A blessed Sunday morning, a specially blessed Sunday morning, to Antigua and Barbuda; and to the world.

Thank you for joining me this morning.

Wherever you are at this moment, whatever your current circumstances, your thoughts would have been with our Caribbean brothers and sisters who have suffered the terrifying experience of the wave of hurricanes that are currently devastating our region.

Prime Minister The Hon. Baldwin Spencer Like countless others in many lands, you must, at some recent moment, have shed a tear, you must have said a prayer; you must have experienced deep sadness at the tragic loss of lives and the widespread devastation that Ivan, the truly terrible Hurricane, has caused in the Caribbean.

The Bahamas, Tobago, Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, all have suffered at the uncontrollable forces of nature which came with such deceptively friendly names as Charlie, Frances, and now, Ivan.

The United States, too, has felt the fury of the current wave of hurricanes and is now bracing for an expected onslaught from Ivan.

Among the hurricane-hit countries, Grenada has suffered the highest relative level of devastation.

Grenada has suffered substantial loss of life.

Tens of thousands of persons are homeless in the Spice Island.

The hearts and prayers of the Antiguan and Barbudan people continue to go out to our Grenadian and Jamaican brothers and sisters; as well as to those in other lands who have suffered the loss of loved ones.

We also feel deeply for the many families that have lost virtually all of their worldly possessions to the fury of Ivan and Frances.

These forces of nature have also brought disaster to our friendly neighbour to the north, the United States.

Untold tens of thousands of Caribbean Immigrants have made America their adopted home.

Untold numbers of Americans visit our islands every year.

Many of them have invested in the Caribbean.

A number have made our islands their homes.

We in Antigua and Barbuda deeply empathise with our Caribbean sisters and brothers, as well as those in the United States, who have suffered the loss of loved ones, those who have suffered injury, and all who have suffered loss of property to the fury of Charlie, Frances and Ivan.

We, too, lost loved ones when Hurricane Luis hit Antigua and Barbuda in 1995.

We also suffered horrendous loss of property and extensive environmental damage in the face of Luis' fury.

We were battered by Luis for more than two full days,.

Like Grenada, we, too, lost much of our housing stock.

To borrow a phrase from the Calypsonian Stalin, we have all been on the same trip, on the same ship.

It did not take this season of hurricanes to drive home this reality for us in Antigua and Barbuda.

More than perhaps any other Caribbean country, Antigua and Barbuda has become the Mecca for immigrants from other countries of the region.

In no other country in the region does there exist so strong a confluence of persons born in other Caribbean lands.

Our brothers and sisters from other Caribbean countries are substantial in numbers.

They are significant in their impact on all areas of life in the Antigua and Barbuda national community.

Antigua and Barbuda is home to significant communities from Jamaica, to the North and from Guyana to the South, and from all the islands in between.

Antigua and Barbuda is also home to significant numbers of Dominicans, Montserratians, Kittitians, and immigrants from the Dominican Republic.

It does not take natural disasters for us to recognize that the people of the Caribbean are all each other's keepers.

In recognition of the significant Caribbean presence in and contribution to our society, my Government has introduced the Millennium Naturalisation Act.

The Millennium Naturalisation Act grants full and unconditional citizenship to those of our Caribbean brothers and sisters who were in Antigua and Barbuda on the first day of the new millennium, and who have been in permanent residence here, and in good standing, since January 1st, 2000.

It was natural for the Antiguan and Barbudan people to respond with generosity to the tragedies in Grenada and in Jamaica.

It was natural for me to respond spontaneously to the plight of the Grenadian people with all the resources that our Government could immediately muster.

As the people of Grenada and Jamaica struggle to rebuild their homes, their lives, their communities and their nations' economies; there are many in every West Indian island, in every Caribbean country, whose lives are daily struggles for economic security.

I was reminded of this last Thursday, when parents began to collect the Government vouchers that they would each use to collect two free sets of school uniforms for every child in every primary and every secondary school in Antigua and Barbuda.

No child will be left out.

Children of immigrant parents as well as children of native born citizens will be given two free sets of school uniforms each year, starting this year.

The free school uniforms are helping to ease the economic squeeze on families with children in our primary and secondary schools.

They are in delivery of an election promise the United Progressive Party gave to the Antiguan and Barbudan people.

I take this opportunity to place on public record, my gratitude to the members of the Ministry of Education team responsible for the Free School Uniform Programme.

They were assigned a complex, monumental and unprecedented task, and they did it heroically.

The expressions of gratitude from parents who have used the Government vouchers in collecting school uniforms for their children have been truly touching.

They validate my Government's decision to proceed with the free schools uniform programme, in spite of the daunting economic quagmire in which the previous administration left Antigua and Barbuda's financial affairs.

An example of the fiscal irresponsibility of the previous administration is the $200 million debt the Government of Antigua and Barbuda reportedly owes the Stanford group of companies.

Together with a number of my Cabinet Colleagues, I held discussions with Mr. Stanford and his chief financial officer on the morning the distribution of the school uniform vouchers commenced.

Mr. Stanford confirmed his willingness to renegotiate the terms of the debt the Government of Antigua and Barbuda owes his companies.

He also indicated that he was prepared to consider complete debt forgiveness in certain cases.

During our discussions, I challenged Mr. Stanford to invest in holistic human development and in public sector infrastructure in Antigua and Barbuda.

I challenged him to assist in empowering and uplifting young Antiguan and Barbudan entrepreneurs beyond persons employed in his organisation.

I categorically rejected the give-away Dato Tan Kay Hock Asian Village agreement as a basis for any discussions with Mr. Stanford; or with any other developer.

The Government of Antigua and Barbuda will use every legal measure to prevent Dato Tan Kay Hock from profiting from the rip-off deal he had with the ALP leadership, which gave him everything he wanted for next to nothing.

That is why the Government of Antigua and Barbuda has filed legal action to wrest ownership of Guiana Island from Dato Tan.

Mr. Stanford confirms that his offer to purchase the Antiguan Asian Village properties will not be in place after September 27th.

With due deference to the ensuing legal process, the Asian Village Antigua Limited project and the outrageous and repugnant agreement in which former Prime Minister Lester Bird signed away the peoples' property and their sovereignty, are now consigned to the dustbin of history.

My Government would have no problem looking at proposals from Mr. Alan Stanford for resort development in the North Sound Area once they are completely de-linked from the Asian Village deal; once his proposals respect the ecological integrity of the North Sound Area; and once his proposals respect the dignity and the sovereignty of the Antiguan and Barbudan people.

I think Mr. Stanford understands and respects these conditions.

It is clear to me that the Antiguan and Barbudan people have had no option but to judge Mr. Stanford by the company he kept prior to March 23rd, 2004.

Prior to March 23rd, Mr. Stanford dealt with a supine government that could not possibly have elicited anything but the treatment that its members merited.

It does not now appear to me that the gentleman described as the country's largest single investor has any difficulty working with members of a government that looks him in the eye and bargains hard in the interest of the people.

During our meeting with Mr. Stanford and his associate we discussed the Mount St. John's Medical Centre; the national library; the nation's education plant; technical training; the capacity of the Police Force; Caribbean Star and Sun airlines; training, funding and opportunity for small entrepreneurs; V.C. Bird International Airport; and the transformation of St. John's into a twenty first century capital city.

We agreed on an early joint Government/Stanford initiative for the promotion and growth of the international financial and tourism sectors.

Within hours of our meeting, an architect from the Stanford group was on hand to assist with the plans for the national library, which was given new impetus with the recent Half a Million Dollar contribution from Mr. and Mrs. Don Ward.

The same evening, R. Allen Stanford was working with the Government in sourcing a jet aircraft to airlift our students out of Jamaica as Hurricane Ivan approached.

Regrettably, Kingston's Norman Manley International Airport was locked down from eight o'clock Thursday night.

This meant that the intended airlift had to be aborted.

Caribbean governments, international aid agencies, the regional emergency systems, private citizens, foreign and local investors, all came spontaneously into play as Ivan came thundering in.

There could have been no question over the last few days that faced with diversity, from whichever nations we come, all of us are one people.

I am Baldwin Spencer, the Chief Servant of the Antiguan and Barbudan people.

Thank you for joining me again on Action Agenda.

Please join me next Sunday, same time, same station.

I pray God's protection for you and your loved ones, and for his protection for our Caribbean brothers and sisters, wherever they are today.

May God bless the Antigua and Barbuda that we love.

May God bless and protect our sister nations of the Caribbean.