 Welcome to the NTN Nightly. I'm Nisha Charles. This edition stops stories. Prudent fiscal management by government has resulted in a lower budget deficit. Government to pay close attention to public financial management for 2019-2020. A more evidence-based approach to crime is taking shape in St. Lucia. All that, plus the latest in youth development, sports and the NTN Nouvelle Enquire. Prudent fiscal management by the government of St. Lucia has resulted in a better budget outturn than expected. Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, the Hon. Alan Sharsney, in delivering the estimates of revenue and expenditure 2019-2020 on Wednesday 10th April reported that a lower budget deficit of $68.43 million was achieved compared to the $163.92 million recorded in the estimates of 2018-2019. Hon. Sharsney explained that this was due to the combined effort of higher than anticipated revenue and under spending of the budget. When we look at the performance, the revenue performance for 2018-2019, based on the actual data as I've indicated, Mr. Speaker, on the 11-month period ending February 28th, 2019, total revenue and grants were projected to increase by $27.82 million above the approved estimates of $1,176 to reach a total of $1.204 billion for the fiscal year of 2018-2019. This performance is largely influenced by higher than projected revenue flows from import duty, service charge, VAT, income tax on individuals, and CIP receipts. In essence, the overall income across the board was higher. A surplus of $37.3 million was realized from the Citizenship by Investment Donation receipts. Income tax for individuals and VAT are both expected to record a surplus of 5.5 and 3.4 percent respectively. Conversely, revenue from excise tax on imports is expected to have registered a shortfall of approximately $12 million or 9.9 percent relative to the target year. But this performance is attributed to the adjustments in the policy of applying a fixed rate of $4 per gallon on fuel as well as a reduction in the number of imported vehicles. So the fact is that when the price, the global price of fuel went up, Mr. Speaker, my government's policy was not to allow the price at the pump to go up. And this resulted in us collecting a lesser excise tax than we would have if we had kept the $4 in its entirety, which would have then caused the price at the pump to have gone up. Tax receipts registered an increase of 5.17 percent representing $54.12 million above the last financial year. Non-tax receipts amassed $69.26 million, a 10.1 percent increase over the approved estimates. The improvement in revenue outcome for the non-tax category is largely as a result of higher than anticipated receipts from motor vehicle and driver's licenses. Meantime, the government of St. Lucia is paying close attention to public financial management with a number of initiatives aimed at strengthening the various measures to be introduced, including legislative reform. This comes on the heels of the Caribbean Development Bank's Country Economic Review 2018 for St. Lucia, which indicated that public sector debt was estimated to be 67.8 percent of GDP at the end of 2018, down from 68.5 percent a year earlier. The reduction in debt was consistent with improvements in fiscal outturns. Governor-General Sir Emmanuel Neville-Snack in delivering the thrown speech on Tuesday 9th April underscored the government's commitment to economic governance. Consequently, the Existing Financial Administration Act Chapter 15.01 will be repealed and a new Public Financial Management Act introduced. The new law will increase oversight of public financial resources, introduce best practices in monitoring and managing public financial resources, and foster greater transparency and accountability. The Public Procurement and Asset Disposure Act No. 19 of 2015 will be brought into force, accompanied by requisite regulations as well as structural changes within the Department of Finance. It is anticipated that these actions will help improve procurement processes and enhance competitiveness, participation, and confidence in the public procurement system. A centralized internal audit function will be established specifically with a view to protecting assets, reducing the possibility of fraud, increasing financial reliability and integrity, and ensuring compliance with applicable laws. A debt management strategy which aims to raise stable and consistent levels of financing at a minimum cost will also be introduced. The Strategy and Debt Sinking Fund, which is proposed to complement it, will be governed by a public debt bill which will promote transparency and accountability in debt management. Legislation is also required to ensure that this question attends the management of the National Economic Fund established under the Citizenship by Investment Act No. 14 of 2015. To this end, a St. Lucia National Economic Fund Bill is proposed, which will deal with matters of administration, financial transactions, and reporting obligations. And that was the Governor General Sir Emmanuel Neville-Snack. A more evidence-based approach to crime is taking shape in St. Lucia with the Central Statistics Department receiving assistance from international organizations in establishing a Crime Victimization Survey, more from Janelle Norville. The Central Statistical Office is the implementing entity for the Crime Victimization Survey in St. Lucia. The workshop, according to Acting Director of Statistics within the Central Statistical Office, Sean Maffrey, was quite productive as they were able to clearly chart the way forward, determining timelines and deadlines for set goals. Jan was to ensure that all stakeholders that actually implement the survey, that we bring them together to ensure that they are knowledgeable, actually today's involvement, and to ensure that when the survey is conducted, that they're on board and that it will be a successful collaboration with all the respective stakeholders. A 2012 UNDP Caribbean Human Development Report, Human Development and the Shift to Better Citizen Security, revealed that the crime situation was worsened by the implementation of ineffective policies that failed to adequately address the root causes of violence and crime, especially among the youth. Following investigations, the main findings indicated that robust policies and programs could not be developed in the absence of timely and reliable data, and that's where Cary Secure came in. Cary Secure UNDP's National Officer Miguel Trim explained the entity's role in the process. Our primary focus is on improving the collection and analysis of citizen security data, that is data on crime and violence in the region, and working with national partners and institutions and agencies to build capacity in that area. Facilitator of the workshop, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes Research on Crime and Justice, Louisa Iriati highlighted the thrust of the workshop. The objective was for the participants to get to know the steps that involve doing a victimization survey, which is an instrument to complement police records, administrative records because they discover the dark figure of crimes, that is the crimes that are not reported to the police. So it's a very powerful tool for understanding crime statistics. A Staring and Technical Committee have been established to drive the process of the adaptation of the questionnaire template to St. Louisa. This is expected to be completed within months. For the Government Information Service, I am Janelle Norville. The Government of St. Louisa has launched investigations into recent information being circulated in the public domain surrounding the Minister for the Public Service, Senator the Honourable Dr. Ebaldas Raymond. As a consequence of this initial probe, more information has come to light, which warrants further investigations by the relevant authorities. The Government in seeking to protect the interests of the people of St. Louisa wishes to give the assurance that these investigations will be performed without interference and with the utmost integrity. In furtherance of this, Dr. Raymond has proceeded on leave. The Government of St. Louisa wishes to give the assurance that at the conclusion of these investigations, the outcome will be presented to the general public. And this is the NTN Nightly. Ryan O'Brien is up next. What is Money Laundering? Money laundering is the concealment of the origins of illegally obtained money, typically by means of transfers involving financial institutions or legitimate businesses. There are three steps in the process of money laundering. One, placement. This is the movement of illegitimately obtained cash from its source into circulation through financial institutions. Two, layering. This is the act of concealing the source of that money using a series of complex transactions and bookkeeping tricks. Three, integration. This is the movement of previously laundered money into the economy, mainly through the financial institutions and thus such monies appear to be normal business earnings. What is Terrorist Financing? Terrorist Financing provides funds for terrorist activity. It may involve funds raised from legitimate sources such as donations, profits from businesses and charitable organisations, as well as from criminal sources such as the drug trade, the smuggling of weapons, fraud, kidnapping and extortion. There is an interrelation between terrorist financing and proliferation financing, which is the act of providing funds or financial services used in the acquisition, manufacture or transport of weapons of mass destruction. How does money laundering and terrorist financing affect St. Lucia? St. Lucia can lose its reputation and international credibility, more violent and organised crimes and corruption, penalties for the financial sector and loss of correspondent banking. St. Lucia will be evaluated in 2019 with respect to its money laundering and terrorist financing regimes. How can you help? Get involved. Learn about the threat that money laundering and terrorist financing pose to St. Lucia and cooperate with financial and non-financial institutions when information is requested. Money laundering and terrorist financing combines with penalties of up to $1 million and imprisonment of up to 10 years or both. A message brought to you by the National Anti-Money Laundering Oversight Committee and the Attorney General's Chambers. Welcome back. We join Ryan O'Brien for the latest happenings in youth development and sports. Hello and welcome once again to your segment focusing on youth development and sports on the NTN Nightly News. I'm Ryan O'Brien. The government of St. Lucia is placing emphasis on sports as an engine of growth and as a means of strengthening the nation. The sentiment was amplified by ministry responsible for youth development and sports. The Honourable Edmund Estefan recently has a symbolic groundbreaking for the commencement of the first phase of the sporting infrastructure redevelopment program Ladies and gentlemen, our mission is relentless. It is pragmatic and it is bold as you can see. And it seeks to take sports development to a new heights of excellence. When we incorporate what we do in facilities in St. Lucia we follow different programs that are being institutionalised by the national authorities that we are rolling out gradually. St. Lucia will be different. The sportsmen and women in St. Lucia will be happy. All our districts, all our sporting associations will be happy. All our communities will enjoy this. The program will feature upgrades of several sporting facilities, island wide. The sport of volleyball received a vital and critical spike with the provision of a team spike trainer that is expected to enhance the development of the sport at all levels in St. Lucia. Denis Sinclair is volleyball coach attached to the ministry of youth development and sports. We have a piece of machine there which is a team spike trainer and it is something which was given to us by Lucilleck which we would like to thank them for that which obviously will go a long way in the development of volleyball. So as you could see the guys are using the machine there at the moment and you could see the control they get from that machine. Everybody is hitting the ball on the court you could hear the contact that they are making so it is all in the interest of the development of volleyball for the youth in St. Lucia. Primary school, secondary school as far as it goes. Filling up the pool, the national pool so that when the association selects its national team obviously it is going to be more difficult because there will be more proficient players in the pool as they are at the moment and this is just one step into the direction that we are taking in mechanising the training of volleyball in St. Lucia. The team spike trainer is already in use at the VG multipurpose sports complex. We leave you this weekend with a reminder that the Wainwe Memorial Lecture will be held on Saturday evening from 6pm at the financial centre point Seraphine. The lecture is held annually as part of youth month activities in partnership with the Wainwe Memorial Foundation. It commemorates the death of Louis who died on April 14, 1997 as a result of a vehicular crash. Dr. Winston Fulgens will deliver this year's lecture. And that's all from Youth and Sports Development this week. I'm Ryan O'Brien. Thanks Ryan. The Souffre Comprehensive School has received a donation from the international organisation the Joseph McCain Foundation more from Anissa Antoine. The Joseph McCain Foundation has collaborated with the Ministry of Education and ZP Shipping to donate clothing and school supplies to the Souffre Comprehensive School. Narissa James of the Joseph McCain Foundation stated that the foundation is dedicated to improving education and providing sporting supplies for secondary schools around the island. So far, we have partnered with the Souffre Comprehensive School to ensure that some of their services and supplies needs are met. At this point, we have donated a series of clothing items and educational supplies to the school with the intent that these services would be used for the most disadvantaged students. Crescentia Combi, vice principal of the Souffre Comprehensive Secondary School, expressed gratitude to the foundation for the donations received. We are hoping to target various aspects of our school's curriculum. One of the main projects that we have is a co-curricular activity. They have embraced a mentorship programme. The students council is going to mentor the students of the Souffre Primary School and we shall use some of the donated items that they have given with some character dolls where they will be receiving some motivational messages, character building messages and our students who are older, of course, will be mentoring those of the primary school. Combi explained that the clothing donated will be sold at a flea market at the school to raise much-needed funds for the school. From the Government Information Service, I am Anisia Antoine reporting. Up next, Primus Hutchinson is here with the NTN Nouvelle Arqueo. When the authority of the heads of government of the OECS and its other ministerial councils meet and adopt policies for the organisation, they rely on the OECS commission to transform these into action. The OECS commission is the secretariat of the organisation, a grouping of officials headed by a director general mandated to implement the decisions of the governments but also empowered to make recommendations on the strategic directions of the organisation. The OECS commission organises meetings, prepares budgets, conducts research, undertakes projects, negotiates for and represents the OECS member states. It is organised along several components. There are the commissioners from each member state who along with the director general form the commission that oversees the work programmes. There are also technical divisions with specialised units between them as well as diplomatic missions in Brussels and Geneva. All these complement each other to make the OECS commission the engine of regional integration in the eastern Caribbean. The OECS has a proud past and together we are working towards a brighter future for all our citizens. For more information visit www.oecs.org Welcome back. We join Prime Minister Hutchinson for the NTN Nouvelle-en-Quio. We have done a touristic effort to support the OECS. Minister Estefan explained his development about the quality of the benefits of the facilities that are provided particularly for young people in the OECS. We are working towards football. We are working on track only for athletics. We are working on cricket ground and rugby grounds. We have changed the light here to bring it up to international standard. All of that is going to take place. Thank you. Thank you. Mr Estefan, we also have a lot of facilities for the OECS. Even the great service for the OECS. We have football field for January. We have youth academy for Gozile. We have a lot of football field for the NICU South. We have a lot of football field for the Swazain. Let's see if we can continue. We have a lot of track to bring up the OECS. We have a lot of track to bring up Gozile too. We have a lot of track to bring up the OECS. We have a lot of track years to bring up player football field there to So we myself have started' and we have met each one. We continue full out. We continue to go doing encourages there to play. What we can do is that the OECS help us build by government, by consequence of the village's history in sports development. Suppuiers are always a place where sportsmen and sportswomen can compete. I'm here with Adela Paul, who is the first woman to win a Carrifter medal, by St. Lucie, a short put. I'm here to support the village, and to help the community. I think it's good for the community. It's good for the Adela community, who are by-service for the country. Actually, it's good for the community and for the benefits. I'm here to support the community. I'm here to support the village, for the country, and of course, for Jean Soufouillet. The ability of the government to manage and direct and finance the village, the opportunity and the budget, which is the top priority, which you will be looking for. Prime Minister of Finance, Alain Chastney, from the Vence BG for 2019 and 2020, declared that the amount of money the government has spent, as you can see, has decreased by 68.43% compared to 163.92% in 2018-2019 budget. According to Prime Minister Chastney, the government has invested 37.3 million dollars in CIP programs, which means that the citizens of the country will be able to invest more in the country. The tax rate has increased by 8.12 million, which is higher than last year. The government also invested 69.26 million dollars in payments, which makes 100 taxes, and the majority of them are in terms of payments for the village and for the village. That's the news, Prime Minister. I thank you so much for watching. First of all, I would like to invite you to join me again. It's been a long time since I saw a lot of news in Koyol. I hope you have a good weekend, and I wish you a good life. Thank you, Prime Minister. And here's a look at what's happening to us weather-wise. Skies of air becoming cloudy at times with a few showers. The Atlantic high-pressure system will maintain a moderate easterly wind flow across the eastern Caribbean region over the next few days. The showers are expected over the islands during the next 24 hours, as shallow, low-level cloud patches drift over the area. The Tideford-Castry Harbour was low at 3.55pm, and will be high again at 11.07pm. The Tideford-Vay-Fork Bay was low at 5.22pm, and will be high again at 12.14am. The seas moderate with waves 4 to 6 feet, or 1.2 to 1.8 meters. The sun will rise Saturday at 5.52am. And that brings us to the end of the NTN Nightly. Join us next time at 7pm with a repeat at 7am. You can also catch up with us anytime on the Saint Lucia Government Facebook page or YouTube channel. I'm Nisha Charles.