Prime Minister The Honourable Baldwin Spencer

Feature Address

Barbados Chamber of Commerce & Industry

179th Annual General Meeting

on

Wednesday May 18, 2005  

at

Accra Beach Resort, Rockley, Barbados

• President of the Barbados

• Chamber of Commerce and Industry,  Mr. Mark Thompson;

• Members of the Executive of the Chamber;
• Business Leaders;
• West Indian Brothers and Sisters:

This opportunity to meet with the key players in commerce and industry in Barbados is a very special pleasure for me.  I propose to share some thoughts with you on governance and on options for profitable investment in Antigua and Barbuda for Barbadian entrepreneurs.

Barbados is already fully CSME compliant, so I do not propose to examine the protocols of the CSME.

I must first thank the Executive of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the excellent arrangements that are in place for my visit.

I am particularly delighted at the Chamber’s choice of accommodation for me and my party, and at the choice of location for this event.

Accra Beach is deservedly world renowned.

There could hardly be a more conducive environment for striking up relationships and initiating alliances.

I should stress that I say this strictly in the business context.

I thought I should insert that caveat with the recognition that Accra Beach is a legendary Mecca for honeymooners.

I also recognise that I should leave no room for ambiguity since honeymoons need not only be post-nuptial.

They can also be pre-nuptial, and extra-nuptial, as well. 

For the record, my honeymoon preference happened to be traditional, post-nuptial.

Anyhow, starting with Accra, I have to congratulate Barbados on having possibly the finest beaches in the Caribbean… outside of Antigua and Barbuda.

It’s not only the character of Antigua’s beaches, and Barbuda’s beaches, it’s also the number of beaches that encircle our two islands.

At last count, we had 365 of them.

That could represent a separate beach option for every investor in this room.

Most of those beaches are still pristine.

They offer a selection of prime beachfront property at what is generally regarded as the most attractive real estate portfolio available anywhere for resort development.

Next, ladies and gentlemen, I thank the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the invitation to address this 179th Annual General Meeting.

I doubt that there are many business organisations, of any category, in this part of the world that can boast a beginning in the first quarter of the nineteenth century.

When a 179-year old is as vibrant as the Barbados Chamber, it is something to be applauded.

As the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry approaches a double century, every anniversary of this institution should be celebrated.

I salute the Chamber on its first 179 years.

During those 179 years, the Chamber would have cradled, and would have outlived, many member companies.

Over that period, the Chamber would have cradled an impressive pantheon of Barbadian business titans.

The Chamber would, in relatively recent times, have been a business laboratory for a new cadre of Bajan entrepreneurs.

I make bold to say that the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry richly merits recognition beyond that of “leading trade association” to being – without qualification - one of Barbados’ principal institutions.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

My administration, as you know, is still in its infancy.

The regime the United Progressive Party displaced on March 23, last year had ruled Antigua and Barbuda for twenty-eight unbroken years.

That party had, in fact, held power for fully half a century; interrupted only briefly for a single five year term, from 1971 to 1976.

A group that long embedded in power can transform itself into a tenacious creature, gripping key entities and key institutions in vise-like talons.

My Government came to office confronted by an economy in crisis, and a central government debt approaching EC$3 Billion.

With virtually all vital credit lines suspended; and with a ponderous public service inflated with as many non-established political appointees as there are established public servants, the challenges were daunting.

At the commencement of my administration, Prime Minister Arthur pledged the support and assistance of the Barbados government.

Indeed, such is the relationship between our two governments, that when I was one month in office, the Acting Prime Minister of Barbados – with whom I had the pleasure of meeting this morning - was the principal speaker at the first Retreat of my Cabinet.

I am delighted, now, at the possibility of interventions by our respective private sectors that can broaden, deepen and strengthen the bonds between Barbados and Antigua and Barbuda. 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Permit me, at this point, to introduce my compatriots who have accompanied me to Barbados:

The Honourable Trevor Walker is the Member of Parliament for Barbuda and Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister.

Minister Walker is the first MP for Barbuda to be in the Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda.

Minister Walker’s appointment underscores the new culture that the United Progressive Party, the UPP, has brought to governance in Antigua and Barbuda.

Inclusion is a bedrock principle of that culture of governance.

Prior to the change of government in Antigua and Barbuda last year, Barbuda, and Barbudans, had been marginalised and alienated from the central government.

Astonishingly, Barbuda had been denied such basic amenities as a pipe-borne water system and surfaced roads.

Now, Barbudans have potable water running from the taps; and the island’s roads are being surfaced.

Most importantly, Antigua and Barbuda is now a more united nation.

Minister Walker can be said to be parliamentary custodian of perhaps the only remaining truly pristine Caribbean Shangri-La, Barbuda.

Developers in this gathering may want to chat with Minister Walker about doing business in Barbuda; since that island enjoys a considerable amount of autonomy from the central government.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Sir Eustace Francis is one of Antigua and Barbuda’s prime movers and shakers.

He is generally regarded as the Statesman Emeritus of the business sector in Antigua and Barbuda and served as President of your sister organization for almost ten years.

Though his hands may no longer be officially on the tiller, Sir Eustace still helps to shape the course of the ABI Financial Group.

ABI is Antigua and Barbuda’s’ largest home-grown integrated financial services enterprise.

ABI is a significant player in resorts operations; with something like 400 rooms on the market at Jolly Beach.

If my information is correct, a project currently engaging the attention of Sir Eustace and his associates can come close to doubling that room count.

With operations in Brazil and in the United States, ABI is a unique Antiguan corporate citizen that acts local and thinks regional and global.

I am sure many of you will want to talk with Sir Eustace about possible business alliances in Antigua.

Sir Eustace Francis’ influence extends beyond business boundaries.

He is Deputy Governor General of Antigua and Barbuda.

He was so designated by the Governor General; not by the Prime Minister.

Where Sir Eustace Francis has been designated by the Prime Minister is in the position of Chairman of the National Economic and Social Council.

The National Economic and Social Council is a key cornerstone of the participatory democracy to which my administration has pledged commitment.

As you may be aware, fourteen months ago, my administration was elected on the promise of “Government in the Sunshine”.

Our watchwords were, and always will be, Transparency, Accountability, Integrity, and Inclusion.

The National Economic and Social Council is a key initiative for translating those ideals into reality.

The National Economic and Social Council was established by Act of Parliament.

Membership of the Council is drawn from all units of the social partners; from all elements of civil society, generally.

The assigned role of the National Economic and Social Council is multi-faceted.

The Council is intended to influence government’s perspectives on economic policy and social development.

The Council ensures transparency and enables stakeholder participation in the formulation of significant development policies.

Through the National Economic and Social Council, the Government will seek to build national consensus on critical issues affecting the population.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

In our fourteen months in office, my administration has broken decisively with the past practices that had long clouded Antigua and Barbuda’s standing in the region and in the international investment community.

Since last March, we have initiated legislative and institutional measures that distinguish Antigua and Barbuda among all developing countries; and indeed among developed countries.

In our seventh month in office, in one-day sittings of the House of Representatives and the Senate, respectively, my Government enacted a landmark trilogy of integrity and transparency legislation.

The Integrity in Public Life Act, the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Freedom of Information Act comprise a unique trilogy for ethics, integrity and transparency in public affairs and citizen empowerment that has been lauded internationally.

This regime of legislation was not prompted by any external factor; not the public, not the press; not political opponents.

In addition to all of this, we have ended the rigid television and cable monopoly that had served the political purposes and the financial agenda of those who governed Antigua and Barbuda up to last year.

The bottom line to all of this is that investors in Antigua and Barbuda are now not likely to be confronted with upturned palms, waiting to be greased by kickbacks and payoffs for scurrilous public officials.

The Government of Antigua and Barbuda continues its initiatives for a new culture of governance.

Of particular relevance to prospective investors, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda is poised to take a Bill to Parliament for the establishment of the Antigua and Barbuda Investment Authority.

That agency will report directly to the Prime Minister.

Simultaneous with the Antigua and Barbuda Investment Authority Act, the Government will introduce companion legislation in the form of the Antigua and Barbuda Investment Code.

The Antigua and Barbuda Investment Code will establish the conditions for foreign direct investment in this country and to provide for the entitlements and responsibilities of investors.

This legislation will provide the ethical moorings for the Antigua and Barbuda Investment Authority.

Governed by the Investment Act and the Investment Code, the Investment Authority will remove political manipulation from the investment approvals process in Antigua and Barbuda.

The Antigua and Barbuda Investment Authority’s function will be to promote direct investment, local as well as foreign; and CARICOM.

The Authority will coordinate the processes related to investment proposals.

It will assist in expediting official approvals.

It will be under obligation to foster a transparent, ethical, and generally productive and profitable business environment in Antigua and Barbuda.

You might be interested to know, ladies and gentlemen, that a Barbados organisation, Acute Vision, has been commissioned to develop the corporate identity and marketing materials for the Antigua and Barbuda Investment Authority.

Donna and Rickey Redman and their team at Acute are doing fine work for us.

As you can see, Antigua and Barbuda is pioneering the spirit of the CSME.

There are other demonstrations of Antigua’s embrace of the spirit of CSME.

Late last year, Antiguan business interests established Lifestyle Motors in Trinidad.

Barbadian automotive titan, Mr. Kiffin Simpson, made that possible when he awarded the Suzuki dealership to Lifestyle.

My information is that Lifestyle and Suzuki vehicles are dramatically ahead of all expectations, all forecasts.

Antiguan investors are now in the process of establishing a concrete batching plant in, of all places, Trinidad.

That company’s production is already completely committed.

These examples confirm that the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry has made a shrewd reading of the potential for investment and trade opportunities between our two countries.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

All that I have identified defines the new political culture and the new culture of ethics in governance in Antigua and Barbuda.

My Administration considers all of this essential in repudiating past official practices which had brought wide disrepute to Antigua and Barbuda.

In this respect, one of my Administration’s early initiatives was to confront the country’s obligations to its creditors.

Among those creditors are a number of governments, as well as international agencies and CARICOM institutions.

Three months ago, we concluded negotiations for forgiveness of $450 Million of the debt Antigua and Barbuda owed to an OECD country.

By the end of last year, we had succeeded in negotiating debt relief amounting to more than Half a Billion Dollars.

Of some relevance to all of this, Personal Income Tax was resumed in Antigua and Barbuda last month.

I think you will be impressed at the benign structure of our new Personal Income Tax regime.

Our Personal Income Tax structure effectively exempts persons earning up to $3,000 per month from paying income tax, or filing returns.

This is, effectively, a Tax Free Personal Allowance or Personal Exemption of EC$36,000 - or US$13,355 - on Annual Income.

This effective personal allowance is decidedly generous among Caribbean Rim countries.

Indeed, at US$13,355, Antigua and Barbuda’s effective personal allowance - or personal exemption – is generous among all jurisdictions.

With Per Capita Income at US9,300, income earners in this jurisdiction will enjoy effective personal exemptions 37 percent above  per capita income.

With the reintroduction of direct personal Income Tax, we have slashed the consumption tax on a wide range of food staples.

Nothing in our income tax regime will adversely affect Barbadian investors in Antigua and Barbuda.

Our countries are signatories to the double taxation treaty that is common to CARICOM member states.

There is, as well, the fact that with in excess of a dozen flights a day between Barbados and Antigua, a daily business commute is a ready option.

The Government of Antigua and Barbuda welcomes Barbadian investors.

Sir Eustace Francis will confirm that the Antiguan business community also welcomes Barbadian investors.

We welcome investment in tourism, which is experiencing significant growth over last year. 

Infrastructural development, including housing and sewage systems are also welcomed.

We also welcome investment in Financial Services.

This includes international banking, trusts and insurances, International Business Companies, Internet gaming, and the Information and Communications Technology sector.

Incentives include generous tax holidays, import duty exemptions, repatriation of profits, and from exemptions of withholding taxes. 

Investors are entitled to repatriate all capital royalties, dividends, and profits free of all taxes or any other charges on foreign exchange.

There should be no doubt about my Government’s resolve to ensure that the economy of Antigua and Barbuda becomes increasingly vibrant and attractive to investors.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I again thank the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the invitation for me to talk with you today.

You have been generous with your time and your attention.

I thank you for that.

All that remains now is for you to seize the business opportunities that are open in Antigua and Barbuda to Bajan entrepreneurs.

Antigua and Barbuda has long been a land of tremendous opportunity for foreign investors.

Many a millionaire, and even the odd billionaire, have grown their fortunes through investments in Antigua and Barbuda.

The time has come for Barbadian entrepreneurs, and other CARICOM investors, to be part of the action in Antigua and Barbuda.

To this end, I look forward to welcoming many of you to Antigua and Barbuda in the weeks and months to come.

I genuinely believe that the incentives we will offer you as investors will be as good as it gets anywhere.

I promise you that.

May God generously bless you and your loved ones.  May God bless our two nations.