 Coming to you from RGIS Studios, I am Anicia Antoine and this is your Midday News Brief. Plans are advancing to enhance parts of castries through the OECS Regional Tourism Competitiveness Project. The project which is being funded by the World Bank seeks to enhance the competitiveness of tourism in the region by facilitating movement of tourists between the participating using ferries, improving selected tourism sites, and strengthening capacity for original tourism market development. 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 residents. As part of the OECS Regional Tourism Competitiveness Project, the Government intends to implement several investment initiatives to revitalize downtown castries. These include the pedestrianization of the William Peter Boulevard, the upgrading of sidewalks, works for the improvement of the visitor experience walking through castries, and the upgrading of the Castries Central Market. Some 15 million US dollars has been emacked for St Lucia under the project. The Grozile Community has for its second year honored committed community members and groups who have contributed towards community development. The annual Grozile Lilette Award ceremony sought to recognize members of the community for their contribution to community growth and development. The categories for this year included business, youth development, community service, arts and entertainment, and long-standing community groups. Minister for Equity, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment and a parliamentary representative for Grozile, Hon. Leonard Montout, congratulated the awardees and urged all residents of Grozile to play their part in further developing the community. The Grozile Lilette Award ceremony was held on Thursday 1st of August 2019. The Department of Home Affairs and National Security has welcomed the platform offered through the observance of World Day Against Trafficking in Persons to remind the public of this emerging form of modern slavery. Chairperson of the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Task Force and Permanent Secretary in the Department of Home Affairs and National Security, Mistress Elizabeth Bailey, highlighted that the Government of St Lucia supports the appeal made by the UN Secretary General. The US State Department has ranked St Lucia at Tier 2 in 2018 and 2019 respectively for its tremendous strides in addressing the scourge of trafficking in persons at the local level. This has been your media news brief. Thank you for watching.