 Welcome to NTIA Nightly. I am General Norvel. This edition stops stories. The Prime Minister welcomes Carey Crease's most recently assigned ratings for St. Lucia. Local business electronics is expanding its reach district by district. And the Rotary Club of St. Lucia elects six female president. The Caribbean's Credit Rating Agency, Caribbean Information and Credit Rating Services Limited, Carey Crease, has reaffirmed the assigned ratings of BBB on its regional rating scale to several debt programs of the government of St. Lucia. These ratings indicate that the level of credit worthiness of these debt obligations, a judge in relation to other debt obligations in the Caribbean, is adequate. The agency has also maintained a stable outlook on the ratings. In a statement, Carey Crease indicated that its stable outlook is premised on the expectation of strong construction activity and a partial recovery in tourism in 2021, and that debt to GDP would not bridge the current rating categories limit. Prime Minister, the Honourable Alan Shasne, welcomed the ratings. Considering everything that we have been through with COVID, we are very satisfied with where we are at this point. It's a stable outlook and there was no further downgrade of our credit rating. And more importantly, I think that Carey Crease shares our optimism as to what the future holds. And I remind us that we had a 10% increase in the level of debt, which was about $300 million, but we had a decline of 20% or contraction in our economy. Almost 90% of that decline was attributed to tourism. So as we're now seeing tourism rebound and we're really hoping that the UK market opens up very soon, as well as the Canadian market and we saw some return to our Caribbean market before the end of the year, it is anticipated that we will see a faster recovery of our GDP. And in fact, if by the end of the year the GDP recovers to its pre-COVID level, the debt to GDP would decline well below 70%. The number of arrivals that we're seeing from the US, in fact, we're breaking records out of the US. We reached 82% of our US arrivals in the month of May and that is a month in which we had broken a record in 2019. We're expecting the numbers in June and July to actually exceed the number of US arrivals that we had in 2019. It is also projected that we would have recovered 50% of our total tourism business by the end of June. On Tuesday the 29th June 2021, Cruz Tourism was reintroduced to St. Lucia when the island welcomed Celebrity Millennium, another indicator of the island's impending recovery. The carry-crease further indicated that debt to GDP would plateau with borrowings for the Heronora International Airport's redevelopment, but with thereafter decline as COVID-19's negative fiscal impacts begin to taper off. GDP improvements lead to better fiscal performance and fiscal consolidation towards achievement of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union's debt to GDP target of 60% by 2035 is pursued. This is not something that has come easily. So from March of last year when we saw the closure of our economy to reopening of our international borders by June of 2020 and the progress that we've made since then, these policies have helped. The policy of implementing shovel ready projects, the road projects, the airport, St. Jude's, the water projects, improvement of all of our infrastructure around the island has also augured wealth for us because it's been able to re-employ persons who otherwise would have not been employed. And now that the tourism is recovering, we're starting to see a fuller recovery of our unemployment rates. I was also heartened to hear from my retail and wholesale sectors and the banking industry that the fallout of COVID wasn't as bad as we had anticipated and the policies of the government have worked. So again, this is good news for all of us and certainly will continue to instill the confidence that we have seen in our economy and return to some level of normalcy. And again, for all the solutions who've been impacted, know that your government is here with you. We're doing everything we possibly can. Carrie Chris indicated that the ratings on St. Lucia continue to reflect the island's sound financial sector. Despite COVID-19 challenges, broad-based economic activity and moderate GDP strengthening is expected in coming years. The principal of the Gordon and Walcott Memorial Methodist School has hailed a start-off work on a new wing for her institution as another complement to the school's rich legacy of excellence. Chris Satney has more in this report. The construction of the new block will see the demolition of the old infant wing of the school to provide more security, adequate operating space and enhancement of the teaching and learning experience at the institution. It's been a 10-year wait for the Gordon and Walcott Memorial Methodist School, which has undergone several name changes over the years since the first Methodist School was established in St. Lucia over 131 years ago. In 1951, the primary school was moved to the current location and named after the first headteacher, the late Thomas Gordon. Principal of the school, Margaret Gabriel, touched by this recent endeavor was encouraged to take a trip down memory lane. In 1962, the Methodist Infant School building was constructed on the compound next to the primary school, right behind the sucrose there. It was named the Alex Walcott Methodist School. The works will consist of a two-level reinforced concrete structure. The first floor will contain four classrooms, staff room and washroom facilities, while the ground floor will consist of one classroom, music room, theater arts and French rooms and a sick bay. It's a plan which satisfies the Gordon and Walcott School's principle. We look forward to the completion of this beautiful new block which will transform our school compound and modernize our facilities to help us offer quality education in a more conducive physical environment. Research has shown that enhanced physical spaces can boost motivation and morale among students as well as staff. Minister with Responsibility for Education Honorable Dr. Gail Brickabert, who helped turn the sword for the start of the construction, is certain this and two other schools being built under the Education Quality Improvement Project Equip. At a total cost of $20 million, we'll ensure the sustainability of modern education at these institutions for generations to come. So the social fabric of our society is what concerns us. The things that hurt our people is what motivates us to fix things, to address issues and to ensure that we put systems in place that will outlive us because it is not an egotistical endeavor that my minister, ministerial colleague or I will boast that I have done this. It's not about us. It is about the people and ensuring that we give to them what they earnestly desire, deserve and want for themselves and for their families. The site works will include improvements in the perimeter fencing and the vehicular parking conditions. It will also include improved site drainage and improved site access on the northern boundary as well as refurbishment of the existing septic tank. MP Forkastry Central Honourable Sarah-Flat Bobra says the school is well-placed to build on its rich history to make even greater accomplishments in the future. So I want to thank you for all that you've done. I mean, your school looks so clean, the environment so welcoming, your students so well behaved. You will excel even more in an environment that's suited more to these times to help you perfect your work even more. So I want to say how very pleased and grateful I am today as your Member of Parliament to thank again the Minister of Education and her entire team for prioritizing this project. The construction of the new block at the Gordon and Walcott Memorial Methodist will be undertaken through a 10-month period by Prudies Construction Limited at a cost of just over 5 million EC dollars. From the Communications Unit of the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development, I am Chris Satney reporting. After hosting a successful student digital skills training last year, local business of Churnix is expanding its rich district by district. In September, digital training sessions will be held at the Grosillae Human Resource Centre for individuals 16 years and older. Participants will be engaged in training on social media marketing, website design, basic graphic design, PowerPoint presentations, e-commerce tools and the effective use of information management systems like Google Suite. Churnix co-founder Keegan Patrick says this type of engagement with the public is getting towards increasing digital literacy and the number of digital businesses in Grosillae. We want to help develop this interest in technology. We want to see St. Lucia and the Caribbean region become a place where we're not only users of innovative technologies but we become creators of innovative technologies. These STEM educational programs focus on teaching the human capital of St. Lucia with wider perspectives of the Caribbean about technology, about engineering and the digital space as it's growing. We know in the world right now there's almost the fourth industrial revolution where we're going into technology, the Internet of Things and we're trying to bring this new space of technology to St. Lucia and try to get our public familiarized and interested in this kind of industry. Operations manager overseeing the upcoming training sessions says the response by the public has been tremendous. He encourages persons to register if they want to transition their businesses online or enhance their employability. If you just want to tone on your skills and get introduced to new applications that you wouldn't know existed. So bring your business from just a traditional business but put it online, put it out there, make ads on social media, create a different flyer or create a QR code. So that's what we're trying to teach people. We knew people would be interested but we didn't expect so many people. And the good thing is that we're hitting all different age ranges. So it's not like people say that their kid is out of school and they want to send them to do something. It's more people asking for time off from work, asking them to send them an email so that they could ask for a day off to really push themselves. And that really made us realize like wow, people really want to do better and really get into the digital economy more. The three focus areas of the Upturnix company are website and mobile applications development, rapid prototyping services and the STEM educational program that includes the digital skills training. The government of St. Lucia is providing immediate relief to the various sectors and individuals impacted by the passage of Hurricane Elsa. The Prime Minister of St. Lucia made the announcement this past weekend where he disclosed that the island has recorded millions of dollars in damages to its infrastructure, agriculture and housing. Details in this report. Several government agencies are conducting damage assessments in various sectors impacted by the passage of Hurricane Elsa. Hurricane Elsa battered St. Lucia as a category one hurricane on Friday 2nd July 2021. Living in its path damaged to the country's infrastructure, agriculture and utilities, the greatest damage being recorded in the agriculture sector. Prime Minister the Honourable Alan Shastney on Sunday provided an update on the damage recorded and recovery plan for St. Lucia. The Ministry of Education, there were several schools which the roofs were damaged as well as the CDC buildings. Eight of the buildings, the roofs were badly damaged, but 13 buildings were impacted altogether. In terms of individual households were still doing a full assessment. I believe the teams are still on the ground determining how many homes were actually impacted. And we've gotten from different constituencies, obviously you would appreciate different numbers so far. But I'm hoping that by tomorrow Monday that would receive a more accurate update on the number of households specifically that have been hindered. We have received word from CRIF, which is the catastrophic insurance program that we have that the numbers that they have received so far that we're not going to be expecting a significant payout. From a more than likely just deductible that we have which is about 130,000 US dollars. So it means that the Ministry of Finance is already looking for ways to reallocate existing funds to be able to assist in getting the Ministry of Agriculture back on track again. And certainly working with the Ministry of Infrastructure in dealing with some immediate needs. And really the big one would really be the Ministry of Education and through the Ministry of Equity some of the individual households particularly to the more vulnerable persons in our society. The Prime Minister noting that this is only the beginning of the hurricane season, indicating that swift action must be taken to ensure the recovery of the country and preparations for storms to come. He explained that the Government of St. Lucia following the passage of Hurricane Elsa immediately began recovery efforts. Instructions have been given to the Ministry of Housing to move very swiftly to replace the roof at CDC Village. So that's going to start on Monday. Two, that we will find resources to help support the farmers. So I don't want the farmers to believe in any way that there's any question. I think what the Minister was making reference to is to exactly what those interventions are going to be. We have the example of Kurt of some of the things that we have done. We believe they may need of some additional interventions and different types of interventions. We know that the fertilizer is one of them. Certainly whether in fact we're going to give some labor support and how that mechanism would work if necessary. So from a farmer, from a banana growers and also plantain growers there is going to be an intervention. I think that I know that we will find resources or some mechanism to deal with the greenhouses that have been lost once the full assessment has been established. But I certainly want to let the farmers know in all constituencies that the Government will make resources available once the Ministry of Agriculture finalizes the plants. But there will be an immediate intervention. Prime Minister Hon. Shasne also assured that the Government will be providing immediate relief to individuals affected by the passage of Hurricane Elsa. I just really want to emphasize to everyone just in case there was any misconception the Government is not hesitating to support our farmers in this particularly difficult period. We need our own financial constraints. This is too important of a sector and that also applies to the Fisher folk as well. Again, I can't say tonight how much and how I have to wait for those details from the Ministry. But I give them the assurances as we did in the meeting yesterday that the Ministry of Finance will find those resources from somewhere to be able to make an immediate intervention. Lastly, but not least, individual households, the Ministry of Equity will be working with many of the vulnerable persons in our society who have lost roofs, whose houses have been further compromised to do a very quick assessment and for us to be able to provide some immediate relief to those persons because we recognize we're still in the middle of our hurricane season and we have to move quickly. Members of the public are urged to ensure they are in a state of preparedness as the hurricane season runs from June to November. Individuals are also urged to remain vigilant and stay tuned to trusted sources for reliable information. The Rotary Club of St. Lucia has elected its sixth female president in the 55th year of the club. Somebody mark has details in this report. Ke Tura Donai has been installed as president of the St. Lucia Rotary Club of St. Lucia for the year 2021-2022. Donai holds a master's in finance and is the finance manager at the National Skills Development Centre. Ke Tura Donai was inducted into the Rotary Club of St. Lucia in 2017. Shortly after her induction, she served as the club's treasurer. At a handing over ceremony on June 30th, 2021, she received the presidential torch from the immediate past President Leithan Kan. He also presented her with the President's spare and medallion to signal the commencement of her tenure. The R.I. Global Rotary theme for this year is serve to change lives. We say our four-way tests often as a reminder of how we do things. We did tonight, we recited the four-way test of the things we think, say, or do. Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned? This year's theme reminds us of why we joined Rotary and the hope we took and the ones we just took tonight. I believe we are all on earth to serve at different levels and at different times. I am honoured that you chose me to serve with you as your president this year. Don Aie presented the Board of Directors for the year 2021. She thanked her colleagues for the opportunity to serve at the helm of the organisation and shared plans for the year ahead. Being president of a Rotary club is a very serious job. It requires a lot of commitment, patience, dedication and commitment and then some. Don't take the role of a president for granted. It's an experience that you're going to remember for the rest of your life. The Rotary Club celebrates 55 years of humanitarian service to St. Dusha. From the Government Information Service, I'm Humidy Mark reporting. This is NTN Nightly, up next, Primers-Hudgingson with the NTN Nouvelle of Quayola. One of the eight universally recognised rights of the consumer is the right to satisfaction of basic needs. This means that every consumer has the right to basic goods and services that guarantee survival. This right includes adequate food, clothing, shelter, healthcare, education, water and sanitation. Welcome back. We join Primers-Hudgingson for the NTN Nouvelle of Quayola. Mr. Otin Genel, Mr. Madame, Departement, University of St. Dusha, for information on the Government of St. Dusha, through GIS, the National TV of NTN, for the Nouvelle of Quayola, for the Primers-Hudgingson. The Canary Village has continued to contribute to the development of tourism and the development of the power economy. Excitement here, in general. This is a chocolate factory that opened last week in a beautiful city. This initiative was made by Mrs. Calyxtus and Maria Jackson, but mainly, Maria, who made the decision to allow them to go with this. Because this government has continued to open this opportunity to develop tourism business in this city, in the country. This has opened the way for the people of the country, to have the advantage and to embrace this opportunity. Maria Jackson, who is the CEO of the operations and the main business, has already worked in chocolate, as a chef in a hotel, except for the fact that she established this factory. In addition, in the Parliament, the Canary Village also has its Minister of Tourism, Mr. Abduhamnik Fede, who is the head of this initiative. This is a great opportunity for the Canary Village to work and also to have this opportunity for the Canary Village to live an established business that is alive and well. Minister Fede promises that the government will facilitate the development of this factory to establish three businesses like this. Prime Minister, this factory is called Alain Chastney. He said that what is more important in business is to develop publicity and present it for us in a way that can attract people to buy it. Prime Minister Chastney said that these chocolates are the ones that can even connect this factory with other European coffee shops. This is the only factory that exists that can visit the chocolate factory. This is the only factory. Calyxtus Jackson, Marui Maria, explains the importance of these chocolates in the main business and in the employment sector. We know that in the business of the Canary Village, there are people who work and people who work in the same factory. The people who work in the same factory provide employment in the same market for the family even in the same market. This is a very important work. For Calyxtus, you can work in the same factory. You can also visit the factory to see the work you are doing, but let's say you want to work It's to place the products at international level. We are also interested in putting not only the products but also the products that are used to make the land so that the products can be produced in a good way. The products are of the highest quality and quality. To place the products in a good way, we have to put them in international level to be able to employ those who come to Ganari with a business salary. The ministers, in the cabinet government, were given a third option, one in the three, to continue the access to this waste The Ministry of Agriculture The Ministry of Agriculture The Ministry of Agriculture The Ministry of Agriculture The Ministry of Agriculture The Ministry of Agriculture The Ministry of Agriculture The Ministry of Agriculture The Ministry of Agriculture The Ministry of Agriculture The Ministry of Agriculture