 Hello everyone, welcome to another edition of Issues and Answers, a production of the Government Information Service and the National Television Network, NTN, I'm Primus Hutchinson. The issue is the castries market redevelopment project and other related developments in the castries business. It forms part of the Castries City Tourism Product. We financed and secured from the World Bank towards the implementation of the OECS Original Tourism Competitiveness Project, or ROTCP. The project principally aims to improve selected tourist sites in castries. In this regard, the Government of St Lucia has identified the Castries City Tourism Product as a priority for St Lucia with targeted investment sites and activities aimed at making downtown castries more pleasant and attractive to tourists as well as to St Lucia residents. The first phase of the project was officially handed over to the Castries Constituents Council on Sunday, March 3, 2020, construction of the $32 million project started in 2019 and is able to withstand wind speed up to a category of five hurricane. It is also quite interesting to note that the food market has been ranked number three in the world by the National Geographic magazine in a listing of the top 10 food markets in the world. The new facilities outfitted with 100 stalls to accommodate all the vendors and it appears that they have settled in quite comfortably. We've made to provide the answers regarding the status of the project and plans to elevate it to a state-of-the-art facility is the Mayor of Castries, his worship, Peter St. Francis. Welcome to Issues and Answers, Francis. I'll give you Mr. Brimus. Let us start off by perhaps you giving us what is the status of the project currently? Well, as you rightly said that we have finished the provision market. Right now what we are doing is the marketing board which is built enough to go down that we're in the process of doing, we have identified a spot for the vendors or wrong the marketing board. So as long as we finalize this, I mean we have just signed an MOU, the Ministry of Tourism, so that is going quickly but you know the season that we are in there right now that we have to put people first before project. But that is on the card. So we are now in consultation with the people that we are going to move them by, if you know the empty spot by Rekai there, we're going to relocate these people temporarily. Okay. That's how we're going to have them for the period of that construction. That would be next to the Grand Reveal? That's right, opposite the Grand Reveal where that CDC that says it was broken down next to Rekai. So that's we're in the process of doing that now. As I said we just signed an MOU with the tourism. So as soon as we are looking at, we are looking close to Mr. Poyot who is the lead person on that. So right now is just a question of going to transfer the people there. We are going to do infrastructure there quickly as well. So we hope in the next three weeks to accommodate all the vendors around the marketing board. Those around the marketing board, okay, I see. But how about those who are already well, of course, the Indian would need to be shifted back. The old market was constructed over 130 years ago and that's about the year 1891 or hit there about. That's quite old for a market. So you're saying that this project is timely. Would you agree? Yeah, I agree with that. I mean incidentally the good thing about the one, I mean most of my, I mean growing up was around the market. So I could tell you, I could tell you at the time, I mean what it looked like, what it and what. But they have improved. But what we are doing now is really upgrading it. I mean it has really seen its time. But in the redevelopment, I mean the craft market is just about enhancing it. But it will not be taking away its architecture of what it is working on right now. As you rightly said that it has been ranked number three in the world by the National Geographic. Operations of the new market seems well organized. Although some may argue that aesthetically it requires some slight touch, some slight touch. That is what some people are saying. Are you still confronted with issues affecting vendors? Oh yes. I mean the most amazing thing is this. You know, while the vendors were vending on the little tapoline under the wind and rain and so on. Now we have given them a first class facility. This is the time they want to go out now, go on the road to sell. And that has been a challenge for us. I mean you know these days everything is politics. These are the vendors operating within the facility. Yes itself. Now they are leaving the facility. Yes they are. Why is that? I don't know why. Now they have become very creative. They are now taking trolleys. Before we didn't have trolleys. But now because we have the food market, there are people with trolleys on the road selling. Because those who have went back to the sidewalk but we are not tolerating that. But it's a challenge. A daily challenge. But have you sat down with them to discuss why do they feel that it is necessary to go out and do things? Well you know, we have a mentality. I mean you know in the part of the door Bev Du Vagaboy had blown it. So they believe they are in front. Like they're on the road before you get to the market. Then you'll deal by your solutions. The other thing is we don't like to walk. So how is that working out? So far we have been able to manage it. We have been able to manage it. And they have cooperated. Yes they have cooperated. I mean our city police have to get involved in it. But it's a daily challenge. The tourism minister Honourable Dominic Fede in a statement last year says that and I quote Not only will this create a nexus between authentic St. Louisian products and the export market but visitors to our shores will be able to be part of the experience. Do you share that view as well? Authentic products? Yes I will share that. I'm a promoter of that. You see what is happening. Like let's take for example I mean we have two people in Swinsel who produce the basket. But not only that they have to produce but they have to get themselves to castries to try to sell it. I feel that should not be. They are the producers. People should be able to buy the basket come and sell it. So they will have more time to produce and everything of that. Even to upgrade the product. We have selling, let's look at the condiments. We have people like bar and food. We have people like Viking traders. I mean in that market we should be able to display this. They should not be the one going to the market. We should have people who are selling not for them on their behalf but basically buy their products. Like let's take for fish, let's take for meat. Right there we should be able to the tourists coming we should be able to sample these things. You have the meat, you have the fish season it please and so on. So I agree totally. I mean don't liquidate as far as you know. Regarding the fish market and the meat market in particular the order there's an offensive that doesn't really how do you be able to address that What we have we have started what we do I mean I had a meeting with the vendors the fishmen and I was pleasantly surprised they said give us the tools and we will do what we have to do and it has so far it has been working fairly well although you know we believe the guy who took charge of it they believe that he is getting paid he is not getting paid by CCC so we have given him the beans, we have given him the brooms we have given him the hose, we have given him everything so if you pass now you'll find out that that's less of a challenge. You're not going to get the type of smell you're getting before because they have been doing it when they use the fish guards they go they dispose of it and everything so they themselves we have given them in charge of their own things in the Facebooks but so far it has been working but again you know that at any time someone is trying to take responsibility for something they believe there is something in it for you so right now instead of cooperating with a guy you go and do it because you can pay for it but it's something we have to have on our meeting to see and explain what's happening but so far so good but when the project when you finally start the new project would it have any would it do you believe it would impact the operations of the the market itself I mean the construction going on and the perhaps dust the only thing is the beginning of marketing board that's the first stage apart from the building I don't think we have taken all these things in consideration like the desks and all these things so we will not have to shift the food market no but as I say it's just the people who are wrong the marketing board this place I hopefully for about 6 to a year I'm not sure if you addressed that earlier that you have had discussion with them and they have agreed that yes they have agreed to that incidentally we are going by the old fire station where you find out we had defended before but we have seen said that and going by they say by Rikai and Jeremy to have them but we have and so on as you see the whole bank is more moving people their compensation and all these things there's a canal nearby that wouldn't have by anything as well on the other side the side closer to the current review of Boston yes no but we are on the other side the other side Rikai when the block GS was okay okay we have musical hearts right in front of them okay okay the next component of phase one what it entails how is let's look at this first what it entails can you go the other stage we have now that the marketing board will be rebuilt they will be the ones controlling the building so the new project but it's part of the new project but it's still been controlling of that section of it but we are looking the box pack situation that's what we are going to do so we will have an upper level and a lower level we will comprise a book for them between five nine square feet five thousand nine hundred square feet we are going to have convenience stores in the first level about sixteen of them we will have convenience stores we will have the fish vendors we will have the mid vendors we will have toilet facilities well you know the usual electrical thing and so on closets and so on the first level will be bars and shops and so on and you will also have a tower so tourists could go and look and so on one other thing that I mean in cash we will see is that you know you are married man so I can't tell you that you know better than you say you want to take your wife how did you arrive at that I will apologize if I'm wrong but I mean don't look at it like right now you know tell someone that you know there is no way I'm not saying they don't have restaurants they are not up to the start but I mean the setting somebody from the bank and say well you know open body from that can we have lunch today and so on go and get a setting and so on I mean we don't have that so we are lacking that dinner and lunch situation at night you have to go up north to really have you know the traffic situation you know the length of time but for one time you take one hour to reason off the person have to report home in the next ten minutes so that's what we are trying to bring that night life back to castries in the time instead of you so everybody will be able to confine themselves within so we are looking forward to night time because you will be able to say well let me go up north and have dinner and so on you will be right there in town you will be able to have your also in that we will still maintain the solution right now the country and western which you can take on this to bring back how was it called the Nashville Nashville palace so we have that all these things will be maintained and so on the more relaxing and so on you know I mean as you said like we have a tourist boat tomorrow I mean these people could go up there look at over the harbor have the tower look there and join himself and so on so as we said as I said he described it perfectly but there was a problem with the roof is that that itself will be taken care of I mean with the new design and so on obviously you have to redo the roof you may have touched on the financing of the project how how soon do we expect to see the good thing about this Mr. Mayor I've just been informed that we need to take a short break we are moving fast the Mayor of Cassis Association Peterson Francis stay with us we will be back in just a moment oh you have realized you step on my tour we'll do something about it that's why I boosted in diamond welcome back this is issues and answers and we are discussing the Cassis Market redevelopment project with the Mayor his worship Peterson Francis Mr. Mayor we were talking about the financing of the the project how is that going the good thing about that project is that the money is there waiting for us it's already available it's just that we are the one taking our time now to dispose of it but it's not a question of sourcing the money the money is there the only problem I have is that we are not moving fast enough because that money might be relocated so what is causing no it's just a question of I mean as you know the COVID has put us behind a long way right now we are in election time and as I said you know people are telling we are the project will kick off sometime this year no one of us is going incidentally we were supposed to start the second phase about three weeks ago although we had to do the marketing board we were done and we located the people so as I said I have signed an MOU to relocate the people and so the money the finance is there we didn't talk about the duration we really take for completion we look at what we have today about probably a minimum okay all right you touched on it earlier on the vending outside the cashier's market now that you have placed well some people see you placed a ban I am not sure you have to explain that a ban on vending outside of the market have you seen an improvement the card vendors how has the CCC assisted those displaced well basically what has happened the provision market is that we are committed for every vendor that was selling originally all the vendors so what is happening now in any given day you might say about minimum of 25, 44,000 empty and these are the people that is looking for space around gas fees to sell these are the people we took out from the sidewalks they now believe that taking people too long to get inside the market and they did not realize that is the presentation of your goods how people look at it they will come and buy from it as I said if they are in front they will get the sale and the fact that they are not part of the vendors who are occupying the cash flow market and that is how they make their living they have a little cart moving around they do I am surprised that all the CCC outside of selling vendors within the market who are sending people outside they have the agents all of them every single one of them is not a new provision sale that is coming down every young guy younger whoever you see there they are connected to someone within the market so that is what is good it is not new vendors we have not people looking for space the only thing we do on a Saturday on a Friday is to come island wide from island all over the island so we relax it on a Friday so whatever little space you get within apart from bridge street and the boulevard wherever you could get your space you are allowed to it is not a vexing issue it is not that challenging on Fridays we realize that even in the provision market on Fridays and Saturdays they are free wherever they could let's talk a little bit about other plans for the city you spoke glowingly about plans for the city of castles the boulevard and other areas we are not a boulevard to really upgrade it we are looking also I mean what we are doing you see we have coffee shops you could be what people could come in again it is holistic and locals you could sit there, you could have a thing and so on, walk around we are looking, we have public entertainment theater people could come and so on so that is for the boulevard the square as you know we have started the first space on the square removing the walls and people are quite satisfied what they are looking at the main fact that is now open we have monuments coming there we have to re-locate the fountain and all these things so there is a lot of plans for the square I don't know what we are going to do but my own reason I told the PM that whether the old cinema was there I think it should require that we want to give the old education so when you are in the boulevard you could actually see right through the church I know that the government has plans breaking up from the print tree minimal bookings they have been relocated even the parliament even the old courthouse so all these things so instead of having the parking on the square we are not going to be that between Labry Street and Payne Street so we have all these plans you are looking at we are looking at the redevelopment of the wharf tell us a little bit about that well that is not my project that is government property I can't elaborate too much on that but you have a say at all I will inform Julie that is being done and will be part of the thing you will not use your influence in any way of course of course you are knowing me we are looking at if you realize that it is a while that I have cleaned banan if you look at it there is quite a wharf banan look now and the other thing that I am very happy about that you don't look at banan now and see all this plastic I mean on any given day you look at banan as far as if it is really not that you mentioned the expansion of castles that has been banded for quite a while now moving all the way into it has been yes well if you realize that I am not taking the credit for myself but you realize that I am pushing if you realize all food banan if you look at the right dong that have been cleaned we are looking again we are looking for a jetty so in other words again we want to develop banan so when the cruise ship is coming tomorrow there are people who don't want to go that far take a little ferry and go across the banan you have restaurants, you have everything there and so on so all that is in the pocket how would that work with the Foix show community aesthetically well it is a while even the fishermen there that said John wanted to relocate them to Tapio I mean and so on so we will be working with the people they are aware of what they are doing we will be working with them we can't just displace people you come there and say no we are going to work with them but the only good thing about the banan area especially by the sea you don't have many people living there if you know what and I am one of the believers that yes you know the people are there and you have to give them something an incentive you only tell me ok somebody living in banan Wunapi is no electricity Wunapi for no water Wupi is no rent and you tell him ok I am going to relocate you but I will give you a house at $450,000 but that resident now has to look even there is $100 $200 a month to pay as far as I am concerned that's not improvement these people they might be able ok they pay for 5 years and they can't afford to pay again that's 5 years money that they have lost I think if you could give the person where there is life life long enjoyment of the home you could move them to the children but you can't tell somebody moving them from paying nothing to something and you say you have done something for them and that's as far as I am concerned so people I couldn't let's get away, let's look at them give them a house it doesn't matter what it worth but at the end of the day your there, your lifetime you live your children comes and so on at least you know that's improvement and not poverty you might have a house you might have wallops or even property that will be well accepted I am sure but you are saying a little in quite all of our vendors what is the encouragement for these vendors some of these vendors they don't want to sell their own they want to buy their own before you just say they want to buy the place they want to sell and so on they don't want to buy the place especially now they don't want to buy the place especially now so if you want to sell well, if you want to sell you can sell all this if everyone has their own place you will see that you can buy have your own you can buy and store they don't want to sell you don't want to sell and then they will sell and then they will sell So just watch it in your place. Type who improves the photograph here. You're certainly going to be able to work with it. You're going to be able to work with it. Oh, I'm going to be able to work with it. You're going to be able to work with it. Mr. Mayor, how do you call it? I'm trying to get the name now for the parking meters. The parking meters. Yeah, so that is an advanced stage right now. But again, I'm seeing that everything in the election and so on. Before we are going to park in Terminals, we have seen what is called a smart parking. Presently, we are only waiting for the SI to start putting in these meters. What will happen now is we have identified the street, we have identified the Boulevard, we have Mico Street, Brise Street, Coral Street, we have all these streets, I mean, the name of few. So what you call it now is smart parking. So you'll be able to see anyway, if you come from La Brie, you come to Cassuies, you know where I'm coming for two hours and so on, you could just go to your phone, look and see what the space that is available, book your space, pay for it, and your spot is there waiting for you. So that is what, I mean, everything, I mean, the operators are already here, they have already opened the office. So we only have the SI but again, I mean, the election fever is keeping us behind. Mr. Mayor, before we end, I mean, we need to end at Terminal. I think that I'm very concerned about the mentally challenged individuals working around the city. Recently I was attacked and other people have been attacked. Seriously, that is. How do you tend to address this? Well, you see, primers started seriously and I have a complaint about these things over and over. We have agencies in this country who are powered by law to take care of certain things in this country, like the environment and so on. We, I mean, the office of the mayor is not qualified. I mean, right now we have brought in the city police. They're very restrained, they try to restrain, but they will not even qualify to handle these people. So I've been always clamoring for the agencies that are empowered, that have the law on their side, that will work with them. I mean, I know the representative process is doing the best though. We'll work, the city police will work with them. But we need the people, the expert people that has experience on the law behind them to first get together and so on. And because that is why I've gotten a reputation. Like, you know, I'm a lone ranger. You don't have a tanto with you. Exactly. I don't have a tanto. Not even a tanto. No, I thought I didn't see it was your tanto. No, it was all. Mr. Rea, we need to end. We've come to the end of our discussion. Thank you so very much for being there with us. We were discussing the Cassius Market Redevelopment Project with the mayor of Cassius, the worship of Peterson, Francis. This has been issues and answers. I'm Private Hutchinson. Thank you for being here. Mr. Rea. Thank you, sir.