SPENCER'S WEEKEND ADDRESSES

Prime Minister

Leader, United Progressive Party

Action Agenda

Sunday May 8, 2005

Good Morning, Antigua and Barbuda .

Good Morning, to the Diaspora; with me this morning, via the World Wide Web.

 I extend warm and loving greetings to all the mothers in Antigua and Barbuda , those in the sub region, and those in the wider Caribbean , and around the world.

Today, we all remind Mom, Mommy, and Granny that we love her.

This is their day.

Their children and their grandchildren, their daughters-in-law, and their sons-in-law; all pay tribute to Mother today.

I thank my mother, as I am sure you thank your mom, for teaching me what I needed to know when I was growing up.

I thank my mother for teaching me to love, to trust, to hope, and to cope; as I am sure your mother taught you to do.

I thank my mother, as I am sure you thank yours, for giving me the unshaken belief that no matter what I do, no matter what I do not do, her love for me always lived on.

None but a mother can have that capacity for love, and faith, and trust, and charity.

Every mother in our land deserves our nation’s gratitude.

As the Chief Servant of the people of Antigua and Barbuda , I extend that gratitude to every mother in our nation, and to every mother of our nation.

The mothers of our country are true nation builders.

My mother cleaned the streets of the City of St. John’s while nurturing the son that she had no way of knowing would one day be entrusted with the primary responsibility for running our nation.

She simply did what she thought she had to do, what she alone could do, for this ever-grateful son.

We honour all our nation’s mothers on their special day.

We must also offer comfort to those of our nation’s mothers who might, at this time, be grieving the loss of sons or daughters.

Nothing can exceed a mother’s pain at the loss of a child.

I offer condolences to all mothers who now mourn the loss of children.

We must also comfort those mothers whose children might have followed the wrong examples into wayward ways.

When that happens, a mother’s shame and sorrow in such circumstances is the cause of intense pain.

I am aware, as you are that life is a bleak proposition for many mothers.

Many mothers, some of them children themselves, are forced to be father as well as mother to children whose deadbeat fathers provide neither love, comfort, nor financial support for their children.

Tragically, too large a number of women in our society, including very young mothers, are trapped in hardship as heads of single parent households.

This is an increasingly serious problem in our country.

In response to such concerns, the government has introduced a number of measures to ease the economic squeeze on parents who have trouble making ends meet.

The free school uniform programme is one such measure.

The nutritious school meals programme, which we will introduce later this year, is another measure to take some pressure off parents with limited means.

In the same vein, the Government has slashed the consumption tax on well over thirty separate staple food items.

The Christmas Dollar Barrels was also a means of easing the economic squeeze on the more vulnerable in our society; young mothers and grandmothers included.

We are working on plans for a number of new early childcare education centres that will take some of the pressure off working mothers of infant children.

This will not be a replacement for Granny’s care, where that is available.

Tender, loving care, as only Granny can give, is essential to the physical and emotional development of every child.

Formal education from an early age is essential to the all ‘round development of every child.

Your government continues to look for ways to assist mothers to provide a good foundation for their young children.

The Sunshine Government is committed to providing quality education to all our nation’s children.

More secondary school places and more opportunities for tertiary enrolment is an urgent mission of your government.

There is no discrimination now, there will be no discrimination in the delivery of these benefits to our nation’s children and their parents.

We have delivered them without discriminating between supporters of the political parties.

We will continue to deliver these benefits without any discrimination.

We thank all our nation’s mothers for the labour they all endured in bringing us into this world.

We thank our mothers for the untiring labour they lavished on us on the day of our birth.

To every mother listening to this broadcast, I say “Happy Mother’s Day”.

Fellow Citizens, Residents and Friends of Antigua and Barbuda :

For the first time, this nation celebrates Mothers’ Day and Labour Day on consecutive days.

Tomorrow, Labour Day, a new milestone will be carved in our nation’s history.

For the first time, a woman, as Minister of Labour, will address our Labour Day Parade.

Minister Jacqui Quinn-Leandro will deliver a feature address at tomorrow’s Trade Union Congress Labour Day Parade.

The TUC Labour Day march is in honour of, and in tribute to, the nation’s working class.

Sadly, one of the country’s major trade unions will be out of the Trade Union Congress Labour Day celebration.

That union has chosen to define its purpose to be narrowly confined to championing the members of a particular political party, rather than to be supportive of all the workers it is supposed to represent.

This is unfortunate.

Indeed, this is a betrayal of every worker paying dues to that union who might hold  political loyalties different from those of the leadership of the union and the political party to whose political purpose the union leaders has pledged unconditional support.

This division, this separation of the working class, this betrayal of union members, does not serve our country well.

The only purpose it serves is to make all of its dues-paying members' political pawns.

Sadly, the essential purpose that such shortsightedness in trade union leadership serves is the perpetuation of a cult dedicated to the designs of its leader, who is fixated on his personal political reincarnation.

The Sunshine Government does not have the prerogative to even contemplate, far less contribute, to division of the nation’s workers into separate groups wearing the colours blue and red.

Leadership that is sensitive to what is required of true patriots would never countenance the manipulation of workers in such a fashion.

In my many years as an active trade unionist, the colours red or blue did not dictate the service I rendered to my union’s membership.

I was there to serve the interest of all of my union’s members.

That was always paramount.

There was never any confusion in my mind about that.

My service to the labour movement was not influenced by selective concerns about which particular political parties my union members supported.

Now, more than ever, the impact of globalisation calls for solidarity in the trade union movement.

This is not a formula only for Antigua and Barbuda .

The reality is that globalisation has taken a brutal toll on trade unions and their membership around the globe.

We have seen evidence that union leader hostility directed at other unions and at the government, can translate into hostility directed at investors.

I sincerely trust that anti-union attitudes from trade union leaders will be replaced by enlightened representation that understands that labour solidarity has benefits for all workers.

It would be a great blessing if all our trade union leaders could be granted the enlightenment that will burst the chains of political myopia in which they have imprisoned themselves.

They would then understand that now is no time to divide the workers of any nation into separate political camps.

All sensible and responsible trade union leaders would recognise the pressing need for solidarity in the trade union movement in the face of the forces of globalisation that are decimating the trade union movement the world over.

That is precisely where the Antigua and Barbuda Trade Union Congress comes in.

On this Mothers Day, on the eve of our unique Labour Day, I salute the TUC.

I again confirm the government’s support for the Trades Union Congress.

That support includes funding for the operation of the administrative facilities for the Congress.

The Sunshine Government’s support for our trade union movement is underlined in the assignment of the Labour portfolio to Minister Quinn-Leandro.

Minister Leandro has brought manifest sensitivity and caring to the Labour Ministry.

Minister Leandro will be working under the Empowerment portfolio in her Ministry in coordinating recruitment of an estimated 1,000 jobs by Christmas.

As is quite obvious, the Sunshine Government has the welfare of nation’s workforce at heart.

I also salute all of the nation’s workers.

I take this opportunity to reaffirm the Sunshine Government’s unwavering commitment to rapid reconstruction of our country’s economy.

The generation of new jobs is central to our reconstruction strategies.

This is a key consideration in the government’s public sector investment programme.

It is also fundamental to our investment promotion strategies.

Legislation for the establishment of the Antigua and Barbuda Investment Authority and for the enactment of a transparent Investment Code is to be introduced shortly.

The  Antigua and Barbuda Investment Authority and the Investment Code will be key instruments in eliminating the under the counter dealing, and the kickbacks to government officials that were so long, and so deeply and disastrously embedded in the investment approvals process in this country.

In relation to all of this, I travel to Barbados and St. Kitts next week to address the Chambers of Industry and Commerce on the options for venture partnerships with our private sector.

Week before the last, I delivered the keynote address at an OAS conference in Jamaica on governance in the English speaking Caribbean .

My office is arranging to present that address to you on a coming edition of Action Agenda.

Tomorrow, I travel to Trinidad to attend a CARICOM meeting on Crime and Regional Security, in my capacity as the current Chairman of the Regional Security System.

Narcotics trafficking and the threat of international terrorism are serious, and increasing, and will be priority items on our agenda.

Internal threats to security here in Antigua and Barbuda , might well put us in the position of having to rely on the capabilities of the Regional Security System.

Until I talk with you again, be vigilant.

May God bless you and your loved ones especially the mothers

May God bless our nation.

PRIME MINISTER

THE HON. BALDWIN SPENCER

ACTION AGENDA

WEEKLY RADIO BROADCAST

SEPTEMBER 19, 2004

Good morning Antigua and Barbuda .

Good morning to the rest of the world who are with us on the Internet.

This coming Thursday, September 23^rd, will mark the completion of the United Progressive Party’s first six months of our first term in government.

Quite naturally, this is an occasion for reflection and review; for refocusing and for realigning priorities.

Hawksbill Beach Resort proved to be an appropriate setting for those endeavors.

Hawksbill is located on a unique setting that embraces four beaches of stunning beauty.

The site for the two-day Cabinet Retreat is past Five Islands Village , which is in St. John’s Rural West, the constituency I have had the privilege of representing for more than 15 years.

The exuberant friendliness of the Management and staff at Hawksbill, their enthusiasm and their helpfulness were unbeatable.

Many of the employees at Hawksbill are my constituents, and my friends.

Understandably, I felt very much at home at Hawksbill.

The staff and the cuisine are totally local, with home grown produce dominating the menu.

Hawksbill General Manager Richard Michelin is a CARICOM national. 

His top managerial staff are all local; Arlene Marsh – Front of House Manager at Hawksbill; Devon Charles – Junior Assistant Manager and Brian Joseph – Executive Chef; did everything necessary to make the Cabinet group comfortable.

I want Peter Ramrattan, the Caribbean Coordinator for the Rex group which now owns Hawksbill, to know that he has a top flight team at this resort.

Thank you Peter and congratulations. 

Thank you too, for your group’s generosity in hosting the Cabinet over two productive days.

We are told that host attitude is as important as any component in any tourism or hospitality product.

If staff attitude at Hawksbill is reflective throughout our hotel sector, Antigua and Barbuda must certainly be poised for a quantum leap to becoming the best brand in Caribbean tourism.

There are encouraging signs that we may already have started on the way to that goal.

Antigua and Barbuda ’s tourism performance for the first six months of 2004 shows robust growth over the same period of 2003.

Members of the Commonwealth Review Team were invited to meet with the Cabinet team during the retreat at Hawksbill Resort.

A wind of change is blowing over Antigua and Barbuda .

The Barbudan people appear to be positive about relations between Barbuda and Antigua .

When an earlier Commonwealth Review Team visited Barbuda in 2000, its members had met a community talking of secession.  Now Barbudans are pleased with relations between our two islands.

These were the preliminary findings that the Commonwealth Review Team shared with members of the government on Friday:

In less than six months, the United Progressive Party Government has already made a decisive difference in relations between Barbuda and Antigua .

And we’ve only just begun.

Within our first six months, the United Progressive Party has made a decisive difference not only in the judgment of the Commonwealth Team reviewing relations between the central government and Barbuda .  We have already made a decisive difference in how the world perceives Antigua and Barbuda .

Antigua and Barbuda is no longer a pariah state in the eyes of the world.

Sons and daughters of Antigua and Barbuda all over the world now stand taller and now walk more proudly.

Last November, while still leader of the Opposition, I predicted that this would be the case. 

That was when I first put forward the idea that Antigua and Barbuda would be hosting a bumper Homecoming party for Independence 2004.

From all reports, we will indeed be welcoming home surge of Antiguans and Barbudans next month.

Over the years, vast numbers of Antiguans and Barbudans went into voluntary exile in the USA and Canada and in other countries. 

They were fleeing a spiteful regime that held bright young Antiguans and Barbudans to be 1“nuff and edge-up.” 

Our bright minds fled to other lands.

I want those citizens in exile to come back to help in building a new Antigua and Barbuda .

Those who come for the Independence Homecoming Festival will recognize that more than a wind of change has blown over Antigua and Barbuda .

The change is profound.

It will be enduring.

To build a new nation, we must involve all in our nation.

We must leave out no one.

We must leave no one behind.

I was reminded of this by the expressions of disappointment that have come to my attention from ALP supporters contending that they feel excluded from the planned Homecoming Independence Celebrations.

My understanding is that ALP supporters see the Independence Homecoming Logo as a representation of the UPP symbol of energy, life and rebirth: the Sun.

I regret the misunderstanding of this representation of the Sun that adorns the Antigua and Barbuda flag in the Homecoming Independence graphics.

It should never be felt and it will never be our intention that the UPP will have a monopoly on the elements of our country’s flag.

I am confident that the organizers of the Independence Homecoming Festival will make any adjustments necessary to affirm and ensure that there is none and never will be any intention to exclude any section of the society from what is, essentially, an effort to bring our nation together.

It makes no sense for any government to ever again attempt to marginalize any section of the society from the ever ongoing task of building our nation.

It makes no sense for any government of this small nation to deny itself access to all of its human capital.

I genuinely believe that the time has come when Antigua and Barbuda must say to the world that we are One Family!

We don’t all have to be loyal to any one political party.

We should all say to the world that we are One Family. 

This declaration is what all in Antigua and  Barbuda must extend across all sections and all strata of our society.

Immigrant citizens, as well as native, ALP as well as UPP, all the permutations in between; must recognize that once we dwell on these two islands, we are members of “ONE FAMILY.”

There simply is no other option.

I will be taking such a message to the United Nations when I address the General Assembly on Friday.

I will remind the United Nations of the core belief of its Millennium Declaration.

The Millennium Declaration recognizes a responsibility to ensure equity among all nations; all peoples of the world, as members of one family, the family of man.  I say this with due sensitivities to gender.

In my address to the United Nation’s General Assembly on Friday, I will call for special measures to level the playing field in trade among nations.

I will call for the United Nations’ stated commitments to these goals to be translated into affirmative, effective and urgent action.

On Wednesday evening, I will address the Caribbean Caucus of the United States Congress.

This will be an opportunity to report on the dramatic advance in good governance now taking place in Antigua and Barbuda .

I will also enlist the support of the Caribbean Caucus in sourcing and supporting Antigua and Barbuda ’s pressing need to rapidly advance this country’s capacities in and utilization of information technology as a catalyst to human development, efficient government and economic growth.

While in the United States , I will meet with Antigua and Barbuda nationals in New York , Washington and Florida .

I will also meet with nationals in a visit to Canada .

My message to all of these groups will be to come home and invest their skills and capital in the reconstruction and renewal of our nation.

I will also hold bilateral meetings with a number of leaders and heads of delegations including  UN Secretary-General Kofi Anan, the Prime Minister of India, the President of Cyprus and the German Vice Chancellor.

Our six-month old government has a very positive story to tell and I will share them with the world.

Our success in stabilizing and even turning around the economy is impressive, and incontrovertible.

Our Tourism performance for the first half of 2004 is significantly better than that of the same period last year.

Arrivals were up 15.35 % in the first six months of 2004 over the corresponding period last year.

 Our fiscal measures to rescue Antigua and Barbuda from economic chaos are already producing telling results.

We are reducing expenditure.

We are meeting our revenue targets.

We have cut duty waivers.

We have to carry the debt burden of billions of dollars left by the previous administration for a long time.

Though created by ALP extravagance, incompetence and malfeasance; the central debt is everybody’s problem: UPP as well as ALP.

In this one isolated instance, the ALP did not discriminate.

The misery index that was our predecessor’s legacy is an enduring blight on every citizen.

To mobilize economic momentum; to bring down the debt and give the Antiguan and Barbudan people a good shot at increased prosperity, we have no option but to work together; UPP, ALP, Native Born and immigrant; employer as well as worker – As One Family.

I am Baldwin Spencer.

I am happy that you joined me today.

Until next week, same time, same station.

May God bless you and your families.

May God bless every member of the Antigua and Barbuda family.

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