 Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as many eagerly await the announcement of our second calling for the application for our MSME loan grant facility, I wish to present a brief but timely update to the Parliament of Centrucia about our flagship project. As you all know, the MSME loan grant facility is an EC $10 million facility aimed at providing post COVID-19 relief to registered businesses. It is a combination of 40% loan and 70% grant funding at an attractive interest rate of 3% with no collateral requirements. Since the program's launch on March 16, 2023, we've witnessed an influx of new business registrations, a marked increase in the number of signups for our online business training sessions, and various attempts by business owners to formalize their operations. We applaud this attitudinal shift in the right direction. Remaining through to its intention, the MSME loan grant facility continues to inspire prospective entrepreneurs and change lives. Only last month, I along with a technical team from the Ministry of Commerce visited some of our successful applicants. They were selected at random to ensure proof of concept. Most of these applicants were able to provide us with tangible evidence of the injection of funds being used as intended to purchase new equipment, augment stock, or improve their business premises. All aimed at building capacity, optimizing efficiency, and expanding the market-rich and consumer-based. We are proud to report that out of the 514 applications received, all have been reviewed by the dedicated members of our Evaluation Committee. I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank them for their contribution to nation building. Up to January 31, 2024, some 3,384,266 loan and grant funding was approved. Of this amount, 2.8 million has been disbursed. This represents a total of 193 loan grants approved and 172 disbursed. As of yesterday, February 12, 333 of the 514 applications submitted were approved for funding. An approval rate of 65 percent. 112 applications were not approved, which is a denial rate of 22 percent. 61 applications were deferred on account of missing information. And seven applications are pending credit checks. Our team at the Small Business Development Center is in the process of following up with clients to ensure all outstanding documentation is submitted. We want to inform the general public that we are currently collaborating with the OAS to assist potential applicants in preparing the business plans for the second call. Additionally, for those who applied but were unsuccessful in the first call, we want to ensure that to ensure you that all is not lost. There would be an opportunity for you to make a revised submission under the second call. Mr. Speaker, as such, I am pleased to announce that the open date for the second calling for the MSME loan grant facility will be the 2nd of April, 2024. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the Minister for Commerce charged with the responsibility for supplying the nation with certain essential staples, bulk rice, flour and sugar. I wish to draw attention to what has so far been a vaccine issue for many. In an effort to maintain transparency, I would like to dispel the recent misinformation circulating in the public domain and provide a clear and comprehensive update concerning the availability of sugar on island. Mr. Speaker, not only will I provide insight into the procurement process, but I will also explain the relevant timelines and the supply chain disruptions experience. This, I believe, will allow for a better understanding of the challenges that we face. Mr. Speaker, to meet the annual demands of our consumers, the Ministry of Commerce secured a contract with a Guyana supplier to supply St. Lucia with 80,000 bags of 4,000 metric tons of brown sugar. Mr. Speaker, the following points are worth noting. Several discussions were held with company executives as they were a few challenges and timelines of supplies in the past. Mr. Speaker, St. Lucia is a signatory to the curriculum single market economy, the CSME, and given our commitment to the objectives of the regional integration and intra-curriculum trade as exposed by the CSME, Guyana as a regional supplier was again contracted with effect from 1 November 2023. Contracts with suppliers are for a 12-month period. As early as November the 2nd, 2023, prompted by my own contingency planning concerns, within my ministry, I wrote a letter to the curriculum secretariat. I indicated as a matter of good governance and prudent procedural procurement practice that it is preferred and recommended that sugar required by St. Lucia during any procurement cycle not be dependent upon one single source. Consequently, given the assurances provided to supply the required quantum of demand, the Guyana based company was selected as St. Lucia's sole supplier of brown sugar for a period of one year. Given these circumstances and in the event that the supplier was unable to consistently meet our demand for the commodity on the contract, as has been the case in previous years, we felt it necessary to request from the curriculum secretariat a suspension of curriculum external tariff to import sugar from outside the curriculum region. Less than one month from the start date of the contract on November 29th, 2023, the Ministry of Commerce was informed by our supply of sugar from Guyana of its inability to meet our usual demands for the commodity due to poor crop quality and recommended assistance from a neighboring island, one of its customers, to supply St. Lucia with 3,000 bags of sugar with the assurance that specialists were assessing the situation and should there be any change, six containers will be shipped to us immediately. Mr. Speaker, initially the Ministry of Commerce was informed that the shipment would not be possible due to the unavailability of 20-foot containers. After the containers were secured by the Ministry of Commerce from a local shipping company, the reason shifted to unfavorable weather patterns which the company claimed to have adversely affected the sugar cane yield and quality. In a prompt response issued that same day, my ministry expresses disappointment despite several discussions with the team at the ministry and various company executives who assured the ministry that the company had the capacity to deliver the stipulated quantities on time. The permanent secretary also made it clear that this supplemental quantity of 3,000 bags would fall well below our usual monthly consumption of 4,500 bags of brown sugar and for December that consumption is 5,000 bags. Mr. Speaker, our monthly request was forwarded to the supplier for approximately 5,000 bags of brown sugar per month. For the three months November 2023 to January 2024, the Ministry of Commerce have received only 5,000 bags of sugar from the supplier which is one food of our contractual obligation. Mr. Speaker, it's important to highlight that the tendering process issuance of annual contracts to supply those large volumes has existed for many years and is a means of securing the best price for our consumers. Mr. Speaker, I wish to assure the general public that while the detractors were up to the usual mischief, we at the Ministry of Commerce were exploring every feasible option to bring sugar to our shores. It included the approval to procure sugar by direct awards from another supplier for the next six months which was approved without delay by the Honourable Prime Minister and the Minister for Finance and the Central Public Procurement Board to quickly bring a solution to the problem. As a result, the Ministry was able to receive four containers in January which is about 2,000 bags and an additional eight containers were received last week, 4,000 bags. Today we are in the process of clearing another 10 containers which is 5,000 bags, 5,000 bags of brown sugar as well as five, sorry, five containers of brown sugar and five containers of white sugar. An additional three containers which is 1,500 bags are expected to arrive this evening and another six containers which is 3,000 bags next week. From January 2024 to the shipment day due next week, Mr. Speaker, that is a total of 15,500 bags of sugar, 13,000 bags of brown sugar and 2,500 bags of white sugar. Mr. Speaker, the Ministry of Commerce as part of addressing these issues have met with the manufacturing sector who consume large amounts of the white sugar as part of the manufacturing process and we have agreed and given them permission to order the sugar directly. Also we are making a request to CARICOM for suspension of the CET to allow Sinclutia to order sugar from outside the CARICOM region. I want to note Mr. Speaker, I want the public to note that this process may result in government having to pay a lot more for sugar. Mr. Speaker, I take this opportunity to assure the general public that the Ministry of Commerce has been working tirelessly to eliminate the delays and meet the demands of sugar and by extension all commodities supplied by the government supply warehouse. I take this opportunity to thank our partners, the distributors, wholesalers and retailers who assisted with even with the distribution of the limited supply over the past few months. I would like to thank my team at the Ministry especially the staff of the supply warehouse who had to handle huge quantities in less time to satisfy the urgent demands. Last but not least I would like to thank our valued customers for their patience and understanding and look forward to continue serving them. I thank you Mr. Speaker.