 Welcome to the Government Information Services Week in Review, I am Alicia Ali. We begin with news on the anniversary of the passing of the Right Honourable Sir John George Melvin Compton, St. Lucia's Prime Minister, the Honourable Alan M. Shasne, has praised the legacy of the father of the nation. Sir John Compton passed away on the 7th of September 2007. He had served as St Lucia's Prime Minister as well as St Lucia's Chief Minister and the first and only Premier. Prime Minister Shasne said that as the nation reflected on the life of Sir John, quote, we must honour not just his contribution to St Lucia but his strong commitment to the development of the region. Sir John was a true statesman and he is respected regionally and internationally for his bravery against what at times seemed impossible odds. He was instrumental in the formation of organisations such as CARICOM that could represent the region on a broad scale and let the world know we are here. We must not play down the significance of Sir John leading the way for St Lucia's independence and in fact, his skills in helping to unite the West Indies, unquote. Sir John was instrumental also in the establishment of the Caribbean Development Bank, the CDB, the West Indies Association States Council of Ministers, WISA and the organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, OECS. Prime Minister Shasne added that like so many leaders, he too is inspired by the life and legacy of Sir John. He went on to say, quote, we still have a long way to go and I think if we keep the ideals that Sir John opined in the beginning, it will serve us well. I join the nation in paying tribute to Sir John, one of the greatest allegedly leaders of our time, unquote. Also this week, Prime Minister Shasne paid a visit to the Cicero Combined School. So is everybody excited to be back in school? As the new school year started this week, students of the Cicero RC Combined got a welcome surprise on Thursday as Prime Minister Hon. Alan Shasne made an impromptu stop at the school. The Prime Minister took time to speak with the principal of the school and opened up to students about government's plans to advance and improve all schools on the island in order to create a better learning environment. I wanted to be able to come and see how you guys were settling in and I'm going to be doing a tour of a lot of different schools. So, for instance, what your principal was pointing out to me. So we want to go on a major program to upgrade all the schools. The Prime Minister spoke to students about empowering them for the future by making sure they have the tools and skills to remain competitive. He spoke about technological advancements that would be introduced to schools and he also spoke about plans for developing the area of sports and having dedicated coaches for girls and boys in order to further develop our athletes. If you want to be competitive in the world, you have to be prepared. So just knowing English and knowing Creole is not enough. Students also had the opportunity to put their own questions to the Prime Minister and they will by no means easy on him. The Prime Minister took lots of questions from students before letting them get back to work. He thanked the principals, teachers and students of the school for their continued hard work. Principal of the school, Mr. Martin Hippolit says that he and the teachers felt very privileged to have the Prime Minister single them out for a visit. Mr. Hippolit took the opportunity to speak with the Prime Minister about the challenges that the school faces and was also pleased to learn from the Prime Minister first hand about plans to enhance technology and sports development. Prime Minister Alan Shasne has promised to return to the Cicero Combined School and to address some of the challenges that the schools and all schools on the island are facing. The Prime Minister has plans to do an island-wide tour later this year. This is Nicole MacDonald reporting from the office of the Prime Minister. As part of efforts to improve the working conditions of staff and its services to the public, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries of Physical Planning, Natural Resources and Cooperatives will be undertaking remedial works at the land registry located on the ground floor of the Graham-Louisey Administrative Building. As a result of the scope of works to be undertaken, the land registry will be closed from 9 September to 14 September. Former Prime Minister and Secretary of the Department of Physical Planning, Joanna Othton stated that the closure is in keeping with recommendations following a site visit to the land registry by the Caribbean Public Health Agency, CARFA and H&L Environmental Agency. The idea is to close the land registry for four working days, but the work at the land registry will go on for six days, including two weekend days. Get the staff out and to clean the AC units, vacuum and clean any visible mold, and to clean up the documents both in the vault and out of the vault, using a process I think called HEPA vacuuming. And there's also some construction work, minor construction work in some offices where the ceiling is moldy so they will remove that ceiling and replace it. So in order to do that, you can't have the staff in there. So the idea is to remove the staff for four working days and to employ comprehensive remediation measures. The land registry remains the sole repository of land document deeds, power of attorney documents, land registers, etc. And therefore the ministry would like to reassure the public that all remediation works will be executed with utmost efficiency so that the land registry can reopen for business on Thursday 15th September. The ministry would like to apologize for any inconvenience that is likely to arise as a result of the closure. St. Lucia's floral production sector looks set to bloom following a recent consultation. The implementation of a sustainable green floral industry in St. Lucia is underway, as the St. Lucia Floral Cooperative Society Ltd. hosted a consultation recently at the Ober Seraphine Hotel. The consultation provided stakeholders with an opportunity to develop a comprehensive policy document which transforms the floral industry to a green enterprise. Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development, John Calix, welcomed the initiative to market and elevate the floral industry in St. Lucia. I for one am particularly impressed that the St. Lucia Floral Cooperative Society has seen it fit in to develop a policy and framework for greening the St. Lucia Floral industry by integrating eco-friendly principles and methods into the production process. I wish to express my ministry support for such an approach and to show you that we will do all that we can to assist in realizing the transition to a sustainable mode of floral production in St. Lucia. While we, among others, ensure that more efficient water use, reduction of inorganic chemical use, more efficient use of land and increased energy efficiency is also utilized. Board member of the St. Lucia Floral Cooperative Society Ltd. Shirley Lewis believes there is need to create an eco-friendly floral industry for the betterment of all citizens. For if we truly want a successful floral industry, we need to cherish our environment. And one of the ways to ensure this is through the adoption and enforcement of good habits and principles. Educating and exposing ourselves to methods of environmental protection should be pursued from the inception of the planting stage right through to the reaping and packaging stage. Reaching out to community groups, not necessarily floral groups, is necessary to facilitate this environmental exposure. The St. Lucia Floral Cooperative Society has called for public assistance as they continue their work to rebrand the floral industry as a contributor to the evolving green economy. From the communications unit of the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development, I am Funa Neptune reporting. On the commencement of a new academic year, the Minister for Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development addresses the pupils of the George Charles Secondary School. Students of the George Charles Secondary School are being encouraged to embrace temporary changes instituted by the Department of Education for the new academic year. Those words were reiterated by the Minister for Education, the Honourable Dr Gil Rigabet, as she addressed the students at an assembly on the first day of school. The students and teachers of George Charles have been temporarily relocated to the John Audlum Secondary to accommodate some divisions of the South Louis Community College, presently undergoing extensive repairs. Let me wish you a very successful academic year. Too very often, we have preconceived notions of what the journey ahead holds. I ask you to be open-minded, put your muscle to the wheel, open your minds to learning new things, put all of your divinely ordained talents to work. Do not allow yourselves to be distracted by people who are concerned with creating mischief. But stay focused on your goals. Make your school, your community, your parents, your principal proud. The Minister also thanked parents for the measurable support demonstrated in the education of their children. You the parents, I am really encouraged by your numbers here. It tells me that you have a very keen interest, not only in your children, but in the life of your school as well. That you indeed are part and parcel of the family of George Charles Secondary School. Your presence here means a lot to me, and I'm sure it means a lot to the students that you are here to walk through this process with them, lending the necessary moral support. Students of the George Charles Secondary are expected to undertake an orientation exercise ahead of the official start of classes. The Department of Education is providing transportation for teachers and students of George Charles to the John Odom Secondary on a daily basis. From the communications unit of the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Gender Relations, and Sustainable Development, I am Fennel Neptune reporting. And that's the weekend review from the Government Information Service. I am Alicia Ali.