 It's time for St. Lucia Magazine, your monthly wrap-up. And welcome to St. Lucia Magazine, your monthly recap of governmental and public sector developments. I'm Hermadi Mark. In this episode, we highlight the appointment of St. Lucia's first female commissioner of police, and we take a look back at the devastating weather event that underlined St. Lucia's own vulnerability in the midst of the global climate crisis. That, plus updates from various ministries. This is St. Lucia Magazine. As November comes to a close, and we prepare to welcome the month of December, let's take a look back at three major happenings in the months prior. First up, the government of St. Lucia has appointed the island's first female commissioner of police. For the first time in the history of the Royal St. Lucia Police Force, a female police officer is at the helm of the organization. On October 17, 2022, Prime Minister and Minister for National Security Hon. Philip J. Pier announced Ms. Krusita Descartes-Pelius as acting police commissioner. Descartes-Pelius assumed her new role with more than three decades of experience in law enforcement under her belt. Riani Isidore tells us more. Krusita Descartes-Pelius is a decorated police officer with more than 30 years of experience under her belt. Prior to her appointment as police commissioner, Krusita Descartes-Pelius previously served as assistant commissioner of police with responsibility for corporate services and strategic operations. Commissioner Descartes-Pelius was enlisted in the police force in 1988. She attained the rank of sergeant in 2001 and later superintendent of police in 2015. In addition to successfully completing and participating in a multitude of theoretical and practical courses and training exercises, Commissioner Descartes-Pelius also holds a bachelor's degree in management studies from the University of the West Indies. Krusita Descartes-Pelius succeeds Milton Daisy, whose tenure came to an end on October 14th. At the first press conference attended by her as acting commissioner of police, Ms. Rispelius expressed her commitment to always serving at her best. I am grateful for this opportunity to lead the Royal St. Lucia Police Force, which will allow me to continue to focus on good and effective leadership. The impact I want to make is one that will advance the leadership of the organization, not only for those in position, but for those who have been groomed and those who have the capacity to lead. I want to be a good example, and I want to be a good example coming from me. And one of the good, the legacies of a leader is to create good leaders. I want people to lead themselves well. So when called to lead others, they have the capacity to do so. In my position, I want to pass on what I've learned to others. The Royal St. Lucia Police Force is not an island. We need to work together with the multi-agences to deal with all the issues of crime in our country. Crime is a concern not only for the police, but for everyone. I need to encourage officers to be efficient, to continue to be efficient, continue to be committed and professional in delivering service to the people of St. Lucia. I want to encourage good team spirit and to work with all agencies to make St. Lucia a better place. Prime Minister Honourable Philip J. Pier expressed confidence in Mrs. Pelius's ability to successfully fulfill her duty. I mean, they tell it's a historic time for the women of the country, but as Mrs. Pelius said, she's going to be commissioner for all people, men and women. But it's a very proud feeling to have a woman as a commissioner of police. We feel very proud about it. It's our testimony of our faith and belief in the women of St. Lucia. In the month of November, a trough system dumped several inches of rain throughout St. Lucia's northern region. Occurring on November 6, 2022, the unexpected downpour triggered devastating flash flooding and landslides. Modern 300 households each lost 80-90% of their possessions. Their preliminary loss and damage cost estimates associated with the November 6 trough system already exceeds $2.6 million. We go to Candle Eugene for the details of that story. Floodwaters inundated homes and businesses in some parts of the North on Sunday, November 6, with heavy rains dumping some 6.1 inches of rainfall in Rodney Bay, Grosley, where the highest amount of rainfall was recorded. In a little over 4 hours, the heavy rains which caused the flash flooding in areas of Corinth, Glarevier, Bois-de-Wage and Bexon, left residents particularly in the North with little time to respond. Guys, look at this, we had no time to prepare. I tried to save my car, it was floating away, my neighbors, it was, oh my God, look at this. This came out of nowhere, absolutely nowhere. Following the passage of the trough, teams from the Ministry of Infrastructure were dispatched to clear the roads and waterways. The shelters were assessed for their suitability to temporarily house affected individuals. Parliamentary representative for Grosley Honorable Kenson Kaseme was on the ground coordinating assistance to affected residents and areas. So today we covered a number of places in the community of Grosley, particularly Morsi, where we saw some damage to the bridge in Morsi, the roads in Morsi and also we are currently in the community of Riviameter. We also went into Monjirou to do a thorough assessment of some of the damages as we continue to ensure we provide as much support for the people. A number of persons are requesting food, water, of course the furniture has been damaged for a lot of persons and so we are asking persons to continue to be patient as we carry out all the analysis, all the assessments throughout this very large constituency. I must say thank you to the Minister responsible for infrastructure Honorable Stevenson King who came out with members from his ministry including the engineers to continue the assessment and get from his perspective, see in places like Inglewood some of the issues that we face there in terms of the infrastructure and the drains. So I just want to encourage everybody to continue to work towards getting better and better and I'll continue to serve them the best I can. The Corinth Secondary School and the Dimplet-Louise Primary School shut their doors in the days following the November 6th trough. The Dimplet-Louise Primary School was particularly hard hit. The school remained closed one week into the disaster with teachers facing a massive cleanup of mud and mess that invaded the school with the flood waters. The teachers got a hand from parents and the Taiwanese Embassy provided financial support for the cleanup. I know the teachers put a lot into educating our children and I know they couldn't do it alone. I had the free time so I decided to come in and here I am cleaning up chairs to ensure that things are nice and sanitized so when they come back in. So this is what I, my way of helping, my way of giving back. As everybody knows, Taiwan is a solution not only friends of prosperity, we also are partners in the adversity. So that's the nature that I will think of, provide assistance to the school. So I'm really glad that with the help of Honorable Minister Kashmir, we will be able to make it so quick because I think the help need to be in time. So that's why we are doing this afternoon. We try to provide a small fund and I hope that this small fund will bring relief to the school. The ambassador said it's a very trying time for the constituency of Bruce Lee and so we want to invite other persons who are concerned to really show their concern by providing some form of assistance, monetary or in kind. We have a lot of needs in the community including water, clothing, beds, food, even material for certain individuals. Of course a lot of individuals are not at work because they don't have any clothing right now and so it's of huge concern to me and the rest of the community. So thank you so much ambassador for your continued support. We will continue to be friends, brothers and partners in development locally and of course with the international. Thank you so much. This is our third hit. This is the worst of the three and it was really, really hard to wrench in when we came in on Sunday. But today you are seeing something good, you're seeing something real good and I am truly appreciative of all gestures that come our way, all assistance that come our way. Every little bit counts and we just want to get our students back at school at the soonest. Prime Minister Honourable Philip J. Pierre in a joint press briefing with the National Emergency Management Organization NIMO immediately following the trough on November 7th committed to the support of over 300 affected households. When receipt of the damage assessment report from NIMO, the government will determine the nature and extent of the assistance needed and put together a full response programme. In the days following that promise, Press Secretary to the Prime Minister Monty Lewis indicated what relief measures had been given and steps for further assistance to the victims of the trough. The extent of losses experienced not only by households but also by businesses, schools and infrastructure has caused a heightened need for the coordination of emergency relief response. Once the situation has been stabilised and people's basic needs are being met, the planning and rebuilding phase will commence. As of Thursday 10th November 2022, the Prime Minister Honourable Philip J. Pierre activated $200,000 worth of food and sanitising vouchers to be distributed to affected households through the National Emergency Organization NIMO and constituency offices which have had affected residents. The Prime Minister has also been in dialogue with international donor agencies as saying Lucia will require both technical and financial assistance to respond to this crisis. As government officials and the disaster management personnel assesses the impact of the heavy rains, Prime Minister Honourable Philip J. Pierre addressed some of the practices that contributed to the severity of the flooding and the damage in its wake. The Ministry of Infrastructure had maintained the schedule for desilting, especially as prescribed during preparation for the hurricane season. Despite the heavy rainfall, there were many things in the rivers that were not supposed to be there. So stoves, discarded fridges, plastic bottles in the rivers and once more we are begging and urging the public of San Lucia not to dispose these materials in the waterways and the rivers. Deputy Director of the National Disaster Management Organization NIMO Maria Medard echoed the warning for better waste disposal practices as officials contended with the extent of the disaster from the trough. Too many incidences of clogged waterways because of garbage. Persons dispose of the garbage in the waterways or to the back of their homes where it is close to the waterways. So once it has overflowed banks, everything gets washed away. And these things also compromise the roads and the bridges. So again, we're pleading with you to please dispose of garbage. Solid waste has bulk garbage once a month. Please ensure that you know what dates your garbage and bulk garbage is being collected. NIMO has issued an appeal for assistance to help victims of the trough build back. A lot of the residents lost almost all of their belongings. We are here making a plea with the general public to come together and to see how we can help out those residents to build back some of the items, emergency items like beddings, furniture, school items like uniforms, books, devices. Anyone who is able to spare any items, we've got some extra items. We are pleading with you to bring those items in NIMO where we will be able to lend a hand to those solutions who lost everything in this disaster. Many families and businesses have lost a lifetime of investments and will have to start over. Therefore, we are appealing to the public to assist in the relief efforts by contributing financially via the following. First National Bank 6-0-0-2-7-6-0 Republic Bank 2-0-0-2-8-1-7 Bank of St. Lucia 9-0-1-3-0-0-1-3-6 First Caribbean International Bank 1-0-6-9-6-2-1-7-0 To become a NIMO volunteer, offer assistance with basic relief to affected households. Please contact them at 452-380-2. 452-380-2 It's time for Recap. Recap is a look back at government and public sector developments. The government of St. Lucia has finalized an EC 22.9 million dollar grant agreement with the Japanese government to redevelop the Shousell fishing port. And the repairs to the Shousell complex is well needed because that sedimentation is something that has plagued all parliamentary representatives for Shousell. Every parliamentary representative for Shousell, and Bradley not being different, always complains and needs and speaks about the sedimentation and the fishing complex. It's an age-old problem that's continued for years. Regardless of how you de-sealed it comes back all the time. So I hope you can get a more poor man's solution to this issue in Shousell. Sedimentation at the port entrance continues to be a perennial obstruction for Shousell fishers. I am aware that for many years the facility has been experiencing sedimentation at the entrance of the port and the pond area. This issue has been affecting the ability of the fishing vessels to go in and out of the port effectively. As a result, continuous dredging work at the entrance and inside of the port had to be undertaken. Therefore, the government of St. Lucia is indeed pleased to have received support from the government of Japan to conduct data collection surveys on the current situation in Shousell and to consider technical feasibility of countermeasures to recover and improve the effective functioning of the port. The National Competitiveness and Productivity Council, NCPC, says the passage of the Security Interest in Moveable Property Bill in both the upper and lower houses of parliament will further increase economic activity within the local business community. More from Glenn Simon. I'd like to present for second reading a bill shortly entitled Security Interest in Moveable Property. The passage of the Security Interest in Moveable Property Bill is intended to support micro, small and medium enterprises and is a critical step towards a cohesive and inclusive system to promote access to finance and growth within the small business sector. The same stress that has formed machines, so in machines, can now use those machines as security to get a loan that never existed before but it can now, Mr. Speaker. Shama Mathrain is the economist with the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council spearheading this reform. What I think is important and different about this new bill and this project is that it ensures that the proper, structured and orderly comprehensive legislative framework is established to guide those transactions and so the banks and credit unions and other financial institutions must adhere to the administrative rules and guidelines and regulations contained within the provisions of the new bill. The bill also calls for the establishment of an online moveable property collateral registry. The collateral registry is seen as a win-win mechanism for both debtors and creditors. The Ministry of Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs says it will work with sister agencies namely the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Ministry of Economic Development to oversee the new St. Jude Reconstruction project. A small ceremony to announce the recommencement of the St. Jude Reconstruction project was held on Tuesday, November 1st at the active construction site. Construction was last halted in 2021, while the committee reviewed the existing structures on the site in order to determine the best way forward. Following their findings, the government of St. Lucia took the decision to recommence infrastructure works under different terms. One of these terms ensures the project is undertaken collaboratively with vital input of the Ministry of Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs in the oversight, planning, design and communications of the project. I want to tell you also the management of this project is going to be different. No one or two men are going to be in charge. And it's going to be a collaboration between the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Ministry of Economic Development. The contractor responsible for the construction activities on the site during this phase is construction company CIE. We have started today with the phase one of the St. Jude Hospital Rehabilitation Project. Phase one includes the cleaning of the entire site including all the buildings. It also includes the fumigation and anti-termite treatment that needs to be carried out because of the time that has elapsed since the buildings were not used. Four buildings were set to be attended to from Tuesday by seven subcontractors with a total of 42 workers. Students of the Uptown Girls Garden Center benefited from the recent purchase of technological devices funded by the Federal Republic of Germany. A donation of equipment valued at over 12,500 euros was presented to the center at a ceremony on October 24, 2022. Students from the Uptown Gardens Girls Center now have increased opportunities to benefit from the sensitization of education and information technology. This is due to the recent purchase of technological devices by a funding assistance from the Federal Republic of Germany. Struggling to keep afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic, the center was forced to seek more innovative methods of teaching, resulting in the creation of education for technology program. Initiated and implemented in 2020, the program is tailored to provide effective and strategic training in the use of various online platforms, not only to the girls but to educators as well. The program will ultimately facilitate the delivery of the Uptown Gardens Girls Center regular instructional courses via online means. To buttress the program, a donation of equipment valued at over 12,500 euros was presented to the Uptown Gardens Girls Center officials at a ceremony on October 24, 2022. The equipment consists of laptops, smart screen TVs, printers, and other computer accessories. Caroline Trubiscoe, Honorary Counsel of the Federal Republic of Germany, underscored her passion to assist vulnerable and needy children. I'm really happy that perhaps I can also now contribute, we, the government of Germany can contribute to your education and your development by having donated these smart TVs and some new laptops. And I hope that it will just make the work a little easier, more fun, not just for the teachers but for the students and that it will come out of the school with the right coping mechanisms and the right attitude towards the making the best of your life. Director of the Center, Jacqueline Simian expressed her gratitude while accepting the much needed assistance. We recognize during COVID that going virtual required certain tools and we had some of it. Mostly we discovered a lot of what we need was on YouTube so our smart TVs came into play. So when you ask me I thought our poor laptops are kind of like going decades old and this was an opportunity to have some new equipment for the staff and have this technology available in all of our classrooms. Germany is the second most populous country in Europe, after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. The government of Germany allocates funding to develop small-scale projects initiated by local non-governmental organizations in the field of education and technology. From the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice and Empowerment, Shevroy Marius. The equipment consists of laptops, smart TVs, printers and other computer accessories. Caroline Trebettskoi, Honorary Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany, underscored her passion to assist vulnerable and needy children. I'm really happy that perhaps I can also now contribute, we, the government of Germany can contribute to your education and your development by having donated these smart TVs and some new laptops. And I hope that it will just make the work a little easier, more fun, not just for the teachers, but for the students, and that it will come out of a broader school, really with the right coping mechanisms and the right attitude towards making the best of your life. Director of the Center, Jacqueline Simian, expressed her gratitude while accepting the much-needed assistance. The Single Mothers Entrepreneur Assistance Program is an initiative of the St. Lucia Social Development Fund, SSDF and Bell Fund. It targets vulnerable mothers who already benefit from government support under the Public Assistance Program. Finance under the newly initiated Social Investment Fund, the initiative is designed to break dependency on governments established social protection services. The PAP, Bell Fund and the SSDF all fall under the auspices of the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice and Empowerment. Financed under the newly initiated Social Investment Fund, the Single Mothers Initiative is designed to break the dependency on governments established social protection services. You are here because we care about St. Lucia and we concern about our people. We are not granting your favor, it's not a gift we are giving to you. We are investing in our people because we must do that. We believe that our responsibility is to secure a better future for our children. To sharpen their business acumen, females selected for the program underwent basic business management training for a four-week period. They also received business mentorship guidance and will be closely monitored by officials of the Bell Fund as they manage their businesses. Nineteen participants from the north and fifteen from the south received certificates of completion at a closing ceremony at the National Skills Development Center on October 25, 2022. The St. Lucia Electricity Services Limited, Lucilek funded the project to the tune of $300,000. Thank you, Lucilek. Public and private stakeholders have hosted an exhibition on the varied uses of geospatial technology. Shaq Hings and Compton provide such the details. The occasion is the Geographic Information Systems, or GIS, and National Spatial Data Infrastructure, or NSDI exhibition. GIS is a computer system used for storing and displaying geographic information. NSDI is a mechanism using policies, standards and resources to collect, coordinate and share that information. Cadaster International is a government mapping agency and land registry from the Netherlands. So we are now working together with the Department of Physical Development and Urban Renewal on the further development of the spatial data infrastructure in St. Lucia. And in essence it means making sharing of geospatial information possible and improving. Data gathered with the technology has the potential to improve infrastructure planning, housing, disaster preparedness, traffic management, emergency services response time and even agriculture. St Lucia, who set the 30th OECS swimming championship, held from November 11th to 13th at the Rodney Heights Aquatic Centre. The event made a significant contribution to the island's hospitality sector. Well, this is a great example of sports tourism. Almost 400 persons in St Lucia, swimmers and family and relatives. So it means that the rental companies for vehicles are smiling right now. It means the hotels, these individuals are smiling. As a matter of fact, in my conversation with the president of the St Lucia Aquatic Federation, Eddie Hazel, a few nights ago, they were scrambling to find additional Airbnb's for persons who are in St Lucia for the swimming event and so the benefits are there. Team Antigua and Barbuda eventually emerged winners of the 30th OECS Swim Championships and they are set to host the event next year in the Twin Island Nation. Mr. Werngaard assumed the post of Director of Corrections at the Bodily Correctional Facility, BCF, effective October 4th, 2022 to October 3rd, 2024. The newly reappointed BCF chief is a retired police officer of 20 years service who has attained the rank of inspector and headed the Special Branch Unit of the Royal St Lucia Police Force more recently. Mr. Werngaard served in the capacity of Superintendent of Her Majesty's Prison at Balsamka-Tutola, British Vision Islands. He also served as National Security Advisor on Prison Matters. St Lucia attained the world's leading honeymoon destination for the 14th time at the 29th annual World Travel Awards in Oman, Muscat on November 11th, 2022. St Lucia was nominated in five award categories including World's Leading Honeymoon Destination, World's Leading Island Destination, World's Leading Wedding Destination, World's Most Romantic Destination and World's Leading Adventure Tourism Destination. The government of St Lucia in March 2022 tabled the Community Tourism Development Act in order to provide St Lucia's greater access to resources and facilities needed to reap benefits from the tourism sector. More from Riani and Sudol. The Community Tourism Development Act gave rise to the establishment of the St Lucia Community Tourism Agency, CTA, who officially launched its transformative Community Tourism Program in the Ancelare Village on November 3rd. The Community Tourism Program is designed to encourage entrepreneurs and property owners in each community to upgrade their facilities and product offerings. As business owners will be guided by a standard for operation including licensing and will undergo training and certification in general business and hospitality skills development to ensure that the accommodations and services are inviting and world class. At the CTA, we are focused on development of small micro enterprises involved or interested in the tourism business within accommodations up to 10 rooms, restaurants, bars and recreational facilities. Prime Minister Hon. Philip J. Pierre himself, a former Minister of Tourism, has given the CTA his stamp of approval as the Community Tourism Program advances his administration's mandate of putting people first by providing St Lucia's aspiring entrepreneurs and established business leaders and the MSME sector in particular previously unattainable opportunities for wealth creation, income generation and sustainable employment. It's now time for Did You Know where we inform you of governmental policies and incentives that work for you. Did you know that you can enjoy concessions on barrels imported from now until February 28th, 2023? The concessions include 100% waiver of import duty on personal items, food, clothing, toys and other household consumables. Electronic items are not included. The barrels that qualify for concessions are limited to two per household. The items must be for personal use only and not for commercial use. We've come to the end of this edition of St Lucia magazine, Your Monthly Wrap Up. Huge thank you to all who contributed to the production of this program. The national television network and GIS team as well as communication officers in the various ministries and thank you for joining us. Until next time, I'm Humadi Mark.