 Welcome to NGN Nightly. I'm Hermadi Mark. This edition stops stories. The Ministry of Commerce wraps up efforts to propel business development through technology. Honourable Wayne Girard reiterates his commitment to meeting socio-economic needs of constituents and Prime Minister Honourable Philip J. Pierre to press for tangible goals at the Global Climate Conference in Glasgow. The Ministry of Commerce, manufacturing, business development, cooperatives and consumer affairs and the business community in St. Lucia is observing business month throughout November. The theme this year is propelling business development through technology. In an address to launch Business Month 2021, Minister for Commerce, manufacturing, business development, cooperatives and consumer affairs, Honourable Emma Hippolett highlights the significance of technology in business development. As a result of COVID-19, digital engagement levels have increased exponentially to a point where information and communication technology can no longer be characterised as they may support service. But it is now the principal driver in the business ecosystem. Technology is evolving at a pace where one can truly be left behind. It is therefore imperative that our nation, especially our business community, the micro, small and medium enterprises remain abreast with the technology at our disposal as well as find ways to take full advantage of these opportunities. Minister for Commerce, manufacturing, business development, cooperatives and consumer affairs Honourable Emma Hippolett. The address by Honourable Hippolett airs in its entirety at 7.30pm. Meanwhile, as indicated by Honourable Emma Hippolett, many micro, small and medium enterprises, MSMEs in St. Lucia have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has forced business owners to build greater resilience in their business practices by adopting more creative and innovative ICT tools and it devices to facilitate their business processes. Glenn Simon reports. The Ministry of Commerce, manufacturing, business development, cooperatives and consumer affairs is all get up for the observance of Business Month from November 1st to 30th 2021 under the theme, propelling business development through technology. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce Sophia Henry noted that despite the devastating impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on all aspects of business activity, opportunities for building resilience while improving the productivity of businesses must be highlighted. Many of our businesses have suffered reduced sales losses even closure and they have been forced to adopt more creative and innovative ICT tools and we believe that advanced technology is our business's fighting chance during the COVID era and to ensure sustainability post COVID. Hence the reason this year Business Month we are focusing on the theme, propelling business development through technology. The activities for Business Month commences on November 1st with an address by the Commerce Minister Honourable Emma Hippolett which will be aired on NTN and posted on social media. The ministry has also planned several capacity building workshops targeting existing and new entrepreneurs. The 1st is from the 3rd to the 5th of November that's our lean canvas business model is a business planning workshop and during that workshop the participants will be given a template and we will assist them to complete a business plan in a format that can be submitted to a financial institution or any other stakeholder during the week of November 8th to the 14th that's Global Entrepreneurship Week. Now Global Entrepreneurship Week will be spearheaded by the St Lucia Chamber of Commerce and Industry however on the 10th of November there will be a business resource symposium and the ministry of commerce will be making a presentation during that symposium whereby we'll be informing the general public of all the resources that are available to businesses through the ministry. She added that a business startup essentials workshop is slated for November 17th while the ministry will host a workshop entitled Design Thinking to Develop a Business from November 18th to the 30th this workshop is geared at creative young persons with business ideas to think out of the box. And so it's a 9 day workshop but 9 half days so again we are appealing to our young people to take advantage to contact us and to register for these workshops. The commerce peers emphasized that a deliberate focus is being placed on the youth economy by the ministry of commerce. The ministry of commerce will be there to support because we want to ensure that our young people do not just see themselves as employees but as entrepreneurs because they are intelligent, they are creative and they just need that opportunity for them to start up a business and they will get that assistance at the ministry of commerce so yes the youth economy will be spearheaded by the ministry of finance but the ministry of commerce will be working collaboratively with the ministry of finance to provide that support to the youth so that they can start up their businesses. The St. Lucia Taiwan partnership trade show will be held on November 26th and 27th in both a virtual and physical presence at the Grossely Human Resource Center. The full calendar of activities for business month can be accessed by visiting Seidu St. Lucia's Facebook page. For the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council, Glenn Simon reporting. Parliamentary representative for Anslery Canary's Honourable Wayne Girard has reiterated his commitment to meeting the socio-economic needs of constituents among the priorities for Honourable Wayne Girard is providing quality healthcare to all constituents. We hear more from Rajvaru Lawrence. Officials from the Ministry of Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs joined minister in the ministry of finance, economic development and youth economy and Parliamentary representative for Anslery, the Honourable Wayne Girard on a walkthrough of the completed Anslery Wellness Center. The building located in the heart of the village will serve residents of the community and environs and will provide staff and customers with an improved experience. Assistant Principal Nursing Officer for Community Nursing Services, Alma Dolan expressed satisfaction with the facility and highlighted comfort and ease of use among the many benefits of the center. We have the dental unit, we have pharmacy, very well done. We have the nutrition department if many persons have been come asking for a demonstration room which is very well done and the place is spacious. You could see that the nurses are going to have enough space. Besides the nurses, we have the space for the other units like environmental health and so on. So this is a facility that is really, really at a standard that I know where the clients will be satisfied. The nurses and other supporting staff will be well pleased to be able to work here and provide a service at a standard that the community will be well pleased and also the surrounding communities. Honourable Wayne Girard noted the significance of the wellness center to treating the ailments plaguing the community. The important thing about a wellness facility is not just to deal with the injured but also to impart knowledge and information to the community. As you would see, there's a kitchen as part of this facility which speaks to the nutrition and the importance of nutrition. So going into the future, I think it's important that we utilize the facility not just to deal with the sick but also to encourage people to take better care of themselves. So that I think is a very important fundamental part going forward. Not just dealing with the sick but also preventing some of the issues that we are now seeing quite a bit of our local residents are suffering, the non-communicable diseases, the asthma, the diabetes, the COPD. A lot of information could be imparted upon them right in this facility to help address some of those issues. Minister for Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs, the Honourable Moses Jabatis indicated that the facility provides an avenue for expansion of medical capabilities. I mentioned to the team here today that the location of this facility right here in Ansleray gives us a perfect opportunity to begin to think about the treatment of snake bites and to begin to think about what capacities we can build locally. Capacities in the nurses, the doctors and the other healthcare professionals and it's not too far fetched for us to begin to think of a centre of excellence, so to speak, for the treatment of snake bites and so on. And we know canaries, we know this whole region and we know about federal loans and so on. And this facility has the space, it gives us opportunities to develop all of those capacities. So we have to think not only of health and wellness centre in the traditional health centre kind of thinking but we have to go beyond this and to see what we can develop not only for St Lucia but for the whole Caribbean. The National Insurance Property and Company Limited NIPRO facilitated the walkthrough of the Ansleray Wellness Centre. From the Government Information Service, Rojvaro Lawrence The United Kingdom is hosting the 26th United Nations Climate Conference COP26 in 2021. Heads of State from across the world and global ambassadors convene in Glasgow from October 31, 2021 to discuss pertinent issues surrounding climate change and adaptability. The ultimate goal is then act changes that will lead to a reduction in carbon emissions for the sustainability of the planet. Chief Executive Officer of the Caribbean Climate Smart Accelerator and Global Ambassador Raquel Moses speaking during the morning update on the national television network indicated that there will be a strong Caribbean presence at COP26. Yes, so we'd like to use the voices of our advocates you know, the Virgin United and the Virgin team they have a phenomenal global platform, they have been amazing for us and they are working with us to get the messaging out. We have our advocates all you see in bold, we're also working with them and Brian Lara who's been tremendous and supportive of us so hoping to use those voices again to get the message out that we need to be heard, we need the attention of the globe at this point, we need the funding and we need to get these projects up and off the ground. So we're hoping to amplify the voices of the advocates who work on our behalf. We are welcoming any additional advocates. We are in touch with and we work with Rihanna's L'Art Lionel Foundation and they do phenomenal work and we're actually hosting a panel on the 10th of November at COP with the head of her foundation to talk about some of the amazing work that they've done on health centers and building resilience across health infrastructure in the region. So we are hoping to pull out all the stops to use everything at our disposal to try and get the attention of the parties that be, the people with the burst strings who have the ability to help us and to also let them know that we're not coming just with a hat in hand but we also have solutions that we have to offer and they should take those into consideration. Ms. Moses highlighted actions that can be taken by governments and the people of the Caribbean to achieve lower carbon emissions. At the government level, greater awareness needs to be created around what's being done. I know that there are phenomenal strides being made in EECS and so we want to make sure that awareness and information and sharing the data where it's available with people so that people have the ability to take decisions. Also people are aware of the opportunities that exist. Promoting entrepreneurship promoting farming and food security, promoting energy security, developing policies that can allow developers to come in and take on projects that have the ability to generate a return. Working with us on sharing their projects so that we can help to get these projects funded. And on the people side it is getting yourself educated. We will share as many resources as we are aware of to hold your governments accountable and to make sure that you understand where they are, understand what they're doing and you keep them on track and keep this in focus. This is a fight of our lifetime. It is a race to be one, but it is a race we can win. We are racing to zero and we can do this. I know that we can do this. I feel this inside my every atom. We can do this, but we just have to get serious. And so not saying that there hasn't been tremendous strides, but we need to do so much more so much faster. Prime Minister of St. Lucia Hon. Philip J. Pierre is among heads of government from the Caribbean attending October 26th. Hon. Pierre will address the summit on Tuesday, November 2nd and urge heads of government to commit to 1.5 degree Celsius temperature goals and to deliver the promised long-term financial goals for climate mitigations and adaptation with St. Lucia and small island developing states require to protect their vulnerable territories and economies. Hon. Philip J. Pierre arrived in the United Kingdom on Saturday October 30 and will return to St. Lucia on Saturday, November 6th 2021. In my environment news on 28 October 2021, the St. Lucia National Trust SL&T convened a virtual meeting with key stakeholders to present the findings from a marine assessment study conducted for the marine area around Pigeon Island. The purpose of the marine assessment was to evaluate the current status of the health marine ecosystems which surround Pigeon Island to identify the causes of any degradation found and to make recommendations for addressing any anthropogenic and climate change impacts affecting the marine ecosystem. The outputs from this study include a marine ecosystem assessment report, a rehabilitation and monitoring plan, a coral reef and seagrass bed ecosystem valuation report, marine ecosystem maps and an underwater photography atlas, the first of its kind for Pigeon Island. Jeanine Compton Antoine is the Department Service Manager at the St. Lucia National Trust. And it was indeed very eye-opening. It showed us that some of the coral is actually healthy and doing well. We found stands of a species called Acropora palmata, which is Elkhorn coral and this coral had been decimated by a bacterial disease in the 80s throughout the Caribbean. It was indeed surprising and very heartening to know that this species is doing very well at Pigeon Island and the consultants have actually recommended that we should undertake restoration exercise which would include transplanting some of the healthy species of Acropora to other locations around Pigeon Island. In addition to that pencil coral and some other coral species were also found to be doing very well, but we've also found the scaly coral disease that has been impacting the hard corals throughout the Caribbean. This now is also impacting corals at Pigeon Island and has led to the degradation of the reef. We've also noticed that there in the past Pigeon Island was known to be a nursery area for Queen Kong and no Queen Kong, live Queen Kong were found at Pigeon Island and neither were a large number of white sea eggs found at Pigeon Island. As well the lobsters at Pigeon Island seem to be under severe pressure because the only ones that were found around Pigeon Island were juveniles. So it shows clearly that we have to do some further work and further assessments of the species found around Pigeon Island. Some of the pressures on the Pigeon Island marine ecosystems observed while the study was being conducted include the use of sun cream and related sunscreen agents by beach users which may impact the corals. Increased fishing pressure through recreational and small-scale fishing. Ms. Compton Antoine says there are numerous other factors impacting the seagrass bed. These include invasive species like an invasive seagrass that has come in from the Mediterranean, the lion fish and also a brittle star species, a type of star fish as well as water quality issues. There are high presence of nitrates and phosphates which are coming from runoff from mainland St. Lucia. And then one of the issues as well that the consultant stressed was the presence of litter and solid waste that was found in the area as well as anchor damage. So they said consideration should be given to the installation of permanent moorings and I know that SLASPA and other agencies have been talking about the overall plan for Rodney Bay including the installation of moorings for yachting and other vessels. And then they also indicated that they noticed that vessels were traversing the area at very high speed which are risk to fauna such as turtles but also to human life and they said that we should look carefully at reducing speed. So there's a number of things that have been highlighted in this report and the solution National Trust looks forward to working with the other agencies to see how we can implement develop and implement a comprehensive management plan for the area. The estimated economic value of coral reefs and seagrass beds surveyed in the marine area is approximately EC $425,355 the study which commenced in April 2021 and concluded in September 2021 was conducted by a team of consultants from Cree Ocean as part of the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund being implemented by the St. Lucia National Trust and co-financed by the International Climate Initiative. This is Antean Knightley. Primus Hutchinson is up next. Stay with us. In 2019 and 2020 respectively the government of St. Lucia passed the Public Health Smoking Control Amendment and the Public Health Smoking Control Regulations Act which prohibits the smoking of cigarettes, other electronic devices or any other substance in businesses and workplaces, public places like bars, restaurants parks and beaches likewise in public transports, taxis and terminals. We all need to be aware of these new laws and support the smoking restrictions to ensure our health and safety. Fines for offences are up to $5,000 for individuals or $10,000 for business entities on summary conviction. In this era of COVID-19 smoking and exposure to smoking are unhealthy practices since they are associated with adverse outcomes for those who contract the disease. A smoke-free generation starts with you and me. This is a message from the Minister of Health and Wellness supported by Paul on this station Welcome back. We now join Primus Hutchinson for the Antean Nouvelle Occuyol M.M.Departement University of St. Lucia for information on the government of St. Lucia, G.I.S. National Television, N.T.N. for news on Cuyol and Primus Hutchinson. Prime Minister of St. Lucia, our name is Philip J.Pierre. We call you to serve as a sacrifice for the health and well-being of young people. Thank you for the address. Prime Minister Pierre, the public understands that the situation of COVID-19 has changed in a way that we are used to before. And the celebration of COVID-19 is something that can affect others. According to Prime Minister, if it was for COVID-19, all of this would have been a good time to celebrate COVID-19 as habits and cultural events. But it's not possible. How is it possible? Since the year 2000, the first cases of COVID-19 were registered. Prime Minister Pierre pleaded to make a sacrifice for the health and well-being of young people and their families. Make a sacrifice for the health and well-being of young people. Because if we make a sacrifice for the health and well-being of young people, then COVID-19 will come. COVID-19 will come. If we don't make a sacrifice for the health and well-being of young people, then COVID-19 will come. Prime Minister Pierre pleaded to make a sacrifice for the health and well-being of young people with COVID-19. If we're not making a sacrifice for health and well-being of young people with COVID-19, then COVID-19 will come and we would be a blessing for young people to create for the health and well-being of young people the health and well-being of young people For more than $1,000,000, I found Goa-Sieh, by the government, under the Ministry of Public Health, to do a special announcement for the journalists, the Minister of Public Health, for the Ministry of Public Health, Richard Frederick, who declared that all these people found their good gifts for the New Year 2020. That is, Nioh, who served as a resident apartment, and for the business. Everyone who served as a resident apartment, to reach the end of September, the government made a decision to erase all these lies. It cost the government $4.2 million. The government passed a simple plan, even if it was not for the government, that would not have been possible for the business. Minister Frederick, what do you think about this condition? What is the state of the government going to do in October and November? What is the state of the government going to do in December? on October 9th. I'm a person. So, the same for by by by by by by by I'm I'm Depi sa viniya plas nupakai guvenma pakai toluwe mun pakai peia koh nonu kai toluwe mun kapua patma evi luibai lot mun se bagai salani pudubut konuka kuma se nef kuma kadi guvenmaka edi mun so achol ma siti nans lani pu edi koyo munis de sa fe sati a set li si onu ma mose je batis tui plei e pi degui limo a maladi corona kii prie a desada a pui sa munis sati a deki sa seion bom utuans a tui avai ki munis de de sati kaa fe ek monia pepei aja kuma se kaa suive ek obei se wegla kii a plas kot maladi sa la bukotunii simovge a pui sa oni 350 mun kini kovid 19 a pui set li si evi ek nuka gade l'ekol za vie kuma se ovei evi ek nuka gade punu tovai wed punu gade sima mainu kai sa aile l'ekol a dem mania ki se ne sove nuka wei ki lot pei evi kaa kua iblah evi kaa lot plas a la taia se kaa kovid laka mutte evi kaa set li si se janset li si se wo mme janset li si kika edi pu mene se kaa desan me mme konu kaa gade za fe se kaa kaa desan nu pas a blie kii mun kaa kotunii moa set li si evi ek za fe kovid 19 a pui mme minister evi kabinetla evi ek me mme kaa kaa se impate evi kfa mi se muna ki moa evi ek nuka sove se a bagai ki difficile pui mun evi kfa mi o depi za fe kovid 19 a kuma se nuka nii desan se kaa toa mun ki moa set li si evi kovid ma set li si kaa fe tut sa nuka pui bai se muna ki juin kovid e kii alai an l'hôpital pui mai e chans pui wo i kovid ek za fe kovid 19 a Selon minister satia ma gwe plis set li si e ja pui la vaksin moa lani tujou an lo kika toa mi malad baski e boko pui dos la vaksin minister satia kaa plei di e pi o pui fe sa plei vit kii posib ki kaa poche konuka alai an za fe nul evi kumun ni nuni labiti na set li si pui se li bui a shai evi knu kaa we ki jam business vle a ti a ti soo large ma alai se protocola menuga fe konupe shakle nuni meeting pui gade situation evi knu vle feia mania pui tut mun sa sel i bui evi koi enjoy koiu menu pa vle feia da mania kai mette plei difficulty ba i jam set li si paske nuka gade la vi jam set li si ko sa ki plei important evi kou si ekonomia pui mun juin toa vai mesi madame nuka ini plis asu adversa la asu an lo pnuvel nek se ko sa an nua toa bout nuvel la mo kaa mese o uta po kaa gade mo kaa bo yon evitatio pui jene pi mo a ko se di e ko se ve la vi nek pa se to an lo pnuvel a koiu That brings us to the end of Nitely in us next time at 7 p.m. with a repeat at 7 a.m. You could also catch up with us any time on the Government of St. Lucia Facebook page or YouTube channel. I'm Humedy Mark.