Good Morning Antigua and Barbuda.

Good Morning to the rest of the world, who are with us through the Internet.

It?s been a year since I started this weekly Sunday morning radio talk with Antiguans and Barbudans, and with residents and friends of Antigua and Barbuda, at home and around the world.

The initial title of the programme was "CALL TO ACTION".

As Leader of the Opposition at that time, and up to the 24th of March, this year, I used CALL TO ACTION to mobilise support for the People?s Crusade and the Rescue Mission that the United Progressive Party was leading.

The launch of CALL TO ACTION, a year ago, triggered an immediate and agitated political response from the long embedded regime in a Saturday night series on ABS called "The Weekly Prime Ministerial Radio Address".

On becoming Prime Minister, I made it clear that I had no intention to discontinue this Sunday morning talk with you.

While changing the title of this series to ACTION AGENDA, I emphasized that neither in title nor intention would this broadcast be a "Weekly Prime Ministerial Radio Address".

I continue to engage you in these Sunday Morning talks as the Leader of the governing party, the UPP.

I do not think that my occupancy of the Office of Prime Minister should alter my relationship with the Antiguan and Barbudan people.

That is why I recognize my duty to be your Chief Servant; never shall I be an imperial Prime Minister.

The support of the Antiguan and Barbudan people has propelled me at every stage of my political journey and throughout my enduring mission for social and economic justice.

That support sustains me in the mission that, as Chief Servant of the Antiguan and Barbudan people, I now perform.

Social and economic justice is fundamental to that mission.

Social and economic justice was not been practiced by previous administrations the way they preached it.

Indeed, persistent Opposition attacks against the government are drawing reminders of decades of disenfranchisement of a large section of the population.

Persons who lived through that experience have been reminding the population of the state of the nation and the character of the government of Antigua and Barbuda, prior to the twenty third of March, this year.

No conscious adult would deny that widespread economic disenfranchisement was one of the trademark policies of the Antigua Labour Party Administrations.

You were effectively disenfranchised if you were in political opposition to the Bird regime.

Placements in jobs in the public service, and the allocation of crown land, went to insiders of the then ruling party and to those who genuflected before the party leadership.

This was the key component of a calculated and patent voter padding scheme that spanned a number of elections. The public service was bloated with thousands of excess jobs awarded to handpicked Labour Party supporters, in targeted electoral districts.

The allocation of land as a bribe for votes in key constituencies was an equally pernicious misuse and abuse of office under the defeated dynasty.

Inevitably, the country is confronted with a very high price for the voter padding practices of the Antigua Labour Party.

Against this background, I listened to the President of the Dominican Republic recent Inaugural Address with a sense of déjà vu. President Fernandez was quite specific in his intention to dismantle the political network that his predecessors had imposed on the public purse in the Dominican Republic.

President Fernandez was equally specific about the massive cellular telephone charges his predecessors had been inflicting on his country?s treasury.

As we tackle similar systemic problems in Antigua and Barbuda, ALP apologists have been heard to say, early in this, the United Progressive Party?s first term as government that the mismanagement and misconduct of the Bird regime belong in the past and should be put to rest.

Such a view is disingenuous coming from the ALP, and quite naive coming from others. The country is confronted with continuing problems resulting directly from the mismanagement and misdeeds of the previous government.

We now know that the money the government owes to Social Security is much more than a couple hundreds of millions of dollars. It is closer to Half a Billion Dollars. Half a Billion Dollars! Can any country afford to put illegality of this extent aside?

Should we not call to account every member of the previous government, who all shared collective responsibility for the violations that led to that Half a Billion Dollar debt that government owes Social Security?

We also now know that by some miracle of physics, or by some executive manipulation, crown land that initially formed the Royal Antiguan Hotel property has shrunk dramatically; and inexplicably.

The records to explain this case of the incredible shrinking land owned by Deep Bay Development are not yet to be found.

We have, however, discovered that the Government of Antigua and Barbuda is listed as a debtor to the royal Antiguan Resort to the tune of $1,500,000. Yes, $1,500,000.

We know, too, that a Half a Million Dollars of the $1.5 Million in Government debt seemingly owed to the Royal Antiguan was charged to the Office of the Prime Minister.

To what extent the Half a Million Dollars Royal Antiguan debt charged to the office occupied by my predecessor included expenses for various Antigua Labour Party events, is yet to be determined.

To what extent the Half a Million Dollars Royal Antiguan debt charged to the office occupied by my predecessor included expenses for the ALP team of Trinidadian political consultants for the March elections is also yet to be determined.

Many of you may remember that among the ALP team of Trinidadian consultants was the in-house pollster and campaign advisor who had no compunction in confirming on Observer Radio that he directed the ABS news staff on the content and treatment of the nightly ABS newscasts.

There was no report of any protest coming out of ABS on that public declaration that the nightly news was being doctored by the ALP?s political consultant.

To what extent the Half a Million Dollar Royal Antiguan debt charged to the office occupied by my predecessor included expenses for the then resident "Spin Doctor" and de facto ABS News Director during the last election campaign is yet to be determined.

Now, can any rational person tell me how Antigua and Barbuda could possibly benefit from being induced into a state of national amnesia about these things?

To forget our recent past and the causes of so many of our current problems would be to sentence Antigua and Barbuda to certain repeat of those mistakes.

We may never recover all the files, all the records, which have been spirited out of the Office of the Prime Minister and other Government offices.

We may never recover all the files, all the records, which may have been spirited out of state owned companies like Deep Bay Development.

We may never recover all the files, all the records, which may have been spirited out of state entities like CHAPA and various statutory authorities.

The government?s search for the Deep Bay Development records, has led the Attorney General to a search for the records of Antigua Isle Company Limited.

As with Deep Bay Development, former members of Cabinet were Directors of Antigua Isle Company Limited.

Antigua Isle is the registered proprietor of extensive and substantial property in the Halcyon area.

There is some concern that as with Deep Bay Development, there might be another case of incredible shrinking land with Antigua Isle property.

In last week's ACTION AGENDA, I remarked that Opposition agitation over the sale of the Royal Antiguan was prompted by fear of what investigation of the history of Deep Bay Development would reveal.

And revealed it did. A loan for EC $171, 781, 000.12 ?twenty years ago now stands at EC $436, 700, 000. This spells years of ineptitude, neglect and reckless regard for the finances of this country by the previous ALP administrations.

Opposition front men are all aware that what more will come to light in the Deep Bay Saga would be of nuclear dimension when compared to the triviality on which the Bird regime trumped up charges to throw the country?s second Premier, Sir George Walter, into jail.

We now know that corruption during ALP rule was of such seriousness that we have to consider a special and permanent investigative unit to properly investigate the dimensions of the conspiracies, fraud, embezzlement, outright theft of public property, including untold acreage of crown land, and endemic misbehaviour in public office.

As an alternative, we also have to choose either a number of Commissions of Enquiry, or an omnibus Commission of Enquiry, to find the truth about illegal public spending and improper private acquisition of state property.

All of this will be separate from the ongoing forensic investigation that is geared to the capture of ill-gotten funds that former high officials have laundered around the world.

At another level in the mission to deal with crookedness in the society, I recently outlined a number of initial measures to strengthen our law enforcement efforts.

This was a response to recent outbreak of violent crimes.

Many of those measures have already kicked in.

The Police Force is demonstrably attacking crime with full force.

A large proportion of crimes in Antigua and Barbuda, as in other Caribbean countries, are drug related.

The police are therefore to be commended on their recent seizures of marijuana cultivations.

The business community has responded with contributions to enhance the capabilities of our police officers.

We have tightened up and stiffened statutes to give law enforcement officers and the justice system more clout in dealing with persons who commit violent crimes.

The Government introduced legislation last Thursday that imposes more stringent conditions to the licensing of firearms.

With all of this, we are committed to equal justice for all.

This means that we will tackle white collar crime with the aggression and urgency that we are responding to what is called blue collar crime.

We will also examine options to make it easier to hold character assassins readily accountable in their use of electronic media to slander decent people, including local and foreign investors.

To this end, a Telecommunications Authority and a Broadcasting Authority responsible for a Broadcast Code will be key priorities.

Citizens, Residents, Friends of Antigua and Barbuda:

Despite the economic chaos left by the previous administration, the United Progressive Party Government has been doing right by Antiguan and Barbuda people.

For yet another month, the UPP Government will provide funds to cushion the Antiguan and Barbudan people from prices at the pumps at our gas stations.

There will be no increase in the price of Gasoline at the pump in September.

We continue discussions with the Venezuelan government and with the Government of Trinidad and Tobago for a long-term arrangement that will ensure oil supplies at preferred rates for Antigua and Barbuda.

We are proceeding with the grant of free uniforms for all children in our primary and secondary schools.

Once we receive Uniform Grant vouchers from the printers, distribution of the uniforms will be a smooth and simple process. We will leave no child behind.

These are the sort of concerns that deliver benefits to every Antiguan and Barbudan family. The UPP does not discriminate in the application of our policies.

I am Baldwin Spencer. Thank you for staying tuned. I?ll be with you next week, same time, same station. Remember, those who want to turn back the clock never sleep. So you?ve still got to stay vigilant.

Wherever you are at this moment, may God's blessings be with you and your loved ones. May God bless our Antigua and Barbuda.