 Welcome to the NTN Nightly. I'm Nisha Charles. This edition's top stories. The Department of the Public Service addresses one of the most serious problems plaguing the work environment. Drainage works continue in flood-prone communities. Entrepreneurs meet up for advancement. All that plus the latest new development, sports and the NTN Nouvelle Arquéon. The Department of the Public Service is addressing one of the most serious problems plaguing the work environment. The Department is aiming to curb internal complications that are negatively affecting the human resource. More in this report from Miguel Morissette. In recent times, public and private sectors have been faced with the issue of poor inequality and mold. It is said that exposure to poor inequality can cause short-term eye, nose and throat irritation, as well as headaches, dizziness and fatigue. The Government of St. Lucia is currently faced with the constant challenge of relocating staff, conducting deep cleaning and in some cases, abandoning building structures altogether. Communication personnel in the Department of the Public Service spoke with Facilities Management Officer Lyndon Barry Georges in order to better understand the situation. I don't think that the poor equality is directly the cause of the mold, but it can lead to creating an environment for the mold to thrive. A lot of times, what has been done is that we move into existing buildings. These existing buildings are not newly built and if they are newly built, which means whether or not the construction was to standard. If the air-conditioning system, which is supposed to create that artificial environment within the building, is not designed properly, then you're additionally creating a situation where the environment will allow for the mold to thrive in it. Also, we need to make sure on our end that standards are being followed when we're constructing. If you do not construct correctly, insulate your walls if you need to, then what you have is it may not happen in the early stages, but as the building gets older, then you find that the conditions, it does not have that resistance to sustain the conditions that you need to maintain on the inside. So standards are key to everything that we do. Typically, Graham Lucia building, before we did our remedial works, you had a lot of surface cracks. So you had areas where rain, water comes in and the water is being stored inside that wall. So you have a lot of condensation. Then you have on the afternoon, the sun hits it. So what does the sun do? It dries from the outside and it brings everything on the inside. What does the AC do on the inside of the space? It dries and it brings everything here. They stop at the center and that's where you have condensation forming and that moisture is favorable for mold to start growing from inside here. So what happened is treating the system from the source. Mold always has a source, especially when it relates to a building. That was one of the sources of the mold. He said mold can be resolved if officers adhere to precautionary measures. If you're transferring from one ministry from an old building into a new location, one has to make sure that certain protocols are followed. The cleaning of your books thoroughly, properly, and bringing it into the space, properly quarantined into the new space to make sure that you don't transfer the bacteria into the new space. It's also a situation of what do we maintain? How do we, our housekeeping on the inside of the space? Because a lot of persons may think that the conditions are only created by the mechanical equipment. It's not my books on my desk, the janitorial services within the building. How frequently do we do a deep cleaning of the space to make sure that dust particles are not kept? Because you have dust particles, the janitors come to clean. If they do not clean properly, what do you have? If the AC system does not provide that assurance that you need, that the air is balanced, then you have a condition on the inside that's favorable for the dust particles to get attached to the water droplets in the air, you have mold. Now, most times what happens is that you don't detect it until someone says, I'm feeling sick, I'm not feeling too well, and then it happens too late. So that's why we're trying our best on the public service ends to advise persons on the way forward how to deal with the situation because most times we may be slightly the cause of it. Over time, poor air quality can trigger the effects of asthma and constant exposure, can lead to respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, or even cancer. Permanent Secretary in the Department of the Public Service, Peggy and Sudat reported that the government is seeking creative and new interventions to deal with this problem. We as a public service have implemented a number of measures. Among them would be making arrangements for medical consultations for staff, medical consultations and testing for staff to ensure that they are not impacted negatively by the issues in the workplace. Additionally, for the longer-term solution, we have identified some areas and we have brought in some consultants or experts to do a more in-depth analysis so that we can find out exactly what is happening and what exactly is causing the problems to come up with a longer-term solution for dealing with them. The Assistant Permanent Secretary in the Department of the Public Service, Agusta Duval Tuse, is calling on all public servants to assist in alleviating the aforementioned problem. Over the last few years, we've had a prevalence of occupational health and safety issues affecting many of our government agencies. In order to mitigate these issues, we have instituted a preventative maintenance regime. That regime includes biannual deep cleaning of the office space, the quarterly servicing of the air-conditioned units and proper storage of household chemicals. In addition to these measures, we encourage officers to take personal responsibility of their office space. We encourage officers who have offices to occasionally open your windows so that fresh air can come in to better ventilate the office space. In addition, we are making a very special appeal for officers who eat at the desk. Please, please officers, do not leave leftover food in your desk as this practice creates the environment for the development of mold. The government of St. Lucia continues to work tirelessly as it seeks to eliminate the problem. From the communications unit in the Department of the Public Service, Miguel Morrisette reporting. The Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project DVRP has rolled out a series of drainage works projects across the island. Last week, the DVRP conducted a site visit in Denver in preparation of project commencement. The site visit to Denver was the latest in a series of activities over the last month under the Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project, the DVRP, towards building flood-resilient communities across St. Lucia, including southeast castries and Mico. In all of these flood-prone communities, of concern is the general condition of the drainage system. Drainage works under the project are intended to alleviate flooding in the vicinity of the Denver Infant School, police station, and cemetery by upgrading existing drains and constructing new drains capable of handling a one-and-twenty-five-year rainfall event. Proposed drainage works total approximately 260 metres. In Mico, lead consultant for the Mico Drainage Works, Norman St. Ville of Teams, Inc., says Blanche residents will benefit from the construction of 104 metres of drains, while the community of D'Arysso will see the construction of drains totaling 695 metres. Bids for the Mico drains are expected to be submitted on September 11 and 13, 2019. Works should commence shortly thereafter. The drainage packages in Denver, southeast castries, and Mico are estimated at approximately 265,000, 5,770,000 and 3 million dollars respectively. Invest St. Lucia on Tuesday 2 September hosted a mixer for entrepreneurs that provided an environment for networking. More from Anissa Antoine. In an effort to encourage networking between successful businessmen and businesswoman, motivated creators and dreamers, Invest St. Lucia ISL hosted a St. Lucia Entrepreneurs Meetup 2019. The event, which was held under the theme doing what you love and being successful doing it, Ingredients for Success, is a precursor to a broader programme currently being finalised by ISL, namely the Business Incubator and Accelerator programme. Dave Headley is the project coordinator for the Business Incubator and Accelerator programme. This project is really to develop the business framework that will really strengthen the ecosystem. So currently you have a number of players within the entrepreneurial ecosystem that cater to entrepreneurs and startups, but there is no guiding framework that will oversee and bring all the players on the one umbrella. And this project is looking to bring all the key players together to have a business framework in place for startups and entrepreneurs that will basically speak to strengthening the ecosystem and of course helping the entrepreneurs themselves. The St. Lucia entrepreneurs Meetup 2019 included a panel discussion with three St. Lucia entrepreneurs namely Nidia Novel, Henson Hunt and Ian Mitchell. Nidia Novel, owner of Skin Care Line Schwazel, shared a few words of encouragement with upcoming entrepreneurs. I am just a girl from St. Lucia, originally from St. Lucia grew up on the northern part of the island and today I have a Skin Care Line that I started in a very small beginnings, early beginnings, a small apartment in New York City where I started everything myself. I taught myself how to do everything. So my takeaway today is that regardless of where you are in life, whatever you have a dream about doing as long as you stay focused, stay focused, I can't stress on that enough, stay focused and continue to dream anything as possible. Corwin Caesar, owner of Just Right, a creative writing solution stated that the Meetup allowed him as a new business owner to network and advertise his trade. Most businesses have the communications department to deal with the PR and the press releases and stuff like that. So I felt like meeting entrepreneurs, I would not have the strain of going to businesses or corporations in St. Lucia but I get to meet young persons like myself who probably don't already have a person that they could call upon and then for me it's much easier. So I felt like that was very ideal and I felt like it was present so it's very timely and I'm very happy. The St. Lucia Entrepreneur Meetup 2019 was held at the Pink Papaya restaurant in Point Seraphine on Monday, September 2nd, 2019. From the Government Information Service, I am Anisia Antoine reporting. Get Connected can open a world of information and opportunities. You can get services and products of your choice much faster from electronic financial transactions to connecting with family and friends from being up to date with the latest news and information to learning new skills and acquiring academic qualifications all from the convenience of your home or wherever you roam. Get Connected today! This message is brought to you as a public service announcement by Ectel, the NTRC and this station. Welcome back. We join Ryan O'Brien for the latest happenings in youth development and sports. Thanks, Misha. Welcome everyone to your update from youth development and sports on the NTN Nightly News. I'm Ryan O'Brien. The level of consultation involving several stakeholders made it an unsophisticated task in transforming the Grosselay Secondary School into the National Sports Academy. Minister for Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development, Dr. Gil Rigabet told the National Television Network NTN that persons became excited about the initiative even during the consultative process. We've not thrust this down anyone's throat and I say that especially with respect to those students who've opted to participate in the program as that first cohort, I mean that signals confidence in the Ministry of Education, in the Ministry of Sports and in their respective sporting facilities that have encouraged them to participate. Secondly, the neighboring secondary schools willingly embraced those students who said well, I'm quite happy to give up my space for somebody who really does want to pursue a sporting career and to join a neighboring secondary school. The principals, the district education officer that was so seamless. The National Sports Academy is expected to open its doors on Monday, September 9th, 2019. Minister with Responsibility for Culture and Creative Industries, Senator the Honourable Fortuner Bellarose, says it is critical that the island celebrates the achievements of its athletes when they excel at the regional and international levels. Speaking during a recent Senate meeting, Senator Bellarose outlined some recent sporting achievements that brought recognition to the country and joy to the citizenry. We want to applaud the efforts of the youngsters who went out to represent us at the Winwood Island Schools Games this year. They did exceedingly well. They won the championship. They've not won this, I think for the last 11 years. It's the first time in 11 years that they've won the championships exclusively. They've shared championships before, but they've won this one exclusively. We also want to celebrate the achievements of our young footballers in all areas in the youth development program, particularly our under-15 team that came back at Victorious in Division II of the NACAC, the North American and Central American Championships. And, of course, importantly for us, we participated in the Pan-American Games and our youngsters did us proud. We had those who didn't win medals, but they gave best performances. But we want to recognize Laverne and also, of course, our latest medal holder at the international level, Mr. Albert Reynolds, who did a phenomenal job in throwing, in record-breaking performance for him, 82.19 meters in the Javelin in Peru. Senator Belrose stressed the need to create a culture of success and opine that recognizing outstanding sporting achievements was one sure way to do so. So we want to celebrate that. I think it's good for our country to have those positive vibes coming through our young people because we know they are our future and our thrust is to ensure that we provide the environment for them to continue to excel. The senator feels this culture of recognition of the success of sportsmen and women will help them achieve even greater results in the future. And that's your update from Youth Development and Sports for today. I'm Ryan O'Brien. Thanks, Ryan. Minister for Equity, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment and Parliamentary Representative for Grossley, Hon. Leonard Montute recently made a donation of school supplies to constituents. Principals and parents were on hand to receive their quota of school supplies for the underprivileged students from the Grossley, Grand Revere and Moshi Primary Schools. Each school received 25 backpacks, 20 lunch bags and notebooks for all students. Jane Jacob Jean, Principal of the Moshi Primary School expressed gratitude to the Parliamentary Representative for his continued support. I know by the time this time comes, parents have to be scratching their heads because the books alone cost so much. And when you are able to get your notebooks for your child for the entire school year, it's a relief for us the principals and it's a relief for you because when you have bought your quota for the year, sometimes if it finishes, they come to the office and the principal is the one who must get for them. So I think at this point in time, I want you to applaud the minister for taking this initiative. This is the second year that the Parliamentary Representative for Grossley, Hon. Leonard Montute, has provided notebooks to the elementary school students in District 1. Hon. Montute expressed gratitude to his wife for her continued efforts towards making the initiative a success. This is an initiative that has been going on for years. However, from last year, my wife, Barbara Montute, got more directly involved and she decided we're not going to make a contribution of notebooks to the schools and in the past we gave some books to the schools for the teachers to give to students who couldn't afford to buy notebooks. It was felt that, look, already parents have so much expense. We're realistic of one aspect of the expense and so we ask the principals and teachers of our public schools to remove notebooks on the booklets and so we are providing all the notebooks for all the children in all the public schools for the year. The hand-in-over ceremony took place on Friday, August 23, 2019. From the Government Information Service, I am Anisia Antoine reporting. And stay with the NTN Nightly. Up next, Primers Hutchinson is here with the NTN Nightly Aquarium. Welcome back. We join Primers Hutchinson for the NTN Nouvel Aquarium. My name is Kildivate Miel. I am from here. I am here to find an opportunity to introduce you to JSAO Miel. I am a master here at Export-Saint-Louche, to engage in a program of training to reinforce its participants to develop a diverse industry that has the capacity and capability to make profits for JSAO Miel. JSAO Miel was one of the proposals for Export-Saint-Louche. And then he assisted the Ministry of Agriculture, Association of Sibomiel Cultivation, CACO Cultivation, ICS, and Clotages. JSAO Miel found success in a program of training and he was also a finance assistant for the facility of operation for JSAO Miel. I am a project for the development of the salary of Miel. Yvonne Hégard declared that he chose Sibomiel because he tried to provide him with a good amount of food. So, Yvonne Hégard wanted to make a big difference for JSAO Miel. So, he chose to win the international prize. But in the end, he found success. There are four projects for JSAO Miel. There are four projects for financial assistance. So, he chose Sibomiel because he was a finance assistant for JSAO Miel. I don't know who the company considered a small company but I believe that it is a good company for the production and good presentation. Because in the industry Miel Flee, Yorale and Alphonse said that they want to implement good governance and a good strategy for the development of KSAO Miel. So, he chose Sibomiel for his own direction for the business. Go Greek and export solution. So, later Daniel declared that he would like to welcome the initiative because it has a small capacity for the industry to have one benefit and one for the industry of Miel and Sibomiel. So, Miel is a big benefit for the business and for the development of the economy. So, Miel he chose Sibomiel because it was a good idea to have a big advantage for the business and for the development of KSAO Miel. So, he chose Sibomiel because it was a big benefit for the company because it was a good idea for the development of KSAO Miel. I said, let's see. Dr. Rigobot declared here, the institute has the highest possibility of receiving more students to attend school. I said, let's see. On Saturday, we went to school, and we went to school. We went to school more often than we went to school before. We went to school to attend CGO, perhaps English, but at the same time, we went to a classroom for music, a classroom for theater arts, and we went to a library or a philanthropic lab. But, on Saturday, we didn't have the opportunity to have specialized classrooms. We went to school with a class for the students in the classroom. But also, for the quality of music, library, IT, it was a teacher who taught us. So, we went to school with a teacher, but every teacher didn't know how to do it. It was a teacher who taught us how to do it. So, we went to work to do it. We went to Dr. Rigabet for a few days and we called the university to the institute to decide whether to attend school or to attend school. So, we went to school with George Charles Secondary School and John Oddom Secondary School. Every day, we called the institute to decide whether to attend school or to attend school. So, we went to the light building, the building, we called the institute to decide whether to attend school or to attend school. So, John Oddom Secondary School that George Charles Secondary School so, we went to the light building, George Charles Secondary School to have a great opportunity to attend the course of the secondary school. We went to the light building to decide whether to attend school. So, we went to the light building to decide whether to attend school or to attend primary school. So, when we were going to attend school, we started to have specialized classrooms because we saw My only one pair, me, location, I have the opportunity to do a CG, a lot of CG, that I will tell you in detail. The conversation has continued and the Ministry of Education has started the program. At the celebration, we have a guest, Monsignor Patrick Parber Anthony who has conducted the Catholic Church service of the Catholic Church As the speakers, we invite you to live and聊 the local faith and to earn your habit and help you自 having a plastic life. So, for now, I would like to end this program of the Catholic Church at the Council of Nathall to offer you with the support that local faith will hold and electronize. We feel that we have only one candidate that no plastic plastic plastic was too late what is a look at what's happening to us partly cloudy skies with some scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms on Wednesday. The tropical wave located over the central tropical Atlantic is moving westward near 17 miles per hour or 28 kilometers per hour. This wave is expected to affect the region on Wednesday. A broad area of low pressure associated with a tropical wave located over the eastern tropical Atlantic has a high chance of developing into a tropical depression. This system is expected to remain over the eastern and central tropical Atlantic during the next five days. The tide for Castri's Harbour was high at 6.41pm. The tide for V4 Bay was high at 7.48pm. The sea is slight to moderate with waves 3 to 5 feet or 0.9 to 1.5 meters. The sun will rise Wednesday 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 Tross.