 Welcome to the NTN Nightly, I'm Nisha Charles, this edition's top stories. The unemployment rate in St. Lucia is continuing on a steady decline. An official trip to the United Kingdom secures major wins for the banana industry. The Balbono police station receives ATV bikes to help in the execution of duties. All that plus the latest in youth development, sports and the NTN Nouvelle Arquée. The unemployment rate in St. Lucia is continuing on a steady decline. For the first quarter of 2019, overall unemployment was registered at 15.5% compared to 21.80% in 2018. Prime Minister the Hon. Alan Sharsney made the announcement added that youth unemployment from January to March this year also declined from 38.78% in 2018 to 25.9%. And if we then look at it in comparison to the fourth quarter last year, so from one quarter to the next, last quarter, which was really, I think that's October, November and December, was at 16.2% overall and we've dropped to 15.5% and youth unemployment in the last quarter was 33% compared to this quarter of 24.9%. Hon. Sharsney says the deliberate policies of the government are beginning to have the desired impact on the economic landscape. Government has been able to realize a drop in the overall deficit to under 1% while achieving a primary surplus of 2%. Prime Minister Sharsney says the decision to reduce the value added tax rate from 15% to 12.5% has proven sound. The projection even by the IMF was that we were going to lose revenue of $55 million. Well, the first year we only lost revenue of 15 million and by last year we already had recovered that entire amount of money, but what I was explaining was it was not just the VAT tax. By reducing the VAT tax, what it did, it encouraged people to open up businesses but more importantly, we argued this point that the money that we saved on VAT would either be passed to the consumer in the reduction of cost of products and when you look at the inflation rate, some of that happened, but even if the businesses kept that difference, it would improve their bottom line. The first time in the history of St Lucia that the government of St Lucia has collected a billion dollars, it's actually $1.1 billion in taxes. What we did is we created new taxes and we didn't allow those new taxes to go into the central coffer. So when we say that we've taken the gas tax and we've lock boxed it, so it means that the money that we're generating, which is about $30 million EC a year, is going to now help finance this capital road works we're doing. And that was Prime Minister, the Honorable Alan Shastney. A recent trip to the United Kingdom culminated in some major wins for the banana industry. This as key leaders in the sub-sector ventured on a week-long market access mission aimed at forging new partnerships and broadening St Lucia's market share for bananas. Here's Amanda Faye-Clarke. The delegation comprising the Prime Minister, Honorable Alan Shastney, the Agriculture Minister, Honorable Ezekal Joseph, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Barrymore Felicia, the Manager of the National Fair Trade Organization, Mr. Stephen Best, and the Coordinator of the Banana Productivity Improvement Project, Mr. Kurt Severin led what they now report was a very successful trade mission where they were able to not only reinforce strategic relationships with key stakeholders in the retail industry, but also capture the interest of new markets, namely the French market. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Barrymore Felicia says, quite apart from receiving positive feedback from the French representatives and London-based supermarket chains, such as Sweetrose and Sainsbury, he is elated that St Lucia bananas will now be exported to this new territory. What we wanted to achieve during that mission was to get the context and the constraints and challenges faced by those stakeholders on receipt of our bananas and to as well give some idea of what the St Lucia context is, what our farmers have to deal with on the ground and what we do to produce quality bananas. Mr. Felicia adds that the recent action plan for banana export does include provisions for branding, a key element to ensure the sustainable presence of our banana in these new territories. We had a very successful mission. We were able to get the commitment of the French to receive some of our bananas. In fact, we have a trial shipment going on now and we have some sort of commitment from with Rose in terms of branding assisting in the branding of our bananas. So all in all we had a very successful mission. Manager of the National Fair Trade Organization, Stephen Best says, this is a huge gain for all farming constituents because under these new arrangements, an avenue has opened up to allow export of other crops. The possibility of exporting more fruits because with the focus of the government in terms of productivity and expanding production, there is definitely a need to have the outlet. So this mission to the UK provided us this opportunity to interface with the key players in the market to deepen the collaborative process and see how this can redone to the benefit of our farmers in terms of not only producing the fruits but being able to market in accord with the dictates of the market in terms of quality and specifications and things of that nature. So certainly the mission is returning to St. Glacier with good news. Meanwhile, the first trial shipment of bananas to the French market was completed this week. Honourable Ezekiel Joseph explains that while his government is committed to ensuring wider market access to our farmers, it is contingent on the farmers themselves to do what is necessary to keep their production levels consistent and at a standard which is competitive. As a government and as an institution, we have the responsibility to provide that our support and we have been engaging Winfresh as to what are the possibilities and that's why we felt it was important to go up to the UK to at least interact as a government and the leadership of the Prime Minister as a government and that is giving a clarification as to the interest of the government. The presence of St. Lucia and bananas on the French market is an indication of the opportunities which lay ahead in the Agriculture Ministry's mission to restore and augment the banana economy. 1,000 boxes of bananas will be exported weekly over the next three weeks. Once these trial shipments have been completed and accepted, it is agreed that 3,000 boxes of bananas will be shipped weekly to the French market. From the Information Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture, I am Amanda Faye-Clock reporting. In an effort to drastically reduce the country's exposure to the impacts of natural disasters, the government of St. Lucia has been implementing several initiatives under the Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project, the DVRP. Hundreds of stakeholders recently gathered at the Chauselster Country School for the formal handover of two climate resilient blocks by the Department of Economic Development to the Department of Education courtesy the DVRP. Communications officer for the DVRP, Lucia's doxery, tells us about another very important project that will positively impact hundreds of residents in Castries Southeast. Several small contractors are about to implement slope stabilization and drainage works in a flood medication program, EMAC to bring much needed relief to residents of Castries Southeast. Project consultant, Mr. Arnold, tasked with producing detailed designs for the work says the Disaster Risk Reduction Initiative, particularly for residents of Mark, Bexow and Enviarance, is timely. Given the traumatic experiences which they have faced over many years, whenever it rains heavily. This was a project that started about 12 months ago whereby we first met the community of Bexow and Enviarance, persons who were affected by continuous flooding whenever there any heavy rains and we came up with the different interventions because they gave us the information, we went out, we decided to do this with them, we looked at all of the persons who are complaints, we assessed it, looked at it, we prioritized them and we are the phase now whereby all of the designs have been completed for those interventions and we're now looking to go to construction. We've met with the contractors, we have indicated to them what is the requirements of filling out those tenders because it is a World Bank project which needs to be termed tender. Potential contractors comprising males and females were taken to every location where projects will be implemented. During the excursions, contractors were provided with detailed information on the specific interventions for the particular area. So we have a mixture of concrete line drains in areas that are virtually without any form of proper drainage whereby you have just had an open drain existing there to have it vegetated. We have slope stabilization for areas that are threatened from landslides and whatnot and in that you will see interventions of different routine structures whether it be reinforced concrete routine walls, given basket routine walls, mason routine walls and even rip wraps. So these are the forms of interventions that we're looking at. We do have some bioengineering to a certain extent whereby after the areas have been sloped properly, whatever the case may be, the glory cedar trees will be planted along the river banks and whatnot to help with the slope stabilization. In addition to the site visits, all prospective contractors attended capacity building workshops purpose to better equip them to deal with the tendering process. The workshops also provided additional opportunities to seek clarification on any matters related to the upcoming projects. Key to the long-term sustainability of the project is a maintain and schedule. What we've noticed in the past is that once you have a project that is community-based and persons buy into the projects, you have a better maintenance schedule in place in the sense that they've bought into it, they know it's for their own good and whatnot and you see them participating in the maintenance of the drains in terms of clearing the drains, making sure that it doesn't get silted up and things of that sort because this is not the first time we've done it. We've done it under another project called Mosaic Program whereby communities will present the small hand tools and in the event of any torrential downpour, whatever silted up will happen, you'll find persons will come out and clear those drains and whatnot. So we're doing the same thing for this project whereby small hand tools namely forks, pickaxes, shovels, wheel barrels and things of that nature will be provided to the communities. The EC6 million dollar scope stabilization and drainage projects under the DVRP are expected to last for six months and will generate employment for scores of residents in the targeted communities. Other communities expected to benefit from similar initiatives include Mekunov and the Denry Village, which is Doxery, Department of Sustainable Development. And this is the NTN Knightley. Rhino Bryan is up next. We're going to take the water from all the animals and plant them. When the sea is getting warmer, we need to find a place where people can live. We need to find a place where people can also change their way of life. This list can contribute to a small amount of gas in Spain. When in the country, we can try to do everything we can to ensure that we lower the amount of gas we use to prevent the sea from getting warmer. We need to lower the amount of gas we use to prevent the sea from getting warmer. This is a big change. We need to be able to do everything we can to ensure that the sea is getting warmer. This is the biggest cause for the sea. We need to do this to make sure that we can adapt. We need to do everything we can to prepare and respond to these negative consequences in the climate change. We all know how to do this. For example, we can ensure that we protect all the animals we plant. We need to be able to do everything we can to ensure that the sea is getting warmer. We need to build a canal for the animals we need to feed them. We need to do everything we can to ensure that the sea is getting warmer. We need to do everything we can to make sure that the sea is getting warmer. We need to find information about the great national government adaptation and the animals we can learn to protect the animals and all our animals. Welcome back. We join Ryan O'Brien for the latest happenings in youth development and sports. I'm Ryan O'Brien and welcome once again to your update on happenings from the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports on the NTN Nightly News. Two more matches were completed as the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports Secondary Schools under 15 fought over cricket tournaments continued on Thursday. Adagosile Plainfields and Mary's College led by a maiden century from national under 15 player Darren Sammy Jr. completed a dominant performance against Cicero secondary. Winning that game by 252 runs. St. Mary's College batting first made an imposing 291 for 1 in 23 overs with Sammy Jr. stroking a brilliant 146 not out, comprising 114s and 8 6s. Mikael Jabatis made a valuable 68 before he was forced to retire. His knock included 12 4s. Stephen Abram was the only batsman dismissed for 12. In reply Cicero secondary found a going tough against St. Mary's College seam attack and were bowled off for 39 in 12.3 overs with Kensley Paul 14, the only batsman to reach double figures. The leading wicket takers for St. Mary's College were Jason Justin with 3 for 17, Captain Jindal Cyril 2 for 1 and Denzel Frederick. 2 for 2. Adelaide Suess playing field in the Marbria Valley Archipel secondary led by another clinical bowling performance. Defeated Clinton Mason Memorial secondary by 9 wickets. Clinton Mason Memorial batting first dismissed for 30 in 9.3 overs with Anthony Evans making 12. The chief wicket takers for Archipel secondary were Royce Paul with 4 for 3, Toiley Charles 2 for 2, Taylor James 2 for 15. In reply, Archipel secondary easily overhauled Clinton Mason score finishing on 31 for 1 with Zedah James remaining on 16 or out. Verkwan Estefan was a sole wicket taker for Clinton Mason. A perfect balance is possible between sports and academics. That's a takeaway district education officer district one, Cyrus Seapal wants to leave with parents and students following the completion of the Inter-district Primary Schools female football competition. Mr Seapal feels it's important that this concept is widely embraced for the holistic development of children. So in the early stage of another primary level, we can make them understand that. And even, for example, I don't subscribe to the view that if the child is in grade six, then they cannot come to participate in sports. No, all that is part of the development. So if we can get them to understand and they have to strike a balance, they know how much time for the sports, how much time for the academics and how they can marry the two and then get them to experience success in all aspects of life, then we will understand this. It is anticipated that next year's competition will attract greater interest among the competing education districts. The Embassy of the Republic of China, Taiwan continues its support of table tennis in St. Lucia through a new volunteer coach, Roslyn Lee. She will serve as the only female table tennis coach in St. Lucia for the next year. The Embassy presented a 29-year-old to the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports on Tuesday this week. The Taiwanese volunteer told the media she looked forward to the full St. Lucia experience while coaching. Well, the personality is very bubbly. So, you know, the kids embraced her immediately. You know, we had a four-year-old there as well, and she engaged the four-year-old and this stuff of the four-year-old, which was kind of exciting to see, being able to move transition between all the different age groups and on her own. She also worked with some of the better juniors we have. And we did sparring. I'd spar with some, she sparred with some and then because very intense. So the national juniors had a very intense workout yesterday with us because very good. Lee replaced his volunteer coach William Lien, who ended his volunteer service last year. Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry, Lyotta Charmine Mason, expressed appreciation to the Taiwanese for the continued support of table tennis in St. Lucia. I'm Pung Zhu, Sakafei. Yes, I'm Roselyne from I'm Roselyne, an international volunteer from Taiwan. I have been a member of Table Tennis Vassity since I was a child. And I'm going to promote this exciting and healthy sport around the island. It's nice to live in such a beautiful Caribbean island. I hope I can learn more about different types of culture and continue to promote a friendly relationship between Taiwan and the St. Lucia. Thank you. The introduction of a female table tennis coach on island means that the ministry can now dispense the full spectrum of coaching in the sport. That's all for you this week on youth development and sports. I'm Ryan O'Brien. Thanks, Ryan. The Babano Police Station has received two ATV bikes to aid in serving and protecting the community. Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, Physical Planning, Natural Resources and Corporatives and Parliamentary Representative for Babano Honourable Ezekiel Joseph with the support of business people from the community on Thursday donated two ATVs to the Babano Police Station. The minister indicated that without adequate resources, policing such a large constituency with rough terrain is difficult. As a result, the minister and the Babano community thought it fitting to contribute to the police resources. I'm doing this because the reviews that we are getting from residents in Babano is very encouraging. I can tell you since the opening of this police station and recently the opening of the fire station, residents are satisfied with the terrible support that they are getting from our officers. And through you, Commissioner, Acting Commissioner Daisy, I want to express on behalf of the residents of Babano, thank you, Inspector Bradley, for the work that you are doing in Babano. Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Justice and National Security, Ricky Quinlan expressed gratitude for the gesture. He indicated that such partnerships are crucial to the development of a community and a country as a whole. Acting Police Commissioner Milton Daisy explained that the ATVs will go a long way in assisting the police in delivering protective service. He also encouraged the police officers to exercise proper use and care of the motor vehicles. The public is expecting you to take care of them. Handle it properly. It was given to serve them the service that they require, which they believe they were short changed. They have made it themselves to give you one of the things that government supposed to give you and said, hey, government cannot make it, we are making it. So we would like to know, I wouldn't like to get a call. So that is one of the stations that I'm not expecting a call from, for reporting officers, for I made a report and then I have not seen an officer and so on. So that, Mr. Bradley, I believe that is a although I'm getting good. Good reviews from Babano, however, you still get the instances where persons are saying that we did not get the good response or officers say they come in, we never see them and so on. So I believe that is one of the things that would be eliminated. Businesswoman and concerned citizen, Frances Severin, also made a donation to the Babano police in the form of CCTV cameras. She explained that the police officers while trying to protect the public are in need of protection themselves and the CCTV cameras will assist in doing just that. Inspector in charge of the Babano police station, Terry Bradley, expressed gratitude for the donations and reaffirmed the police commitment to ensuring the safety of all. Indeed, the ATVs will go a long way in assisting the police in traversing the difficult terrain of Babano. And like the commissioner said, it is an all terrain vehicle. So it will also assist in traversing the paved road. And I must say, Babano has some real nice road. Five years ago under the leadership of Ronald Phillip, this station was opened with the premise of working together with the people of Babano to make it a safer place. This, I assure you, is the focal point of our daily duties as we strive to provide a professional service for the people of Babano. Officers of the Babano police station will be trained and provided the requisite licenses to utilize the ATVs efficiently. For the Government Information Service, I am Janelle Norville. And stay with the NTA nightly. Up next, Primus Hutchinson is here with the NTA Nouvella Cuellon. Small household electrical appliances when faulty can give rise to big problems. If you have just purchased a small appliance from a store and you are concerned about the safety of the item, or an appliance has been at home for some time subjected to wear and tear from regular usage, have it tested by the St. Lucia Bureau of Standards. It is better to be safe than sorry. For more information, contact the St. Lucia Bureau of Standards at 456-0546 or email SLBS at candw.lc or visit the website at www.slbs.org.lc. St. Lucia Bureau of Standards, making quality and standards our way of life. Welcome back. We join Primus Hutchinson for the NTA Nouvella Cuellon. I am very happy to be here with the NTA Nouvella Cuellon and I would like to thank the St. Lucia Bureau of Standards for providing me with the opportunity to work with the NTA Nouvella Cuellon. I would like to declare that after the NTA Nouvella Cuellon, we are able to do the most serious work that has ever been done. But because we are working with the NTA Nouvella Cuellon, with Dominique and different places, we have to listen to them more. The NTA Nouvella Cuellon is happening very soon, you will see more people from the supermarket and more people will have to go by in order to make preparations. But we can't do that. And we cannot. We cannot go by in order to make preparations. I have a program to establish protection in schools for the salary system that the Ministry of Education of a country like Antigua, Babila, Babad, Dominique, Saint-Kitt, Saint-Néves, Céversa and the Grenadiers, except here, it is to embrace the way of investment to manage the waste that has been made. It is an initiative that has reinforced the capacity of the education sector in the field of cooperation. I have a program that has found financial assistance in the development of the education system and the agency of education management in the education system. The consultant is a country that keeps discussion. And then there is a committee that is responsible for the protection of schools and that is the Education Officers, the Police and the Ministry of Health, the coordinator for the Bona Escoudre project, which is the KND consultation to develop a way to establish good protection for the children in this area of water and waste. The financial assistance program for Salah Kassotihoud, the development program in Karebla, and the Pacific Kareb river, the European areas of waste management, is a natural program in the Kareforum CPE program. I am a Greek desciences in the Ministry of Agriculture. What is it for research in a way that can develop? I am Mr. Luke Immanuel. I am going to talk to the Ministry of Agriculture about a project that has begun to test the agricultural sector in order to provide a low-economic benefit for the agricultural sector. In one discussion about the agricultural movement, Mr. Immanuel explained the quality of the benefits of the agricultural sector for farmers in the agricultural sector in the country. According to Immanuel, the Ministry of Agriculture has been testing the agricultural sector in the country to find out the quality of the agricultural sector and to find out the benefits of the agricultural sector. For example, the farmers in Karebla, to determine the quality of the treatment, we have to find out the quality of the agricultural sector. Is it the quality of the agricultural sector? Yes, it is. But the soil is acidic. The soil can cause a problem because the soil is acidic. It can cause alkaline problems. The soil can cause a neutral point. In the middle? Yes, in the middle. The neutral point is that the soil is not good. The soil is acidic. Even if the soil is not good, the soil provides a long range of benefits. So, we can work it out andwave it to leave the soil under control. Immanuel explained the quality of the agricultural sector for the farmers in the country. The farmers in Karebla have all the good information you heard the official extension. Well, we're well-typed and planned. We'll catch up with that. I'm sure you'll pay for it. Okay. So it's a situation where we have experienced tomatoes because many of the tomatoes have a pH that is more than 6.6. It's about 7.2. If you have tomatoes that are similar to OTP, but this could spring, it's about 7.2. If you have a plant, it can last longer shelf life. If you have a plant, it can last for a long time. So all these things are added to ensure that the pH is correct and the plant is healthy. And ladies and gentlemen, this is the end of this video. I would like to thank you all for watching. I would also like to invite you to join me again if you want to know more about Aquial. I wish you all a happy weekend and see you again next time. For more information on Aquial, please visit our website or YouTube channel. I'm Nisa Troff.