 Welcome to NTN Nightly, I am Genelle Norville, this edition's top stories. The preservation of livelihoods and the environment is ensured by government with the signing of a vital MOU. The governor of the ECCB says the ECCU remains resilient in the face of adversity and celebrating St. Lucia's first centenarian for 2021. The Government of St. Lucia in collaboration with the Global Environmental Fund is continuing work on the integrated ecosystem management and the restoration of forests on the southeast coast of St. Lucia. Anisia Antoine has the details. The Departments of Agriculture and Sustainable Development have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the Jeff 6 East Coast Southeast Project. The five-year project will focus on ecosystem management, landscape restoration and sustainable livelihoods on the southeast coast of St. Lucia. Permanent Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, Natural Resources and Cooperatives, Barry Morphilicier says the Division of Forestry will be assisting in establishing at least one marine protected area as well as the restoration and rehabilitation of mangroves, seagrass beds and coral reefs. Further support will also be given to farmers so that they can engage in value-added services such as agro-processing. So within the Department of Agriculture we have three critical departments that have to work collaboratively with the Department of Sustainable Development and other stakeholders including the local community leaders and community groups to execute and implement the project activities. So we are at the Department of Agriculture committed to making this project a success and with the signing of its MOU we used to formalize our commitment and we look forward to working with UNEP, Jeff, the project coordination team to make better the lives of every St. Lucia. Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Department of Sustainable Development says the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding marks a milestone for the Jeff 6 East Coast Southeast project as the Department of Sustainable Development continues to address the lack of integrated protection of the ecosystems on the southeast coast. The MOU clearly outlines the rules and responsibilities of the Department of Sustainable Development and all the divisions of the Department of Agriculture. It will provide guidelines for the cooperation and collaboration between the two agencies. We look forward to working with the Department of Agriculture and to strengthen the collaboration between the departments under this project. The Jeff 6 East Coast Southeast project is estimated at approximately 4.4 million US dollars. From the communications unit of the Ministry of Agriculture, I am Anisia Antoine reporting. When the second school term opens on Monday, January 11, there will be rigid guidelines for janitorial staff to follow to ensure the health and safety of all. Chief Environmental Health Officer Parker Ragnanan says a cleaning regiment has been developed by the Ministry of Health which details when and how surface areas are to be cleaned. We recommend that for cleaning and disinfecting that there are one of two or both solutions that can be used. One is sodium hypochloride and that is 5,000 parts per million. Generally you find sodium hypochloride in household bleach or ethyl alcohol, 70% alcohol can be used as well and there may be areas where you cannot use bleach but you may be able to use the alcohol and that has to be determined as well. As far as our classrooms are concerned, we are looking at ways to improve ventilation within the classrooms and it means that if there are windows to try as best as possible to keep these windows open, their loavers keep them open, ensure that there is a constant exchange of air and there is adequate airflow within the classroom setting. If there are some buildings that are air conditioned, then we need to ensure that these rooms are adequately aired out. Upper garbage disposal is also being advocated and supervised. We are asking that attention be paid for regular removal and disposal of garbage because we recognize that some of the garbage may be a little infectious depending as to what is in there. You may have persons who dispose face masks and so forth. However, we are asking for special consideration be given to the management of solid waste on the school environment and on the compound. School janitors and cleaners were asked to report to work from December 28 to 31, 2020 to ensure the proper sanitizing and cleaning of schools. The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank is experiencing its largest shock on record. So says Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, ECCB Timothy Antoine, during his Christmas address. A decline of 16.2% has been projected for the Eastern Caribbean currency union, ECCU, as governments continue to grapple with significantly lower revenues while simultaneously expending considerable amounts on COVID-19 response measures. The governor noted, however, that the ECCU remains resilient in the face of adversity. Despite the economic and financial fallout occasioned by the pandemic, our countries have responded relatively well and our region is thankful that we have experienced only a small number of deaths. Additionally, we are grateful to have been spared the ravages of major hurricanes. And second, we placed on record our performed gratitude to all our frontline warriors in health care, together with security, border control and essential workers, including the media. The ECCB predicted, however, that the ECCU will bounce back from the current situation, building even stronger in the future. Governor Antoine also highlighted the ECCB's plans for the future. We project the ECCU will grow by 5% next year, as tourism, a dominant export, slowly recovers. The ECCB will implement the program of action for recovery, resilience and transformation approved by the Monetary Council in October. The actions include boosting food and nutrition security, increasing our use of renewable energy and accelerating digital transformation. The ECCB will also unveil its new five-year strategic plan. Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank ECCB, Timothy Antoine. St. Lucia and the wider region are paying glowing tribute to the late Gordon Butch Stewart, who died this week. The founder of Sanders Resorts International established three of its 15 all-inclusive luxury Caribbean resorts in St. Lucia, employing some 2,000 island residents. Tourism officials hail him for his significant contribution to the vital sector. More in this report. Gordon Butch Stewart, the man behind the largest contribution to St. Lucia's tourism industry from the private sector, has passed on. The all-inclusive resort pioneer and founder of Sanders Resorts International died on January 4th, 2021, at age 79. Prime Minister Alan Shastney eulogized Stewart as a visionary, recalling the impact of the hotelier's business on island, beginning with Sanders Regency. He came in and he did the most remarkable job of transforming Sanders Latok, which really was a hotel that was a beautiful hotel, but was always under-delivered. I mean, if it had a 30% or 40% occupancy, that was a lot. And Mr. Stewart transformed this completely and put St. Lucia on the map. Prior to Sanders coming to St. Lucia, you would spend 15 minutes trying to explain to people where St. Lucia was. Afterwards, you would go to Chicago, to Charlotte and all these cities and all of a sudden, because there was a Sandals in St. Lucia, people knew where St. Lucia was. The island's tourism minister, Honorable Dominic Fede, hailed Stewart a legend who will be genuinely missed. The world has seen Caribbean tourism in a way that Mr. Stewart has made such a significant difference. And I'm always very proud whenever I travel in global forums and I see that a homegrown Caribbean company is the world's leading all-inclusive company. It's a source of inspiration for me and it tells us what we can do in these islands if we believe and we have the courage to fight to get what we want. And he will be thoroughly missed, very strong leader. Recognizing the trailblazing efforts displayed by Stewart in the local sector for almost three decades, the St. Lucia Hospitality and Tourism Association president, Carolyn Trebettskoi, also offered tribute saying, quote, we have lost one of our most revered and respected Caribbean tourism icons. Gordon Butch Stewart was a pioneer and a perfectionist of an all-inclusive Caribbean hospitality model that other brands could never copy or come close to. The success of the brand over several decades speaks for itself. We must also thank him for his mentorship of and the countless career opportunities he created for Caribbean nationals surpassed only by his considerable philanthropic work through the Sandals Foundation, end quote. Sandals Resorts employs approximately 2,000 individuals on island at four properties. Sandals Grand St. Lucia Spa and Beach Resort, Sandals Halcyon Beach Resort, Sandals Regency Golf Resort and Spa, and the Sandals Golf and Country Club. Mrs. Stewart has no doubt contributed significantly to the development of tourism in St. Lucia. He's been here since 1990 and he operated some 800 rooms across three magnificent resorts. Employees about 2,000 people and create business opportunities for hundreds of small medium and large businesses. On the regional front, the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States Commission also described Stewart as a visionary and stated that his brands gave prominence to the Caribbean with its quote, extensive international marketing and the extraordinarily high standards of hospitality and customer satisfaction that he defined, end quote. From Miami, Acting CEO and Director General of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association Vanessa Ledesma said quote, our industry will forever be indebted to Butch for his continued passion for excellence and legendary Caribbean hospitality. His vision has bestowed to the global industry, a Caribbean organization that adheres to the highest standards of excellence, celebrates and promotes the region's uniqueness and invests in the development of our people and communities, end quote. Prior to his death, Stewart was reportedly working on resort chain expansions in St. Vincent and Curacao. He is survived by his wife, seven children, 12 grandchildren and four great grandchildren. For the government information service, I am Jesse Leance reporting. The Division of Human Services is celebrating another centenarian. Victor Roseman Smith achieved the monumental milestone of reaching his 100th birthday. Mr. Smith, born on the 1st of January, 1921, is the last surviving child of 10 children. He was born and raised in Saltybush Resale. Mr. Smith was a farmer who was very passionate about his cows and gardening. His family shares fond memories of him entertaining them with his folk stories and playing the guitar on rainy days in his younger days. Mr. Smith has been a resident of the St. Lucy's home for the past 10 years. He is the first centenarian at the institution. Although he is bedridden and his speech is faint, his jovial nature remains strong. We celebrate Victor Roseman Smith, St. Lucia's latest centenarian. This is NTN Nightly. Stay with us. Primus Hutchingson is up next with the NTN Nouvelle Aquial. Be aware of and follow water conservation practices. Here are a few tips to help you save water. Wash dishes in a basin of water instead of a running tap. Soak pots and pans instead of letting the water run while scraping them. Check toilets for leaks by putting dye in the tank. If color shows in the bowl without flushing, there is a leak. A leaking toilet can waste thousands of gallons of water. Use a bucket instead of a hose to wash cars and reuse grey water from laundry to water plants. Water conservation reduces energy consumption and strain on the water distribution system. Conserve water whenever possible and remember every job counts. A message brought to you by the Water and Sewage Company Incorporated, Wasco. Welcome back. We join Primus Hutchingson for the NTN Nouvelle Aquial. It's official touristic to make it clear that I have made this arrangement to place the plastic bag in a way to address the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic that has devalued the equity of these jobs. Moreover, the equity has still been closed to the country because the COVID-19 pandemic has failed automatically. Minister of Touristic Affairs, Mr. Dominic Feeney, declared that there is already a point of action for the chain sector of the tourist sector to comply with the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic in England. According to the Ministry of Education, what it has done in prison is to establish a diverse technique to allow the plastic bag to be placed in a way that can be used to encourage the tourist to go to England to visit the people who are working at the hotel. So, the West is open to the work of the employees and to continue the work of the aircraft. The result of the COVID-19 pandemic is that the aircraft that fly to England to settle the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic has been closed to the country because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The hospital has been closed to the country because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The hospital has been closed to the country because of the COVID-19 pandemic to effectively address the needs of the people who are working at the hospital. Minister Feeney, I think there are a lot of problems with the people who are working at the airport because they have to find a way to test the people who are working at the airport. That is why I think it is very important to start with the question of whether it is necessary to have a problem so that the people who are working at the airport can continue to travel. I think it is very important that the tourists who are working at the airport visit the people who are working at the airport so I think that we must give the people more money to go to the airport because there are more than 423,000 tourists who have visited the airport who have been here since the summer of 2019 because we are seeing many more people who will take the trip away. Minister of Education, I have many questions for the people who are working at the airport That was on the 11th of January 2021. The school had to close quickly because of the corona virus. It was very bad. But otherwise, the head of the Education Office, Dr. Fiona Mayer, had to do a lot of protection to ensure that all students and the institutes had to protect themselves from the corona virus. Let's talk about the discussion. Dr. Mayer explained to us that the teachers had to go to school a week before and receive all the support needed. And next week, we'll have to arrange a place for the school to live. Let's see. A week before the school came, a week after, we opened all the schools. I joined SIPO, HOD, MINIS, and the Health Department, who always supported us. They helped us, too. They said it was good, it was good, and it was perfect. With the situation like this, we opened the schools. With the schools that opened, we pushed the schools that had less children. We opened them on Monday to Friday. That's not a problem because we didn't have more children than the schools. But we had more children than the schools that had more children. We couldn't have opened the schools like this. And we had to wait for the school to come. We had to play for three days a week with the school that had a cycle. Because the second day of school, we had to work for six days a week. So Monday, it was Monday, but it was Thursday, Monday, three, four, five, with six. But we wanted to try, because we had to come three times a week to help. Dr. Meyer, because we had to pay for the school, we didn't have to neglect the students because they didn't have to go to school. We had to do as we did before. We had to listen to the teachers. That's 24 schools that are in this situation. But all the other schools are open, the same school we had before. But we had to change to do everything we could. We had to wash our hands, we had to come to school, we had to put on our mask, we had to do our shield. We had to be careful. We had to be vigilant to protect the students who are affected and who also support us when we go to school. The plan for the school is to discuss the representation in the NTIA GIS studio and the Ministry of Education. That's Dr. Gilry Gilbert, head of the Office of Education. That's Dr. Fiona Meyer, head of the Office of Education and that's Pakra Ragnan and Abamilot Officier. This government, and other countries, other countries in Karebla, promised to support the PICVS as they continue to do Volcan-la-Sofuye activity, which I have been very active in. Volcan-la-Sofuye started to be affected in December of last year. Since then, the authorities have confirmed that Volcan-la-Sofuye has been affected by the pandemic. The Minister of Education, Mr. Alen Shasne, has said that the situation is not bad, but at the same time, he has prepared for Volcan-la-Sofuye to be more active. Minister Shasne also said that he has started to organize events like the exhibition and that he has put in place for Volcan-la-Sofuye to be exploded. This is a very important country. You can also participate in the discussion on this which is not done in Zoom, I have said it in the video discussion in front of the public. Like Volcan-la-Sofuye, people can start to think about it. Since December 3, 2020, the Minister of Education, Mr. Alen Shasne, the officers who have conducted the research on Volcan-la-Sofuye. The University of Uyjore, which is in the U.S. with the officers in the morning, said that the pandemic is not a serious matter, it is an activity of Volcan-la-Sofuye. It is a serious matter, but at the same time, he has ordered to pay for the situation in advance. Mr. Shasne said that the government in Uyjore depends on the authority of Volcan-la-Sofuye to be able to conduct the research in the direction of the European Union. Mr. Alen Shasne said that it is also necessary to address the situation in a domestic way, and also to prepare to work very closely and in a way that the government also needs to carry out. Mr. Shasne said that the discussion should continue in the best way that it is necessary to serve the people, especially those who are not allowed to leave. He called for this to continue to provide for the people and to serve them in a situation like this. And Mr. Alen Shasne, this is the end of this news. Thank you very much for listening. I have to go to the invitation. I have to wait. Excuse me. I have to go to the invitation. I have to go again. If you want to know I will visit you a lot. I will. I will visit you. I will visit you all. I will.