 Welcome to NTN Nightly. I am Genelle Norville. This edition, Stop Stories. Loose-lead Donates Essential Testing Equipment to the Azure Long Lab. The Youth Empowerment Project approaches the holistic development of youth through the arts. And Government moves to secure a better structure for the banana industry. The Azure Long Lab continues enhancing COVID-19 testing on island following the donation of testing equipment. More in this report from Fernelle Neptune. As part of efforts to aid in its inclusion response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Loose-lead recently officially handed over testing equipment to the Azure Long Lab of the Owen King Hill Hospital. Equipment is expected to further strengthen the testing capacity of the Azure Long Lab. Director of the Azure Long Lab, Dr. Wayne Felicia says the equipment is needed and will play a significant part in addressing testing challenges for COVID-19 inclusion. Students would remember when we went through our situation during the months of January and February where results delayed up until seven days to even more. With the assistance of the extraction device that Loose-lead has provided, we've been able to keep to our turnaround time of 24 to 48 hours which we have been able to maintain through large parts of the month of March, April and into May. Managing Director of Loose-lead, Trevor Luise says his organization remains committed to contribute to the national COVID-19 response effort and believes the donation of testing equipment will assist tremendously. In the last quarter of 2020, we were beginning to see an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases and we wanted to do all we could to get the equipment here quickly. That is the equipment for which we're doing a symbolic presentation today. Symbolic because the equipment has been in use. Sadly though, not as quickly as we had hoped due to some set of challenges. Nonetheless, we are pleased to have been able to make a contribution to improving the efficiency with which the lab can process PCR samples. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sharon Belma George expressed gratitude to Loose-lead for the donation and says this will contribute towards expanding the nation's testing and curbing the COVID-19 virus. This capacity that we now have and a lot of the people of St. Lucia who waited long periods for results are now seeing those benefits when within 24 hours you are able to tell if you're positive or negative to know how to proceed and it has also supported our contact tracing efforts in making it a lot more efficient and reducing spread. So this really is an invaluable tool in supporting and managing COVID-19. The donation of the testing equipment from Loose-lead to the Ezra Law Lab is valued at $114,000. Reporting from the Communications Unit of the Ministry of Health and Wellness, I am Fennel Neptune. The performance-based financing PBF program of the Health Systems Strengthening Project is scheduled to commence as a pilot in July 2021 within the public health system. This program is a form of incentive where health providers are at least partially funded based on their performance to meet targets or undertake specific actions. The pilot will be conducted in eight primary health facilities in the first six-month phase and the remaining nine in the following six months with a focus on non-communicable diseases, diabetes and hypertension. Neham Jabatis is the performance-based finance coordinator within the Project Implementation Unit. We do have diabetes and hypertension services, yes we do. But I can say here that we do not really know whether or not we are making progress so to speak. We know, I mean we can see, but we still have a lot of amputations for a lot of amputations. We still have, we don't know for example if you take a particular community or a particular population in the country. What is the prevalence of diabetes and hypertension there? So hopefully over the next, when we start to implement this, this will be, this is the information we have on our fingertips and so we'll be able to plan a lot better for the strategically for the health of the country. At least from the perspective of diabetes and hypertension but of course we could always extend those lessons to some of the other things that will be in the package. Jabatis provided an update on where the implementation unit is at with preparations for execution in July. Next month we're going to be launching and we are trying to get all of the deliverables that we need to have in place for launching right now. Let me just say that the support that I've received from the nurses has been tremendous. We're going to be hiring some staff to do some supportive supervision with the health centers. You will appreciate it's going to be a few, some new procedures and so that staff itself will be trained by the external consultants and so they will be working with the facilities to ensure throughout the implementation of the pilot and then we'll also be hiring some IT staff as well to work with the health management information unit. The launch of the PBF program will be held in June and screenings will commence at the targeted health facilities in July. The PBF program is an early step in the development of universal health care, national health insurance and essential package of health services. The Youth Empowerment Project has launched a program aimed at the holistic development of the youth through the arts. The creative and expressive arts for peace and development program is guided by the theme, enlighten, enrich, empower. Esther Matthews is the arts coordinator of the YEP. The bright smiles on the faces of children are not only children but the adults when they say, I have an idea and I want to do this I want to be a designer, I want to make my own clothes but it's not only that. They are recognizing the need for newness in the community and they are already believing that they are the ones who will bring that newness, that enlightenment, that enrichment and this program presents them with the power, the equipment, the materials, the guidance that they need to present themselves as law-abiding citizens, working citizens, employed citizens, self-employed citizens of our country. The creative and expressive arts for peace and development program is a collaboration between the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment and the Ministry of Culture and Creative Industries. The project is financed by the Caribbean Development Bank, CDB. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Equity under which the YEP falls, encourage participants to make the best of the program. I want to encourage the participants of the program to make full use of the opportunity being presented and to apply the knowledge and skills which you will learn to your daily lives. I ask that you take in all the information, ask questions, be empowered and become the best version of yourself that you can be. Albert Ellis spoke on behalf of the CDB. He described the program as a critical intervention for St. Lucia. At the time of the project's development, its objectives were consistent with CDB's strategic objective of supporting inclusive and sustainable growth and development and designed with the intention of delivering gender equitable outcomes, recognizing that citizen security and wider societal issues have differential impacts on women, men, boys and girls. The project's objectives are still very relevant to CDB and aligned with the strategic objective of building social resilience as articulated in the bank's new strategic framework, 2020 to 2024. Senator Honorable Fortuna Belrose highlighted the importance of the program from the perspective of the Ministry of Creative Industries. The mandate of the Ministry of Culture and Creative Industries is really to guide the creative potential of our nation towards economic benefits generated from its cultural, artistic, innovative and cultural expressions. That's what we want to do. And so the real measure for us is the extent to which we're able to achieve this will be determined by the level of consciousness and empowerment of our citizens, as we saw in this eloquent presentation by our teacher. Our young men, our vulnerable groups, our youth at risk, our women, our single parents, all must be afforded an opportunity to enable them to find a way in our society and realize their potential. The Youth Empowerment Project has an allocation of US $4,762,000 to implement various projects targeted at the development of youth. The Government of St. Lucia is actively engaging the National Fair Trade Organization, NFTO, in discussions with a view of achieving a mutual agreement that would create the best possible structure for the organization to benefit farmers and aid in the revitalization of the banana industry. Speaking on NTN's Agriculture on the Move program, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, Natural Resources and Cooperatives Honorable Ezekiel Joseph indicated that the government cannot continue to funnel money into the organization in its current form. However, the Ministry of Agriculture is embarking on a number of initiatives to assist farmers to improve the banana product and the overall industry. We are saying that what we are going to do in the interim is to pay the old farmers over 15 weeks' house toll. 15 weeks? 15 weeks. So we are going to pay the first five weeks at least to give farmers a legal relief, a legal shoot through asthma. And we are hoping that as quickly as possible we can put a new structure in place. The resources that we have, the balance of the resources that we have, the $4 million, because $4.5 million will go into paying off the balance of the farmers, putting in structures in place, giving farmers support as it pertains to inputs, extension advice, bringing more officers in to have them on the ground, working for our farmers, to put inspection policies and programs in place at the IRDCs because we need to strengthen what we are doing locally to make sure that we are able to overcome and reduce on our quality claims. Honourable Joseph explained that one of the biggest challenges facing the industry is that of compromise quality. Winfresh's quality claims from the NFTO as of the 1st of November 2020 amount to some $1.5 million. The minister highlighted his vision for the industry. I want to see that we have a well-restructured industry where farmers have confidence in the leadership of the industry where the policies that the leadership is, the policies they are implementing, redone to the benefit of the farmers, and we move forward. To me, in the short term, we have to give that guidance. Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, Natural Resources, and Cooperatives, Honourable Ezekiel Joseph. The Parliament of St. Lucia has approved the counter-trafficking amendment bill, which provides for stiffer penalties in the prosecution of individuals found guilty of trafficking persons. Prime Minister, the Honourable Alan Shasne, palleted the bill in the House of Assembly. The counter-trafficking Act Cap 317 currently provides that a person convicted of the offence of trafficking of persons could serve either a custodial sentence of up to five years or pay a fine not exceeding $100,000. However, the amendment removes the alternative penalty of a fine so that a person convicted of this offence is subject to imprisonment for up to five years. Under the Act Summary Conviction of the Offence of Unlawfully Withholding of Identification Papers carries a custodial sentence of up to two years or an alternative fine of up to $10,000. The amendment provides that a person convicted of this offence is subject to imprisonment for up to two years. The Act provides for a custodial and monetary penalty for a person convicted of the offence of transporting a person for the purpose of exploiting such a person's prostitution. The amendment removes the monetary penalty of $100,000. Therefore, the penalty for a conviction of this offence is a custodial sentence of up to five years. Parliament is invited to pass the Counter-Traffic Amendment Bill to provide a more stringent approach to the prosecution of the offence is identified by the removing of provisions that allow fines while maintaining the penalty of a custodial sentence. Prime Minister, the Honourable Alan Sharsney. This is NTN Knightley, up next, Primus Hutchingson with the NTN Nouvelle, a quay all. As a single mother, I do a lot of ironing. Knowing that the iron that I'm using is safe is important to me. The St. Lucia Bureau of Standards tests electrical appliances being imported into the country. SLBS will soon adopt 35 new standards on electrical equipment to ensure that consumers like you and me are safe. If your iron does not come with a British three-pin plug, it should be sold with a compliant British three-pin adapter. If you buy any appliance that is faulty, report it to the Bureau. This message is brought to you by the Commonwealth Standards Network. Welcome back. We join Primus Hutchingson for the NTN Nouvelle, a quay all. Mr. Otin, General, Mr. Madame, Department of State University, for information on this government, this is GIS, at this national television station, the NTN, which is the new quay all, which is Primus Hutchingson. This is the national television station for us, for our association, the nation of Baptists, of which Maladi Corona has made the nation a guardian and a pillar of admiration for services that I buy and that I buy for Maladi Corona. I am a national television station, and I am here for the organization of the World Health Organization to continue to honor us in the land. According to President Baptists, if we have time to honor us, it is a pleasure. About the great peace that Maladi Corona has achieved and put under the men and the great commitment of us to continue to fight the bad pandemic. President Nos, this is the last thing to understand, if we have time to honor all of us in the position to find Corona for the work we are doing, President Baptists declared that the world that is a quay is our association to come across such criticism of the Maladi Corona. Nos explained that all of us, in the middle of the quay, we are the people that Maladi Corona has brought mainly for Nos and the health workers. But the condition that we are in for the work we are doing is to move the quay that the people of Nos are doing. They are trying to greatly affect the system of health to save the world. President Nos explained that the nation that depends on resilience of Nos and the ability to try and act and all the quality of the situation and all the work that has been done for us, but we are working on the work we are doing and we are doing the work that we have done before. And I think that for example, the people that are going to fight against the Corona and the nation that are fighting for the work that has been done for us, for example, it is done for the national health service for the health workers that are working for the health workers that are fighting for the country. The great chef Karikom is having a special session and he agrees to meet Dr. Carla Natalie Barnett a citizen of Belize for the 8th General Secretary for Karikom. It was on May 1, 2021 Dr. Barnett is a first woman, a first woman from Belize to find and select Dr. Barnett and replace Owen Lrock who has been in the second position in the Salah position. General Secretary Nefla who started his work on May 15, 2021 General Director for the OECS Dr. Ditticus Jules Congratulations Dr. Barnett and all the TPI congratulations Dr. Barnett for your appointment which is historic and that is a compliment Dr. Barnett I made an excellent contribution for the Belize country and for the rest of the Karikom country and I understand that Dr. Barnett is a first woman a first woman from Belize to find and select Dr. Ditticus Jules to work with General Secretary Nefla to advance the development of the Karikom government I congratulate Dr. Barnett who has been in the Salah position and it was an assistance for General Secretary Karikom who was the Vice-President for the Belize Senate I also work with the Deputy Minister for the Belize government it was also a financial security for Belize and it was a good position for the Belize government and for the Karikom development Dr. Barnett in the West Indies University Monacampus, Ajamaic I also have been a Master's in Economics at at Western Ontario and in Canada I also have been a Bachelor's in Sciences of Economics at the University of West Indies miniskin University for Agriculture and the Faculty of Arts I also have my full-time here presentment and then the Greek NFTO. I agree with the government to pay for my job in the week. According to the Minister of Agriculture, I am responsible for the NFTO officers, ministers and then the government. I have decided to assist the Gulf of Africa to help relieve the situation that has caused us so much trouble. We can assist in my place. We can put our NFTO here. We can serve in the way we serve because we don't have a place to live. That's why farmers suffer, right? So, based on the discussion we had last year, we have agreed that we can advance some payments to farmers, so that they can pay for their work. But we don't have the same place to see that the answer is that we can advance to pay farmers directly. The Minister of Agriculture, he receives the business Windfresh, and he says that to pay for the windfresh debt to the NFTO, he says that it is an operation to do. You have come to have an asset windfresh on the NFTO. You can pay whatever you want to do. But not with this money, debt, and so on, we will probably pay for it. So, we will do it. We will do it. We will do it. We will do it because we don't have the same place to pay for the windfresh debt to the NFTO. We will do it. So, we have agreed that we can still pay for NFTO on the 15th of April. We will still pay for the windfresh debt to the NFTO, because we don't have the same place to pay for the windfresh debt It's OK to do it, the fork is too high. But we will appreciate that we still have money to pay for the windfresh debt. We have to make sure that we are satisfied with what we are doing and that we are satisfied with what we are doing. We are starting to realize that it is important too. We have to support the government to do what we are doing. We have to know how to get information. So it's not just about the government. It's about the system. The Minister of Construction and Energy, Minister of Agriculture will give us the financial opportunity to work in agriculture and结業. If we could improve our development, we will help to make a new effort for the new government. I have a request from Mr. Otton to give us some advice on the future of development. I'll make a lot of new developments in the future. For example, I have a request from the general and it is also an important addition to work. Merciable primers. That brings us to the end of NTN Nightly. Join us next time at 7pm with a repeat at 7am. You can also catch up with us anytime on the St. Lucia Government Facebook page or YouTube channel. I am General Norvel.