so we had to go through my lawyer took out his mobile phone and he took photos of all the documents so we knew they had the document we knew they had it because we took out photos now lawyers are smart like that sometimes lawyers are smart like that sometimes so then now can you imagine acting country is saying if we give him the document he'll accept it but he must go to Alan Shastney and accept it for him to drop the case that's the acting country of Chico the same one who said that the prime minister has displeased he will not take an action against me of course elections take place his government loses acting controller his acting period ends a new controller is put in place a third one reads the file and he says this is totally unnecessary and they ask him what do you intend to do I'm dropping this case, this has no basis this is unnecessary this is politically motivated as a new acting controller I cannot proceed if this matter the new acting controller so that's the third one the first one the second one Chico decided he would do it and then when the new one comes in the case is finished with it so the case is dropped the case is dropped but then now I sued Chico for his behavior and his conduct together with the attorney general not this one but the position of the attorney general and listen to this, I want you to to hear this so we are asked to go to mediation so I have to sit across from Chico the same Chico and to seize my vehicle that was persecuting me and prosecuted me and I'm asked I had to say to Chico I have no ill feelings towards you despite what you've done to me you've hurt me professionally you've hurt my family, my children but you're fighting Alan Shastney's battle I will deal with Alan Shastney Chico I just want you to apologize unless this be over the state will deal with my loss of use and all damages but you need to apologize to me I don't want nothing from you but an apology for the harm and hurt you caused to me I said I have no ill feelings towards you Alan Shastney's fight you fight him that's what you're doing Chico then we agreed on an apology, we agreed and to show you the nature of those individuals after the apology is given on his behalf it's recorded he goes publicly on team and said he never apologized and he's all over saying that he never apologized to me for me to drop the charges against him he learned to lie like the member from Miku South but we had it recorded we had it recorded so they had no turning back that he did apologize and I kept quiet and I said the same guy I just gave a bligh I made him pay the heaviest price even when I was generous because it's not really about him he's just the servant that's what he was upon because the person the vindictive, nasty individual behind all of it is not him he still wants to deny he apologized but of course it been said the courts dealt with the matter what not and of course you know the member from Miku South still not satisfied he wants a judicial review as to whether the controller could have dropped the case but that's another story I'm not getting involved in this one the record will show that the controller dropped the charges against me the record will show that Chico apologized for what he did to me I have no ill feelings to Chico or anybody I will fight my battles but that's the nature and that's why I'm happy about this bill I'm happy about it I'm happy about it Mr. Speaker so I've been through a lot Mr. Speaker but I still have the the spirit Mr. Speaker of a warrior can't break me, can't destroy me like this I know right is on my side I know truth is on my side I know how I have lived my life Mr. Speaker nothing can take away that from me nothing this bill prevents other solutions from being treated in such a way Mr. Speaker if somebody is suspected of doing something wrong report it and let it be investigated Mr. Speaker I was going to read for you something that Chico said in an affidavit to show you the extent the extent Mr. Speaker of what was taking place after the case and that's what he he filed in the courts you know that's what Chico filed in the courts and I want to read it because after the case against the job by the controller he said there was a meeting between the controller himself and the DPP and this is what and I'm courting him in an affidavit that he filed in the courts he says the DPP said to Mr. Emmanuel how the yes you made a decision like that you didn't consult with my office and you didn't even have the decency to have a discussion with Chico who was involved in the matter that's yes that the he said the DPP said that to the controller the DPP why why you Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker yes on permanent establishment so Mr. Speaker that's the nature of the member from Miku South Mr. Speaker but Mr. Speaker I want to move on to another dimension to this bill another dimension and I want to say to you Mr. Speaker I will never have any hatred or any anger I've had my hood but I know I'm a stronger person for it and I knew one day we would be on this side and he would be on that side Mr. Speaker I knew that one day and I had the faith Mr. Speaker that he would be there and his tribulations have just begun Mr. Speaker just begun Mr. Speaker that we cannot stay in the notion of more than a week Mr. Speaker he knows why another dimension to this bill exactly Mr. Speaker but let us look at another aspect of this bill Mr. Speaker let us let us look beyond the corruption side of it the corruption side because and I really want assurances Mr. Speaker and when the member from Kastri's east speak and even my dear friend from Kastri Central who's a lawyer sometimes when actions would be taken agreement sign decisions made and one can argue that there was no corruption nobody got any bribe inducement or anything but I think the outrageous outrageousness of a decision must lend itself to investigation you cannot make decisions that are so bad to this country that we lose millions of dollars and you just get away if it's hot free and I'm not even talking about whether there was corruption or not it's two things either you're grossly irresponsible in your decision making or you are magnificent please chup it in your decision making you know either of them Mr. Speaker either you are, Mr. Speaker I don't mean to be disrespectful I'm just trying to explain to you whether you make a decision like this or you really you can't get to, you're not there Mr. Speaker let me just give you a few examples Mr. Speaker we signed an agreement with a consulting firm a firm to give management consulting at OKEU to give management consulting advice 12 million dollars a year 12 million dollars 12 million dollars a year think about that solution Mr. Speaker 12 million dollars a year to give advice on how to manage OKEU for two years 24 million EC dollars well at least Lockerbie was putting down physical structures and stuff how can you not ask the person who made that decision how did you on what basis what's the value for money for this country to have to pay a consultant consulting firm or a firm offering consulting services a million dollars a month a million dollars a month somebody needs to explain that to the people of St. Lucia 24 million dollars 24 million dollars 12 a year for two years 12 for two years but somebody explain that Mr. Speaker I'm told 12 a year Mr. Speaker even if it's 12 for two years I'm assuming I'm wrong it's still too much to pay somebody has to explain this Mr. Speaker how do you make a decision like this even if there is no corruption involved you still have to explain it Mr. Speaker the vaccines somebody must be held accountable for that decision even if there was no corruption in terms of bribery or kickbacks Mr. Speaker how can you take 7 million dollars of this country's money give it to somebody to bring vaccines for you that entity has no track record no guarantee they will deliver they give you no security to hold Mr. Speaker how can you do that there is no proper due diligence the financial procedures are not followed and by the way Mr. Speaker that consultancy for OKEO did not go out for tender nor was there a direct award just think about it did not even bother to give a direct award just sign a contract of that huge amount no public tender and no direct award and I know that for a fact Prime Minister was not there I was acting Prime Minister Mr. Finance and they brought it for me to sign and I said I am signing this I call it Prime Minister I say boss what is this what no I didn't sign it when I told a Prime Minister he couldn't believe that but you didn't you were Prime Minister Mr. Finance you didn't even have the decency if you did not go out for public tender to at least give a direct award to legitimize the contract you just first allowed it to happen you allowed it to happen and then they bring it Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker the vaccines can somebody not be asked how can they not be an investigation Mr. Speaker as to what happened if the vaccines and I'm not even accusing anybody of stealing money or getting kicked back I'm talking about the outrageousness of the decision Mr. Speaker let me give you a third one we've spoken about the Rosu Dam Mr. Speaker how and the Prime Minister has spoken about it earlier how can we not report to the special prosecutor to find out what happened in the Rosu Dam and the member from Miku South has stood up in his house and defended the decision he stood up and defended it the same musical has put up against him now to be leader you see how the world goes how it goes wrong how can it keeps going around sometimes it takes a linear path but when you bad and vindictive and nasty it goes wrong and the backing dogs bite you in your Mr. Speaker you know Mr. Speaker how can we not take a look at the Rosu Dam Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker you spoke this one about the boundaries commission what was telling was what you did not say what you did not say Mr. Speaker so let me say a little bit more than what you said this morning so Mr. Speaker Guy Joseph took action against the commission for wanting to change the boundaries and he said the reason why he did not support it is because we were trying to redraw the boundaries to make sure he loses and he still lost and he still lost he never thought Joachim would come and beat him he says he can never lose but here what makes this thing really outrageous so they take action they go to court and they said that Astafan and the other lawyers are friends of Kenny Antony and they will be biased so they replace them the court threw that out and the court awarded awarded course to the commission the court awarded course to the commission so that means Guy Joseph had to pay the commission yeah it goes on Mr. Speaker where the government changes and there's a new commission and then they decide now they're not going ahead with the case anymore Guy Joseph is going to drop the charges and in exchange for dropping the charges listen to this listen to this in exchange for dropping the charges Guy Joseph will not pay course to the commission and the commission will pay his lawyers for him double whammy not only listen to that how bizarre so they will no longer pay to the commission and now the commission will pay his lawyers for him somebody must look into this but here it is the bill that the lawyer sent the first invoice is about half a million dollars half a million dollars the first invoice the first one half a million you see half a million for a case in court sorry and they lost that they lost yes he lost and his lawyer's bill was half a million dollars the first invoice I will tell you what all the invoices were all the invoices came up to about a million dollars a million dollars a million dollars so here what they agreed they agreed that Guy Joseph will not pay the commission that he owes and the commission will pay his lawyers fees for him that about a million dollars Mr. Speaker cannot just pass by whoever made that decision has to explain it now here what happened when they came to an agreement a consent order where all parties agreed that's how we set plan it the judge heard it and the judge said I am not approving this for a judge to say even if all of the all agreed I am not agreeing to I am not approving it because the judge for whatever reason I might speculate the judge had to see that something was so wrong with this and they went and they revised it and the judge still say even if what you all revised I am still not approving it but for a judge to take a decision that what the parties agree on among themselves he not approving it but for the judge that person must explain what is this about this is what this UWP is about now you understand why the member from Caste North had to live I keep telling the member from the longer you stay the shorter is the shorter the police headquarters Mr. Speaker is another one and I will leave it to deal with because I want to move on but somebody has to account as to why did the police buildings demolish for nothing happening after it's not to say works were going to start in a month time or works were going to start in three weeks time or two months why did somebody go and break down the buildings why did two people go and break down the buildings but I leave that to another colleague can you imagine it but that's another story Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker there was a particular gentleman who you know was an operations man in 2016 the campaign against me in Caste South I know him we grew up in the same area and then he eventually went up against me in 2016 but when you looking at the payments over the five years Mr. Speaker sorry in 2021 he went up against me when you see the list of payments Mr. Speaker payments if I read it out to you they are months of money that was paid to that individual Mr. Speaker but they tell me don't really call names because you never know where it will head Mr. Speaker how is it an individual who has been prepped to go up against me can be paid so much money so much money under CDP and some of those projects I am told never even happen the kind of fees that were paid Mr. Speaker if I call them out to you a lot of them in Caste South is too a lot of them in Caste South is Mr. Speaker a million dollars paid out in consulting fees and supervision fees Mr. Speaker but we have the figures we have the figures Mr. Speaker and we have the project number project numbers and project there are no project for project number Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker DSH the Royal Sentient Tooth Club for the first horse race and the Government of St. Lucia now this one is really really ticklish Mr. Speaker the Government of St. Lucia signed a three year contract with the Royal Tooth Club as a sponsor 2019 2020 and 2021 for the first horse race in exchange in exchange I have a couple of agreements with anybody disputed I can make it a document at their house exchange for the sponsorship where St. Lucia will get St. Lucia name on all things promotional items for the Royal Tooth Club race now this race is not broadcast internationally it's not like CPL where millions is like boxing in paradise Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker you know how much we paid for that race to sponsor it 800,000 US almost 2 million EC dollars as a sponsor race in 2019 just for the Government of St. Lucia just for St. Lucia to be named as a sponsor of that race I can make it a document at the house if you say no you must send another point of order and request it so I'm told just think about that 800,000 US 2 million dollars for St. Lucia to be a sponsor of the event 2 million dollars 800,000 US is about 2 million 2.1 for St. Lucia name to be on the name and the promotional and in exchange and as a good part to get 120 VIP tickets and 500 regular tickets we pay 2 million dollars is 2.1 million EC 2.1 million EC and you tell me even if there was no corruption even if no one got kickbacks even if no one got any bribe how do you make a decision like that using the taxpayers' money somebody has to account for that Mr. Speaker just another little decision and I can go on and on Mr. Speaker when a Prime Minister decides to travel to London and he rents a hotel room that costs 2,000 pounds a night if you doubt it and rise on a point of order with government now we have the documents now listen to this I don't have a problem if anybody is sitting in a hotel that costs 2,000 pounds if it's your money or if your host is paying but when you taking the taxpayers' money you taking the taxpayers' money to pay the hotel room I mean in London I live in cheap accommodation so you know I would not exactly encourage you to stay in cheap accommodation as a Prime Minister I would be very disappointed if my Prime Minister stay in a 50 pound a night Airbnb and say he represent in my country he might do it but Mr. Speaker 2,000 pounds a night 2,000 pounds a night and you proud of this 2,000 pounds a night with taxpayers' money I can go on and give you more details because he was not alone Mr. Speaker but you know it was Mr. Speaker so Mr. Speaker I just want us to understand and the general point I am trying to make Mr. Speaker is that the member of the Ministry you have 15 minutes left I wronged that Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker so Mr. Speaker my point that's why London was company yes you follow my point Mr. Speaker is that in this bill we focus a lot on corrupt conduct where we believe an unfair advantage was gotten somebody was helped and he got an unfair advantage I am looking at it beyond this Mr. Speaker beyond this I am thinking Mr. Speaker that this bill should allow us to cause people who took decisions that affected this country to explain to us or explain why they took those decisions Mr. Speaker we all know about the DSH agreement and I am not going to speak bad about DSH or anything of that nature Mr. Speaker but how is it that under Dr. Hansen and the member from Viewfort South for almost two years we are negotiating trying to come up with an agreement that's in the best interest of St. Lucia just think about it there is back and forth in emails exchange of documents and then you become a prime minister and within two weeks of becoming a prime minister you will sign an agreement and the member from Switzerland is not there but he also signed can you explain to St. Lucia what it is that motivated you to sign such a terrible agreement explain that to me how can this bill be used for you to stand up before the people of St. Lucia and provide justification for your actions how because that agreement no sane person should ever sign it how did you sign it are you sane and then you ask that I be charged because I didn't give a document I did not give a document Mr. Speaker I am not sure what you mean by luxury if the member is saying anything objection to you can rise on a point of order standing order 44 if you don't rise you are accepting what he is saying so I don't know about the latitude no but if the member from Miko's south wants me to give more glaring and graphic details about his conduct I can do so I am trying to keep it decent in the house but I can say a lot of things about your conduct as a prime minister but I will not go down that road we are different so Mr. Speaker I believe if you sign such an agreement you have to be able to explain the thinking and the justification for it you have to be able to how can the NIC wanting to buy the cardboard lands they went to assess it they took a decision to buy it to be the heritage of St. Lucia to be part of their portfolio of assets and then they have been instructed not to buy it but give the loan to somebody else to buy it instead and I'm not even saying there was any corrupt action just explain to the people of St. Lucia how you came to make such a decision it's not a natural decision just think it through that the NIC is about to buy those lands for the people of St. Lucia they are told don't buy it give somebody else the money to buy it for themselves instead does that make sense is that logical is that sensible but how can the people of St. Lucia not ask and this is not a paper a document that earnestly let it not give customs to have asked the Met Police the Justice Department to get involved because I didn't give a document that's not what this is this is tens of millions of dollars that has been lost and I mean and the Prime Minister always says to us if the developer comes to invest and he get a boar he get a boar you can't blame him for that you can't blame the developer because he sits across the table and the Prime Minister says I give you whatever you want you can't blame the developer for taking it that's you know there's a lot of truth in that so I have no beef to say with them I have the beef with the person who made the decision and that's where I have a difficulty that's where I have a difficulty and when you ask people do you want to live in a ghetto if you fought all your life or do you want to be in the pool of the Caribbean and then you're going to bill how many islands I mean explain that to St. Lucia for me this bill has to be able to call cause people to come in and explain to the country why certain decisions were made and I'm only touching some of the cases I know other colleagues will raise other matters that's just some of them and I really want Mr. Speaker for you to put that against what I went through the tarnishing of my reputation that what I had to sustain over many years but then you can proceed to take this country for granted give away tens of millions of dollars as if nothing mattered and believe you can just go away sports freak it cannot be right Mr. Speaker and I'm glad we're doing this bill because I don't want a member to go through what I went through but we're not like that on this side we're not despite all the urges from across St. Lucia to do something decisive we've chosen to do it the right way and the bill provides for the appointment of the special prosecutor not to be determined by cabinet not by the prime minister not by the AG but by an appropriate authority independent authority that will choose the special prosecutor and one is chosen and you are referred to it if you are referred and I hope you are referred you cannot say it is a political appointment that's there it will not be a political appointment it will not be so I certainly look forward in this regard to have an independent entity Mr. Speaker with the investigators and the staffing that can go and search for documents because what I went through again to find out out of the blues that the med police is investigating me shattering my innocence in many ways I never thought an individual could get so low but that's your nature Mr. Speaker that's his nature Mr. Speaker this bill Mr. Speaker I'm happy will take away this politicization Mr. Speaker so Mr. Speaker as I end Mr. Speaker I want to express my support for this bill I have been waiting for it for a long time because I know what I went through I know some notions want accountability but I didn't want others to go through what I went through where one person can be so vindictive so narcissistic is that the right word Mr. Speaker I want to destroy somebody just to make a point it's wrong Mr. Speaker it's morally wrong but some people have no moral compass Mr. Speaker it is ethically wrong Mr. Speaker and we've sought to do it the right way and this is the right way I'm not a lawyer I cannot comment on all the legalities of the bill but the spirit of the bill touches me it touches me whenever reports are made and investigations start I feel comforted that they will not go through what I went through thank you very much Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker can I move a motion that the House be suspended for 45 minutes Mr. Speaker I want to remember the question is that this House will be suspended for 45 minutes and I'll put the question as many as of that opinion as many as of a country opinion say no I have it I have it sitting suspended Mr. Speaker we are in prison that's the head of the government that's Honourable Honesty we are finished with the presentation of the situation himself and the country they want to be in opposition with the bill that's the law that the government has passed that affects as much as they can with this proposal each side has the same spirit with what they have done it's recommended for 45 minutes after that we are going to be in prison that's what the government has done it's recommended for 5 minutes after that we are going to be in prison and we are going to be in prison yes, in the afternoon session the member for Souffre French Jack Chainedet the UNIPAC organization or group, a group that is associated with the past administration for attempting to tarnish her reputation and reminded members of the sterling service that she has given to St. Lucia, the region and the wider world. The member for Denry Salth spoke to the fact that from the very beginning of this administration, this bill, this special prosecutor's bill was spoken of by the acting governor general in his throne speech. We also heard from the, he also spoke, the member for Denry Salth indicating that the peer administration has always spoken of zero tolerance towards corruption. Also speaking to the bill, the member for Miku North was of the impression, says that that is that perception that all politicians are corrupt and special, the special prosecutor's bill will correct this perception. We also heard from the member from Babono and we ended up before the break by listening to the member for Denry Salth and the leader of government business who spoke to the politicization of public accountability and went on in a blistering attack on the leader of the opposition and former prime minister on what he termed what I would say it was a litany of irresponsible spending by the last administration. We are taking a break for 45 minutes and we'll be back here at the St. Lucia House of Assembly. That's why you have anything to add? I can't look at the final result. I can't, Winston do, I can't give away and two months, I say I want six minutes I want five minutes I want five minutes I want four minutes I want four minutes I want to see it I want to see it I want to see the concept of government I want to see exactly what is going to happen I want to see what is going to happen. But that means that we are taking on new responsibilities and you must take on these new responsibilities because you are the men and women of tomorrow. Those who will be taking, probably standing in the position in which