 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 Hermione Mark. There have been so many occurrences in the months of September and October. We want to ensure that you're informed about new policies and programs that may be of interest to you. In this edition, we highlight St. Lucia's impending accession to the CCJ. Prime Minister Hon. Philip J. Pierre announces the recommencement of construction on the St. Jude Hospital and the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council launches ProTool. All that, plus updates from various sectors. Stay with us for St. Lucia Magazine. The Government of St. Lucia has announced its intention to make the Caribbean Court of Justice the country's final Court of Appeal. To understand the role of the Caribbean Court of Justice is to understand that of an appellate court. U.S. Courts.govt defines the appellate court's task as to determine whether or not the law was applied correctly in the trial court. Appeals courts consist of three judges and do not use a jury. To provide better insight on the work of the CCJ, we hear from the President, Hon. Mr. Justice Adrian Sanders. Prime Court of Justice or CCJ was established in 2005 to provide accessible, fair and efficient justice to the people and states of the region. In establishing the court, the leaders of the Caribbean community were right to express their conviction that the court would have a determinative role in the further development of Caribbean jurisprudence. The court is unique because it functions as two courts in one. In its original or treaty jurisdiction, it protects the rights of countries, businesses and citizens of CARICOM nations, because it is the only court that has the authority to interpret and apply the revised Treaty of Chagoramas. The CARICOM member states and businesses and individuals are entitled to approach the court to seek out their rights, to freedom of movement, freedom of trade, freedom of services under the CARICOM single market economy. The court also serves as the final court of appeal for those CARICOM states who wish to use it as such. And currently, four of them do so, Barberas, Guyana, Dominica and Belize. Over the last year, notwithstanding the severe effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on countries, institutions and people in general, the court was nevertheless able to function effectively using our digital machinery to execute our mandate. In addition to managing and trying the cases brought before us, we also made solid progress on each of the six strategic areas we had identified in our 2019-2024 strategic plan. Over the last year, in spite of the pandemic, our virtual courtroom provided uninterrupted service to our customers. We held 55 virtual court settings and one of the cases coming before us in the original jurisdiction was initiated by a member state of CARICOM brought against another member state. This was the first time that such an action had been filed and it demonstrated a growing level of confidence in the court's role as an arbiter of disputes among CARICOM member states. Over the period, we also revised our judicial code of conduct and we complemented that revision with a regulatory and enforceable framework. We implemented a scheme for monitoring and evaluating our progress in accomplishing our strategic plan. And as the executing agency for the Canadian-funded jurist project, we supported several justice delivery initiatives across the region. We engaged in a wide range of training initiatives for judges and staff of the court and through our partnership with bodies such as the Caribbean Association of Judicial Officers, popularly called CAJO, the CCG Academy for Law and the Global Judicial Integrity Network, a UN agency of which I am an advisory board member. We assisted in legal and judicial education programs not just throughout the region but also beyond. Of course, while we have made strides in these and other areas, we recognize that there is still more work to be done. And so, over the next judicial year, we will remain responsive and resilient. We shall continue to implement our strategic plan, paying particular regard to developing the mechanisms for more meaningful interaction with our stakeholders, whether through our website or through social media or by other means. The CCG is your court, the people of the Caribbean, and we believe that all citizens of CARICOM must know how their court works and how what we do impacts on you. As we adjudicate the rights of persons and member states of CARICOM, the CCG's solemn promise to the region is this, we shall continue, therelessly as always, to advance the rule of law in the region. We shall always protect the rights of the people and we shall strengthen the legal framework on depending the CARICOM single market and economy. We shall do our utmost to live up to our vision to be a model of judicial excellence. Thank you. According to Section 108 of CNPUCHA's Constitution, the Preview Council is the country's final court of appeal. Acceding to the appellate jurisdiction of the Caribbean Court of Justice requires constitutional amendments. In our next big story, Prime Minister Hon. Philip J. Pierre has announced the recommencement of construction on the St. Jude Hospital. Let's take in that story by Riani Isidore in the office of the Prime Minister. Cognizant of the public's interest and concern regarding the state of affairs on the St. Jude Hospital reconstruction project, Prime Minister Hon. Philip J. Pierre, during a September 24 town hall meeting in New York, has provided more insight on his decision to resume construction on the buildings situated on the original construction site, Phase 1. On assuming office last July, Hon. Pierre requested a status report from the Ministry of Economic Development on Phase 2. Phase 2, or a new construction site, was erected near the original construction site between 2019 and 2020. Nearly three years after construction on Phase 1, the original construction site was abandoned. Hon. Pierre confirmed the Economic Development Ministry's report does not recommend proceeding with Phase 2. Given the logistical challenges of finishing the construction of the top floor of the facility, while the ground floor operates as a functional hospital, it is considered that the pursuit of the ground floor approach may not be the most prudent. An independent committee, appointed last August, was tasked with assessing both phases 1 and 2 of the St. Jude Hospital construction project. The committee's report concluded construction on Phase 1 could have been completed as early as 2017. We formed the committee to look at both of the things. The committee had absolutely no gain in anything, and listen to what the committee said. It is evident from the financing that was secured and accessible up to August 2016, the level of construction of the St. Jude Hospital Phase 1, the procurement schedule, and the planned delivery of outstanding materials, the availability on island, on FF&E, and services already paid for in full. The schedule commissioning of the facility by September 2017 was achievable. The committee said currently there is no program for completion of any part of phase 2. The ill-advised decision to stop construction on the original St. Jude Hospital construction site, which was nearly 80% completed in 2016, has to date cost St. Lucian taxpayers more than $115 million. Prime Minister Pierre has honoured his commitment to St. Lucia to action the most prudent, safest, and immediate option to deliver the St. Jude Hospital, guided by the recommendations in official reports from two technical reviews. Honourable Pierre has announced construction on the original St. Jude Hospital construction site will resume in November. From the office of the Prime Minister, Rihanna Isidore. The National Competitiveness and Productivity Council launched a productivity measurement tool, PROTU. The platform is designed to provide users with the insight required to grow their businesses. So, what exactly is PROTU and how does it work? Let's hear more from Glenn Simon. A vibrant private sector is pivotal to a nation's viability. Private sector businesses are central to the national recovery process, particularly in the wake of natural disasters or global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Enhancing business productivity through improved data collection is part of the mandate of the NTPC. On a national level, the PROTU will provide insights into the challenges of the private sector, allowing the NTPC the opportunity to undertake actions and to engage in collaborative efforts with donor agencies and other partners in crafting remedial actions to bridge existing gaps. The former chairman of the NTPC described the PROTU as an undiscovered gem in need of exposure to inspire and impact many. So, when I came on board, that was one of the first things that I put on the table, that this PROTU needs to be dusted off, tidied up, modernized, updated and rolled out to the private sector because it is something that could be very useful in driving productivity and competitiveness in the private sector. The PROTU is an innovative productivity measuring tool developed by the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council. Harnessing the power of data for strategic decision making is at the heart of the PROTU. The PROTU is a web-based platform. It was designed for use across all economic activity areas by private sector businesses to help them monitor their productivity levels over a period of time. It is a very easy platform to use, it is user-friendly and it will ensure that businesses, as they get into the practice of making database decisions, have this instrument that will become impactful for them over time. You need to plan for productivity, implement your productivity measures and you need to check. And this is where the PROTU comes in. It is that tool that you can use to check your productivity level. And why is that important? Because productivity impacts your bottom line. Compete Caribbean Partnership Facility provided the technical and financial support to convert the Excel-based version of the PROTU to the upgraded online platform. We've been really pleased with the progress and the outcome of that initiative and we are happy to be at this stage. It is not going to be launched out to the business environment in solution more generally and expecting it to be a really important role in helping firms diagnose their current productivity performance and then being able to set in place really measurable and results focused plans to improve that performance over time. But what is so innovative about the PROTU? How does it work and what makes it a valuable tool to any business? The PROTU is a unique performance measurement tool unlike any other measurement tool that we have being used by businesses in that it is not just analytical, it is also remedial. After the PROTU has assessed the performance of the business and it gives you a ranking on the various aspects of that business, it will highlight the deficiencies and it will also offer you ways and methods in which you can improve your processes to ensure that these deficiencies over time do not exist anymore for your business. So it allows you to improve so that your deficiencies are decreased. Basically with productivity in a business, you're saying I want more output phase unit of input and if you're not measuring that, if you're not looking at that in some way, in some structured way, then you're not going to achieve it, you're not going to achieve greater productivity. The qualitative component of the PROTU was the component which I worked on. That component involved the assessment as well as the recommendations. So part of my assignment was to review the items as well as to review the recommendations. And by the way, that's a plus to that instrument in that you're not doing just a check but you're also looking at the act to improve when the recommendations have been given. So for each item in the assessment, what we did was we referenced the international standard that it was aligned to. Development of the PROTU included robust testing among members of the business community in St. Lucia, including large, small and medium enterprises. These suggestions for improvement and modification were taken on board to produce the updated version of the productivity measuring tool, PROTU. Now my experience with PROTU is that it was actually quite easy to use. The data that I had to input, most of this was readily available from our internal records and I found that the software was user-friendly. The instructions were quite clear, so completing the process was by no means difficult. Here at Harris-Paines, we pride ourselves on the quality of our products and level of customer service. Knowing our level of productivity is very important to us. The PROTU gives us the opportunity to measure both our qualitative and quantitative outputs. We at Harris-Paines would certainly endorse the PROTU to any company. Whether you are a service-oriented business or your main activity involves the production of any type of commodity, your business productivity levels should be measured and monitored to help guide sound decision-making for the growth and development of your business. The PROTU undoubtedly will be an invaluable instrument to provide assistance to all MSMEs on the journey to increase operational effectiveness and resilience. If you're a business owner interested in measuring the productivity of your entity, the good news is PROTU is free for use for an entire year. Simply visit PROTU.gov.lc. You're watching St. Boucher Magazine on the National Television Network. Stay with us. Some of the VIP network tob acete a station television NtN, Vinicute Conteste, Silo, Tidaw, La Force, Chalui, Toyo, Tes, Ecto, Tee, Koyoteka, Debiwe, Langmawanu, and Viemoulin, Siklon, Bamu, Poe, Paobli, Some of the VIP network tob acete oswe, Selma, a station television NtN, Chanel, Youssefinde, Edetage Facebook, Guberma Settlisi, and YouTube aussi, Changer, Kiltise, Tjewizion, Machesa, Blanley Co. Welcome back. It's time for Recap with Jamina Hippolit. Recap is your look back at government and public sector developments. Hi, I'm Jamina Hippolit. Welcome to Recap. The present day initiative of the Ministry of Education saw participation of the country's labor force as employees ducked in school attire paid tribute to teachers who made significant impacts on their lives. Minister for Education Hon. Sean Edward expressed gratitude to all who participated in the initiative. The Ministry of Education extends a heartfelt thank you to everyone who supported our initiative present, proudly representing its school, exalting our nation's teachers. The turnout was surpassed our expectations and it was immensely heartwarming to see so many solutions from all walks of life put on the uniforms of their alma mater and proudly represented its school whilst exalting our nation's teachers. We are grateful to all the business houses, hotels, commercial and private enterprises that embraced the idea and encouraged their staff to participate. We are particularly appreciative of the staff of the various government agencies and schools who came out in large numbers led by my ministerial colleagues, permanent secretaries and principals to support this activity. Hundreds of videos and photos flooded the timelines on social media. All paying tribute to our teachers past and present who in one way or another impacted our lives. This was the objective of the event and we are pleased that it was realized. What really stood out for me was the creativity of our people. Never will I forget the revised cover of the Andy and Rose Primary School reading textbook. The biggest takeaway for me however was the realization that regardless of which school you attended we all find ourselves in positions that allowed us to contribute positively to society. I know there are those who felt that as a ministry there was more that could have been done in observance of teachers week. Rest assured that at the Ministry of Education the planning will begin in earnest for a stronger call to action next year. Still it was a sheer pleasure to witness such unbridled happiness, joy and laughter. For two days the entire country felt lighter. The stress levels were lowered and everyone went through the days in childlike wonder. Like they say it was a vibe, a positive vibe. And I hope that we can advance into the weeks ahead with the same positivity and energy that was displayed on the 5th and 7th of October. Maybe if we embrace the Métis Hadley Colou mentality we can in some measure improve our general well-being. Thank you everyone thanks for supporting this initiative from the Ministry of Education. We've seen notable developments in the health sector including the unveiling of the very first Centre of Excellence for Non-Communicable Diseases. The Minister for Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs Honourable Moses Shabbati says that this is the first of many. I can never forget when we opened the Ancillary Wellness Centre and I said to a couple officials there I said but where do we have the most snakebites in St. Lucia? It's canrys and ancillary and I said why don't we do centres of excellence? Why don't we do a Centre of Excellence for Snakebites right here in Ancillary Colour? Some people tell me what? Minister we cannot do that because we have to do this and we have to have this and that. I said I'm not talking about having a surgical ward at the Ancillary Wellness Centre you know. I want the Ancillary Wellness Centre to be the place in the Caribbean where you have the most research, the most documents and the most knowledgeable people about snakebites. You don't need a university at Ancillary to do it. All we have to do is to ensure that the focus is there because we have that problem just like her. We have a problem with NCDs in St. Lucia. We've been talking about it over and over again. I want this place to be the place in the Caribbean and indeed maybe in the world over time world professors and people from St. Lucia come here and when they speak to the nurses they're talking to experts in NCDs. It doesn't mean the other places are not doing NCDs you know but this has to be the focus where lessons are learned and you take these lessons and multiply them in the other wellness centres. It does not mean we are not doing care for chronic illnesses in the other areas. No it doesn't mean that but you need centres of excellence. Places where you build experts and you can use these experts whether it be the nurses, the doctors and so on. Not only in St. Lucia, not only in Miku but then you can send them to Souffre. You can send them over there to teach and then later on you can send them to Yui to give lessons and so on and so on. That's what I dream of because while I consider myself to be a very simple person I believe in worldly things. When I play my drums I play it for, when I play it in St. Lucia I play it for people all over the world. So when we do something here at the Miku Wellness Centre I want us to do it not only for people in Miku but in St. Lucia and for the world. We have to be the best at this centre of excellence. So for me it is really being, you know, having a dream and sharing it with professionals and to actually see it happen. For me that's simple and that's effective. According to some of my friends that's irony and then we have to take this iriness and translate it into sustainability. So it should not be something that we do just now. Those of us who will be working with it and working on it need to ensure that throughout the system in the ministry that we work on it and work because it's not going to succeed one time. There'll be glitches. Next week you may not have the doctor. Maybe a doctor goes overseas or something. How do we quickly fill the gap so that we continue the communication? How do we continue to communicate with our folks so that they understand that you can come here for certain services, increased services, increased access? Meanwhile the Ministry of Agriculture continues to bolster the island's food security and promote healthy food alternatives, especially on the occasion of World Food Day. Nationally we continue to implement our various food and nutrition security activities. We have continued to support banana and plant in farmers by providing subsidized fertilizer, pest and disease support, financial aid to the NFTO, assignment of a restructuring consultant, and appointment of a banana task force to review the industry. Focus on vegetables and other crops has been done through project search as the seven crops project phase two where we provided subsidized fertilizer, irrigation equipment, hoop greenhouses, seeds and seedlings. Later in the year we will be purchasing small tillers to help with the mechanized preparation of farmland. We will also be piloting the automated knapsack sprayers. In fisheries we continue our capacity building training, inclusive of safety at sea, coral restoration programs, and we will be piloting and rolling out the vessel monitoring system. The government will also be supporting livelihood protection for fishers on the coast insurance. Lots of emphasis has been placed on promoting local foods and products, inclusive of standards for safety and export. The ministry has held expositions on bananas and mangoes and now for World Food Day for CMOS. These events are aimed at promoting the economic benefits of these crops while allowing for innovation in the processing and transformation of these products to increase the opportunities for rural development and entrepreneurship. A highlight for the ministry was the CMOS Fiesta. The event was held on 16th October 2022 at the Forder National Park. The CMOS Fiesta held under the theme leave no one behind, better production, better nutrition and a better environment for all, aimed to encourage a change in public practices and habits toward consuming more locally grown crops, including CMOS, by showcasing a diverse range of value-added CMOS commodities. The event held in honour of World Food Day on Sunday October 16, 2022 in Forder saw over 20 CMOS processors, farmers and schools displaying products such as CMOS powder, ice pops, soaps and cakes. The CMOS Fiesta also saw the official launch of the Ministry of Agriculture's CMOS catalogue, which included CMOS-infused recipes, as well as a compilation of CMOS processors and their products. One of the featured agro processors in the catalogue, Solage Martelli, was also present at the festival with a display of her product offerings. My family has been in CMOS for like 30 years now, so recently we decided, you know, it's time to make a legacy for ourselves, right? So we branched out and we're now doing our own thing and we figured, you know, the powder CMOS is becoming something so important nowadays because everybody has a busy schedule, you want to get this and get on the run, so, you know, we figured like, that's the best option. So we've been trying to enhance that and continue to improve as time goes by. Essentially, we do the dried CMOS in its golden form, we have the powders, we also have some muffins that we came out with recently, it's got the bananas, raisins, everything, and our newest one, which is the cocoa mix, well, it's got chocolate, our local cocoa, actually, and all you do is you add your water, it has the spices, it has milk, it has everything already, we have the other flavours like the turmeric, ginger, moringa, all of them, and we also have the purple powder, which is said to be even more nutritious than those flavours as well. According to Agriculture Minister honourable Alfred Prosper, the CMOS Fiesta, forms part of the Ministry's mandate to achieve sustainable development goal too, to increase food security by ensuring that the public consumes local healthy foods and increasing the livelihoods of CMOS farmers and agro processors. Some people may ask, why CMOS? CMOS is also a very important diet, it's very nutritious, but more significantly, it creates a big impact on the rural population. We know currently we have more than 400 persons involved in the production of CMOS. We have about 65 persons who are directly involved in the export of CMOS. It is a growing industry and as I said, it is very, very important for the rural populace and our ministry, considering the importance and value of this sub-sector in the agricultural sector, we thought it was a very good activity to really bring them together. The event, which included a fun family day with activities for adults and children, concluded on a high note with the public being able to enjoy the many CMOS products, while being entertained by live performances from St. Lucien artists and bands. From the communications unit of the Ministry of Agriculture, I am Anisia Antoine reporting. Efforts to boost sales and consumption of locally grown fruits and vegetables continue. As the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the Taiwan Technical Mission, hosted its first ever eggplant culinary experience. The Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the Taiwan Technical Mission placed the limelight on the need for the incorporation of locally grown foods into our diet through an eggplant exposition. The eggplant culinary experience intended to encourage a conscious shift in consumption habits and behaviour toward the use of the eggplant, as students from the Stanley John Odler Memorial Secondary School, Castro's Comprehensive Secondary School, and Upton Garden Girls Center showcased different ways in which the crop can be incorporated into daily meals. Dishes on display included cheesy eggplant, eggplant bread, candied eggplant, and hotel style eggplant, which whilst appetizing can also give a decent supply of potassium and fiber. Ambassador of the Republic of China Taiwan to St. Lucia, his Excellency Peter Chien-Chen, incommending the students on their creativity and innovation in designing eggplant recipes, says his government and people have taken note of youth interest in various aspects of the agri-food industry and as such will remain steadfast in working with the Agriculture Ministry to promote capacity building in St. Lucia's agriculture sector to improve livelihoods and enhance food security. And today we also see a lot of talented young people and as I say there's a lot of talented people in St. Lucia. That's why my embassy and my government work with the government of St. Lucia trying to build up and promote human or people's capacity in St. Lucia. No matter our agriculture project, our education project, or our other project, the focus is people. Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Rural Development, Honourable Alfred Prosper, in highlighting that the rising costs of food imports and products and availability remain a challenge for St. Lucia, notes that efforts like the eggplant culinary experience are strategic actions aimed at boosting awareness of the necessity of purchasing locally in order to strengthen St. Lucia's food security. Our food import bill continues to rise because we are not giving enough attention to the things that we grow in St. Lucia. And as a ministry, we must take that bold step to make it happen. Eggplants, just imagine, people did not, I didn't really see the demand for eggplant many years ago as a farmer. I don't grow eggplant because I don't see the demand for it in the market. But I just heard earlier this morning that there is an increasing demand for it. And what a time now for us to use our eggplant and convert it into our processing and products that we can see on our market shelves. You know the opportunity that creates for our single mothers, our unemployed mothers, where they can actually go into the production of those products using eggplant. Eggplant can grow very well in St. Lucia. So why not tap into this and take this to the next level. Minister Prosper says that measures to improve the quality of items produced on the island form part of a suit of interventions by the agriculture ministry to improve and sustain agrifood livelihoods and help augment nutrition and food security efforts in St. Lucia. From the communications unit of the Ministry of Agriculture, I am Anicia Anduan reporting. The Embassy of the Republic of China, Taiwan, held a banquet in commemoration of Taiwan's 111st National Day. Let's take the highlight of that activity. Suddenly, this year has had its challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a concern. Russia's invasion of Ukraine and China's military provocation of Taiwan have highlighted the security threat posed by authoritarian expansion. These challenges, however, have allowed the international community to see Taiwan's unique character and capabilities as an island of resilience. Taiwan's role, economic, geopolitical, and as a defender of democratic ideals has grown increasingly important to international affairs and to global supply chains. Taiwan stands with those who stand for freedom, democracy, and human rights. That means we stand with St. Lucia and like-minded democracies around the world. As any country would, Taiwan is committed to defending itself, its way of life, and the stability of the region. We will always the democratic community to jointly safeguard democratic values, maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific region, and secure the stable development of international trade and global supply chains. Yes, this year has been a challenge, but it has also seen powerful declarations of progress and persistence. The projects between the governments of Taiwan and Senuzion have been fruitful and speak to the strengths granted by cooperation. The examples are diverse, longtime agricultural cooperation, ICT in education and smart classrooms, the youth and women economic empowerment project, Mandarin pilot program, and offering Taiwan's Mandarin exam a first for the Caribbean. We make sure all projects are all by and for the people of Senuzion. The forms of our cooperation take reflect the deep friendship and share values. Our friendship and values were also seen in the honorable Prime Minister Philly JPS, all ministers and all parties solid and sound support for Taiwan at WHO, United Nations, IKO, UNFCCC and Interpol. On this, Senuzion has our deepest gratitude for being a sure voice of support for Taiwan's participation in international society. It is my distinct pleasure to be among good friends of Senuzion, the people of Taiwan, to celebrate with you on a momentous occasion like Taiwan's national day. I cannot help but note that as Taiwan celebrates its national day, we here in Senuzion are also celebrating our Creole Heritage Month. Now, I know some people may think these two events have no connection and these celebrations may seem quite far apart, but I think our stars are aligned in a very interesting way. The rights of the Chinese people were for a very long time suppressed by their leaders. Double 10 Day is a remembrance marking the beginning of change and the embracing of new freedoms of expression for the Taiwanese people. Likewise, the celebration of our Creole Heritage Month marks a change from what was suppressed by our colonial leaders for a very long time. As such, every October, our respective countries are celebrating their liberation, national identity, culture and heritage as unique peoples of the world. This year, Taiwan's national day holds special significance. 77 years since the end of the Second World War, our world finds itself facing new and emerging conflicts. Battle lines are drawn and threats of more wars are looming in different regions of the world. We are witnessing what has unraveled in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and from Taipei to castries and the world over, everyone is feeling the impact of higher prices of goods and services. We are also seeing the impact of the unfortunate escalation of tension between Taiwan and mainland China. The world in which we enjoy, the world sorry, in which we enjoy the peace, freedoms, quality of life and justice should never be taken for granted. We must continue to pray and strive for world peace for the good of mankind. And so as we remember our struggles and triumphs in our respective lands and as our peoples celebrate with food, music, dance and festivities, let us continue to progress in friendship and mutual respect. Over the past decade, Taiwan has become one of St. Lucia's leading and most reliable development partners. We must say thank you to the government and people of Taiwan. We are witnessing so many of the advanced developed countries finding challenges with the current socioeconomic environment, far less small developing states like ours. Indeed, it is in times like this that we must cherish our friendship and come to each other's aid as best we can. Taiwan as one of the world's top 21 economies has a vital role to play in the international community economically, politically and democratically as well. It remains a success story of good governance and democracy and there is much our society can emulate from the Taiwanese. Taiwan is a reminder of the importance of good leadership, the importance of national discipline and purpose, the importance of resilience in the face of adversity, the importance of strategy and planning. And so ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the government and people of St. Lucia, may I congratulate the government and people of Taiwan on this, the 111st National Day. Long live the people of Taiwan. Thank you very much. My apologies, I did not acknowledge the presence of the leader of the opposition during the protocol that preceded my remarks. The CES to St. Lucia Global Summit, organized by the St. Lucia Tourism Authority, SLTE, brought together travel advisors from the USA, UK, Canada and the Caribbean. The romance breakfast provided participants with the tools required to effectively monetize their businesses, while the romance showcase allowed the participants to interact and meet with local vendors. Let's take in a highlight. Thank you for your support for St. Lucia. We've done amazing over the last few years and it's because of the support that we've gotten from our travel partners and everybody else who is selling St. Lucia at the international level and of course bringing so many visitors to St. Lucia. And of course our local planners, suppliers, I must say to you, keep up the great work that you're doing. Keep raising the bar because there's so much more competition coming on now. So St. Lucia needs to take it a step higher. We cannot be complacent. We cannot believe that we've arrived and we are good at what we're doing. We can be a lot better. And today is really an opportunity for everyone involved to come and to meet and to show off what is possible. But let us always believe we can be so much better than we are. Let's be imaginative. Let's be innovative. Let's think of new ways of doing things. I think somebody yesterday said, if you ask me, I will organize a wedding on top of the pitas. Now that's that stretching imagination now. But the point is it says that there is no limit, no bonds to what we can achieve as a people and as a destination. And I want everyone to always remember that we will always strive to be the best. And now when the awards do come, you know it comes because a lot of hard work has been done by all of you out there and certainly our partners overseas who are selling St. Lucia. So my job is to say thank you to everyone who is involved in this industry. And I'm hoping this year we will win again. And I'm told that there is a lot of competition now because every destination is trying to reach the pinnacle that St. Lucia has reached. But I know we can be even better. And from the last couple of days well yesterday and today you've shown that we can be so much better. So keep up the good work, continue to strive for the best and continue to place St. Lucia at the top of it all. Thank you very much. Good afternoon. That wraps up RECAP for today. Stay with us when we return. We hope you will learn something new in the digital segment. Welcome to Did You Know, where we keep you informed of new policies and incentives that may be beneficial to you. The government of St. Lucia has provided a tax amnesty to the people of St. Lucia. Did you know that you can now file taxes for previous years up to 2020 and pay no interest or penalty fees? You'll have until April 30th of 2023 to take advantage of this incentive. The amnesty applies to personal income tax, corporate tax, property tax, hotel accommodation tax, motor vehicle rental fees, insurance premium tax, and travel passenger fees. To help you do so, here is a guide on how you can effectively file your taxes online, starting with registering for the e-filing platform. I'll show you how easy it is to register as an e-user. It's so easy I'm going to register on my phone. On my phone's browser, I will type https colon forward slash forward slash e-filing dot govt dot lc and on the website I will choose the register user button. I'll be brought to a registration form online where I must fill the required fields marked with asterisks. Try to fill in the optional areas as well when possible. Now after filling out the areas I must also upload a scanned copy of a valid form of ID. I will choose my ID card, filling the necessary numbers, and then select my copy. In addition to scanned copies you can also use a clear picture taken from your phone. Next I must choose a secure password. Choose a password that is at least six characters long, has at least one capital letter, and a numeral. Don't forget to agree to the terms and conditions before you submit the form for review. If you correctly filled out your form you will be brought to this page informing you that a confirmation email was sent to the address you provided in the application. You will go to that email address to look for a confirmation email. Click on the link to confirm that your application was made by you. After confirming look out for a second email indicating whether we approved or rejected your application. If you were approved congrats. If you were rejected make the necessary corrections and apply again. In the second email there will be a username provided. Copy that username and then click on the link to sign in with your username and the password you applied with. And that's it. You are now on the homepage of your new e-user account. On the left side column are the options available to you as an e-user. As an e-user you can now file your taxes, make payments, check your tax status, etc. all online. So get started today. Now that you're registered simply follow these next steps to file your taxes online. To begin filing online you first need to log into your account on our e-filing website. If you do not have an account you can sign up to become an e-user. Just check out our e-registration video on this channel. Go to https column forward slash forward slash e-filing dot govt dot lc then log into your account with your username and password. This will take you to the e-filing home screen. Before we proceed you should have the following documents ready in pdf format. Scan or photograph digital copies of your td5 or td4 forms or your income statement if you're self-employed. Copies of other documented claims you want to attach to your tax return and this publication Tax Facts and Calculations. Download this booklet from our main website and it will guide you on all the allowances and deductions you're entitled to when filing your tax return. So let's get started. On the e-filing home screen go to the declaration tab on the left column click fill declaration. Next select personal income tax return from the declaration form drop menu then select the tax year you're filing for and click the fill new button. Your page will load up into an online version of a tax return form. The first page will have all your personal information preloaded so you won't have to go through the process again. All you have to do is go into the next section which you will find in the tabs at the top of the screen. Let's go to section 2. Section 2 pertains to schedule a on the form. Your dependence and medical allowance claims are entered here. If you have children simply enter your child dependence information and your claims for them as well as your medical insurance and medical bills. Like I'm doing right here. Keep your medical bills handy in case we contact you for them. You do not need to upload it. Something important to remember when firing is to constantly use the save and validate option. You do this by clicking the icons at the top of your screen and this will let you know if you did not fill out a required section or whether your figures entered were erroneous. You simply need to amend that information and then save and validate again to make sure they were entered correctly. But we'll look at this further a little later on. Now that you're done with schedule A, let's go to the next tab where we'll find schedules B and C or your future benefits and other allowable deductions claims. In schedule B, you'll enter the contributions to pension funds and retirement savings plans, premiums paid in life insurance and NIC contributions. And in schedule C, you enter any mortgage interests, house insurance, house repairs, credit union shares, travel allowances and any other deductions made. Don't forget to save and validate. After I have saved and validated a second time, you can see I have fewer errors. However, there is one error in my premium taxes paid for life insurance that I can correct before moving on and I will do so. I will save and validate again and as you can see the error is gone. There's another error that we must address but we'll look at it in the next tab where we'll find sections 3, 4 and 5. In section 3, I will enter my gross pay for the year as well as any other taxable income such as commissions paid or bonuses. If you earn the pension, you can enter it here as well as your business income. Use the tax facts and calculations to assist. As you can see in section 4, the data from the previous sections have all been automatically tallied, entered and calculated to determine the amount of tax you should pay for the year. Under payments and credits, I will enter any PAY or contract tax paid on my behalf during the year then select how I want my refund paid to me. I'll choose by check. I will save and validate to determine whether or not I have a refund and I have a refund. However, there is one last error is I need to attach my supporting documents. I will click attachments on the top right corner then select upload attachments. Select attachment type and then give a short description of the documents I'm submitting. I will upload the scanned digital copy of whatever documents I have. I can repeat the process if I want to then I will save the attachment and close when I'm finished and then I will save and validate the entire document one last time to make sure I have no errors, which I do not. So now that my tax return is ready to submit, I will click the submit button on the top right corner then I will confirm submission of my return as being true and complete and click submit document and that's it. I have completed my tax return online. I'll just click return to portal to go back to the home page and I can now check the status of my tax return by clicking declarations history on the left hand side. Now as a final note, let's just go over a few tips to remember when filing. Clare's scanned digital copies or photographs are accepted. Always save your declaration or return form as you go. Always validate to make sure there are no errors. Click on the error warning to go directly to where it is and as a bonus click save then back to exit and file later. We do hope that you will put this information into practice. This is how we come to the end of St. Lucia magazine, your monthly wrap up. A huge thank you to all who contributed to the production of this program, the national television network and GIS team and the communication officers in the various ministries and thank you for joining us. Be sure to join us next month for another episode of St. Lucia magazine on NTN channel 122 and the social media pages of the government of St. Lucia. Until next time, I'm Humedy Mark.