 Once more to another edition of In Focus, a live discussion calling program brought to you by the Government Information Service via its television arm, the National Television Network. I'm Ryan O'Brien, welcome you once more to our program and again with me is Lisa Joseph, my co-host and certainly Lisa we've been having quite some fun over the number of months that we've been having a program and we're certainly hoping that we'll have a very lively program today and that we'll be able to get members of the public to participate in our program today. There'll be the final segment where you can call in. We also like to welcome all our listeners on WVENT 93.5 FM. We're also live on Facebook and if you miss this program it will also be re-broadcast via the National Television Network and you can also visit us on our YouTube channel. So Lisa, another Thursday morning, another In Focus. And I'm looking forward to this one because it will be dealing with such a matter pretty close to my heart. We're talking about youth, we're talking about our senior citizens, we're talking about social security. So this will be a very interesting one, information packed. Yes, listeners, you know veterans are very much part of the entire scenario, especially of late and we've heard of the significance of them and how the society needs to continue to support them based on the historical background and the involvement and to even have us to where we are today in civilization and the Senorcian society in general. Absolutely, paying homage to our founding fathers and of course they also form part of our vulnerable people in society and talking about the veterans Memorial Day. Yes, Sundays. We are not adorned with the poppies but we are adorned with the color red, signifying that. But let's get into our new segment so we can have a very fruitful discussion this morning. Yes, and as we normally do on InFocus, we start with our new segment. More than 1,000 young persons are to benefit from the skills for youth employment project. Employment project, they referred to as the Sky Project, the National Enrichment and Learning Unit is now conducting workshops and orientation for successful candidates. The National Enrichment and Learning Unit NELU is responsible for the execution and management of the Sky Project, which is being funded by the UK government. The Sky Project specifically targets disadvantaged youth, including those with disabilities between the ages of 15 and 30. This project is aligned with the national, regional and international agendas on continued education and training. Country coordinator for Sky Lindell Archibald indicated that the project is being conducted throughout the Winwood Islands with local support. For years, we are expected in those four islands to provide training for over 6,000 young persons, training that would help change their lives, training that would get them certified and skilled and to become employed. You are some of the fortunate ones here in St. Lucia and as Mrs. Modest said, we'll be going around to three other centres to host orientations of this nature. NELU is expected to train 1,150 young persons between the ages of 15 and 30 years in the next three years. We have other training providers in St. Lucia that will be doing similar training. Trainers include the Centre for Adolescent Renewal and Education, CARE, National Skills Development Centre, NSDC and Springboard Consulting. Archibald indicated that the programme spans a period of 10 months, urged the trainees to commit fully to the training bar in all challenges they may confront. NELU under the programme will train 1,150 young persons over a three-year period, 350 persons in year one, 400 in year two and 400 in year three. Sherriann Julian is the Education Officer in the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development. This programme will provide basic skills training, basic technical and life skills training. This programme will help you if you have problems with literacy and numeracy. This programme will provide work ethics and soft skills needed for you to function in the world of work. This programme will provide internships. This training will allow you to gain employment or to continue training. After you have completed the course, you will receive a CVQ certificate levels one and two. Training will be certificated at the Caribbean Vocational Qualification CVQ level and will see a total cohort being trained. More than 35% of trainees will be male, more than 35% of trainees will be female and 12% of trainees will be young people with disabilities. CVQ courses will be offered in districts throughout the island. For the Government Information Service, I am General Norville. And in more education matters, the twinning programme between schools in St Lucia and the French department is offering new prospects as well as social and cultural integration for the island. A delegation of 20 school officials from the French Isles has visited St Lucia to officially sign a memorandum of understanding for the twinning of schools in St Lucia and those of the French dependencies in the eastern Caribbean. The objective of the twinning agreement is to formalise and improve the already existing exchanges between schools in St Lucia and the French Isles. Joanna Salton, Consul General for Martinique, Guadeloupe and the French Guyana, noted that a point person has been chosen to liaise with the countries. There will now be this plan that will lead to the greater good for both islands. We're looking at cricket being introduced into the curriculum in Martinique. We're looking at students here being able to attend the universities in the islands that are having to go all the way to France or to the States or to England. It's just a matter of learning the language and of course the French are very interested in learning English likewise we are interested in learning French. Fiona Meyer, Chief Education Officer at the Ministry of Education explained that the MOU will ensure continued collaboration in the future. So this has been formalised and it includes 20 schools in our primary schools across the island as a starting point whereby we pray, we hope, we desire to continue to work collaboratively with our French counterparts. In fact, our French sisters and brothers to ensure that issues of linguistic exchanges, cultural appreciation for both of the nations happen when we look at instruction, effectiveness of those, best practice and it includes likewise our Saafalouis Community College. So we have gone not only from the primary all the way to the tertiary levels to ensure that language doesn't continue to be a barrier on both sides. The Prime Minister of St. Lucia, Hon. Alan Sharsney highlighted that due to close proximity, many opportunities will arise for both Martinique and St. Lucia students via the signing of the MOU. The ability for us to see activities after the signing are real and the times that I'm hoping that our students from St. Lucia are going to be able to spend in Martinique with young people of their age and to learn the culture and understand the life of being in Martinique is invaluable. And I believe similarly that the young people of Martinique being able to come over here and enjoy the many festivities that we have here. The St. Lucia Jazz Festival, our carnival, we just finished Jeanne Creole. We have our Roots and Soul Festival and we're hoping that some of these activities are going to be the reason why some of the students are able to come over here. The Memorandum of Understanding was part of a three-day visit last week. From the Government Information Service, I am Anicia Antoine reporting. The Department of Health and Wellness is continuing on its mandate to strengthen public health surveillance system through capacity building training for workers at seaports and airports. More in this report from Funnel Neptune. The Port Health Civil and Strainin was aimed at building the capacity of participants to detect, assess and respond to any health threats at various spots of injury in St. Lucia. Senior Environmental Health Officer for Port Health Karen Joseph says this training is extremely important and will enhance the knowledge and skills of workers at the ports and airports. Some of the areas that were broadly looked at was international health regulations which of course governs so many aspects of Port Health surveillance. We also looked at disease surveillance. We also looked at public health emergencies at your ports of injuries and how you deal with scenarios like that and of course we have an upcoming cross season so we wanted to make sure that everyone is prepared and on board and knows, know their roles so they can fulfill their functions at the very ports of injury. Karen Joseph says she's very pleased with the training as it is expected to increase the competencies of the participants on ways to limit the spread of public health risk. Well we're hoping from this workshop everyone will know their roles at our ports of injury, what they need to do in terms of you know health security at the ports of injury and we hoping that you know overall it would strengthen our borders and make things much safer at our ports of injury. The participants of the workshop included representatives from immigration department, customs department, slasper, fire department, marine police and shipping agencies. Reporting from the communications unit of the ministry of health and wellness, I am Funal Neptune. Meanwhile this week issues relating to maritime security extradition, human and drug trafficking, natural disasters, risk management and the promotion of judicial cooperation formed a call of discussions at the seventh session of the Franco-Saint Lucia Joint Security Committee that was held on Tuesday this week. The Department of Home Affairs and National Security hosted the event. Nisha Charles, there's us more on that. The Franco-Saint Lucia Joint Security Committee seeks to review security matters arising out of the exchange between the Republic of France and Saint Lucia. These matters include mutual legal assistance, security at sea, enhancing the marine unit, surveillance, sharing of intelligence and training of security officers. A delegation from both parties met on Tuesday for the seventh session of the Joint Security Meeting. Minister for Home Affairs, Justice and National Security, Senator Homingo Francis, says these concerns have been a topic of discussion for the past 15 years. This security conference represents the continuation of close ties and vibrant relationships between the two countries. And may I add very early that Martinique has been a very good neighbor to us. Through thick and thin, the French government has been responsive, interactive and supportive. Be it on security matters, cultural, medical, educational and technical cooperation. However, against this backdrop, we are here to ensure that our law enforcement issues are addressed efficiently and innovatively so that our borders and our people are safe. We have to seriously improve the pace of our follow-ups actions. The Ambassador of France and Saint Lucia, His Excellency Philippe Ardenas, is optimistic that there would be progress following recommendations from previous meetings held by the committee. As you know, we are neighbors between Martinique and Saint Lucia. And as neighbors, we share the same problems about security, also problems about safety. Should we have a hurricane, for instance, we need to be able to work closer together to have good coordination. So it's at the same time safety and security. And we need to face the same threats, illegal immigration, terrorism that could happen, drug trafficking. So if we work together, I think we can do better. Also forming parts of the meeting were members of the French Parliament. The parliamentarians are hoping for further collaboration between the French and the Caribbean on not only matters of security, but health and the environment. It's better to be together rather than to be alone. It's not possible alone to make something good about an environment. But together it's a lot of better, a lot of projects together. Yeah, Beranger said the most important thing. Really, because in front of the climate change, you, the little states, you will be the first victims. And us, we are very far from this problem. And we know that it's here in the overseas that we can really fight against the climate change. The Franco-Saint Lucia Joint Security Committee was born out of a memorandum of understanding between the government of Saint Lucia and the French in 2004. Yes, Lesley. So we've had four reports used today, and maybe we can start with that last one from Patricia Charles on the seventh session of the Franco-Saint Lucia Joint Security Committee. Yeah, this forum is important for us, Brian, because we had the Minister for National Security on just about a week ago, two weeks ago. Right. And he articulated more than anyone else possibly can. The importance of entering at our borders are secure. When it comes to Martinique, we've often heard the stories of the country, the illicit trade that goes on there. But most importantly, the French officials also raised the question of climate change. We need all of the partners that we possibly can find in the global community to help us battle this. Not only do we need the financing, but we need a cooperation of the developed world to understand that we are at the, we are the ones at the receiving end of climate change. So whatever they do affects us. And if we can get them to understand that changing their behavior nationally is important for our own survival, then we are a step closer. So for this specific forum, climate change came to the fore alongside the idea of security from crime and illicit activity. And I think geographical location will be a very important part in that as well. Funnel Neptune's report on the surveillance at seaports and airports. For us, again, health matters and the securing of borders, the understanding that because we are now part of this global community and everyone is traveling, I think the last time we, I had a solution who said hello all the way from Nigeria, money to you, Jasmine, if she's watching this time around. And so we are again at a vulnerable state. We are open, susceptible to diseases that we may think happening so far away. But once you have travel coming into the mix, you are now, I don't want to say we are inviting, but certainly because people are coming in and out, you are now more than ever open to your borders be having to deal with certain conditions and diseases. So this is important for us to be able to build that capacity of surveillance at our ports. Definitely. And a very important story that Anise Antoine brought us was the whole aspect of twinning and we know that schools were very much involved and it opened so many avenues for our students and that of the French department. So it was quite interesting. I love this one because it sent me back a few years, not telling anything about the age, but I remember at secondary school, we had that twinning program and that French was never my strong suit. Spanish was always so much better for me. But going on these trips, you know, during the summer, you have the Christmas break, it was quite an experience. And I think sometimes, you know, adults gloss over these sort of experiences that young people can have and how we can really shape them outside of the academic mold. And I heard in the report speaking to the social and cultural integration. This, I think, takes you far beyond just the academic integration because you learn the French and you keep it at the basic level for it to be able to have a conversation with someone. But when you begin to immerse yourself in how the French lives and how you can connect your own seduction experience to theirs, then you're beginning to see true exchanges happening between the countries. And let's not forget that not only can you get scholarships for you to be able to study in France and other French territories, but also it's an economic area just waiting for you. It's right there. It's right next door. We've seen the integration within the OECS of Martinique. Now we have Guadeloupe. And these countries present us with such an opportunity for us to be able to sell our services, our products. So it's about time that we open up more to the idea of embracing our brothers and sisters in the French department because it can do well for us. Well, Janelle Norville's report was at the top of our reports, but it leads quite well into our next segment where she was speaking about a number of persons who are going to benefit from the Skills for Youth Empowerment project. This one, but it's with the Windward Islands and something in the region of 9.1 million pounds that the UK government has sponsored this project too. This a lab, what I love about this because we've had other training programs, but this one, the incorporation of persons with disabilities, I think for me is quite a highlight because we have disabilities now. It's no longer just about someone missing a limb or some deformity, if you will, but there are the scale, the scope of disabilities and it gives those citizens a real chance of having a real life and not having to depend solely on a family member to give them a stipend at the end of the month, but it also gives them a sense of purpose in their lives so that they can know that yes, I may be disabled in one way or the other, but it doesn't mean I am not able to do anything. So I love this component in this Sky project and I do hope that when this program is completed, we will be able to see persons with disabilities taking a greater sense of ownership and participation in our economy. I'm just very happy about this. One of the quick points on the twinning, it's not new as I said at school, we have that as well, but the idea now that it has become more of a formalized because before what you had that school to school sort of thing, but now we have the Ministry of External Affairs directly involved. It now creates a deeper channel at which and at higher level at which you can have a cooperation take place and so it's not solely dependent on whether there's a teacher at the school with a passion for it, but you give it a sustainable framework within which for it to thrive. So I just wanted to make that quick point. Well wonderful, that brings us to the end of our first segment on End Focus. We'll be back in just a moment so stay with us and keep the focus. If you are in receipt of an abnormally high bill, it is highly possible that you have a leak. That leak may not always be visible. Before you contact Wasco, conduct a do-it-yourself test. 1. Record your meter reading. 2. Do not use water for 30 minutes to 1 hour. 3. Take another meter reading. If the reading changes, you have a leak. Contact a plumber to identify and fix the leak at the earliest. A message brought to you by the Water and Sewage Company Incorporated, Wasco. 1. Learn tsunami signs. 2. Make enough time to announce a tsunami to approach. 3. It is a commission of a group management as before, a class management as a service, and financed by the Agency for International Development on the Week, Bureau of Assistance Disaster Lot P.E. Welcome back. Thanks for staying with us. Remind you that you're watching End Focus live on the Government Information Service via the National Television Network and you're also listening to us on WVENT, 93.5, and we're also live on Facebook. At some point in our program, we've given opportunity to call in, and if you're unable to get close to a telephone, we will definitely accommodate you via our Facebook feed. Well, this is the time of our program that we allow you to introduce our guests, and we're hoping that we're going to have just as much interesting and informative section as we've normally had in the past. Well, we can't help but have that because our guest is someone who has always been very attuned, let's put it this way, with what's happening in the country, with Sydney's portfolio allows him to have a firm grasp of where we are at as a people. And I'm speaking about the Minister for Equity, Social Justice, Local Government, and Empowerment, Honourable Leonard Montu. Good morning. And let me just add that also the Parliamentary Representative for Grocery, so let's not omit that. That's very important. Thank you so much for accepting our invite. We've wanted you here for quite some time. I know that your schedule must have been very, very hectic, but we're happy that you finally made it. Yes, for your ministry has, I think, the responsibility of, as I said, you know, firm grasp of what's happening to us as a people. So really the pulse of the country, I think, of where we are at developmentally. The poverty, the idea of social justice, just the security of our vulnerable, we're talking about our young person and our senior citizens. For you, what has the last three years been like for you, trying to organise and put St Lucia on a firm footing where equity and social justice is concerned? Well, I must say, in a nutshell, very challenging. I say so because, of course, resources is always an issue. There's always much more to be done than there are resources to get it done. Another thing is I find the pace at which government operates is very frustrating to me. I must say that. And of course, the demands. I mean, there are many demands, not just local, but also international and regional. I say, when I speak of international demands, for example, our legislative agenda is driven by and large to a great extent by the kind of treaties that we sign on to. For instance, you will recall that last year, November, about a year ago, we passed some child protection, child adoption legislation. Quite apart from the fact that it is fitting that this legislation be enacted, we are under obligation to do it because of the various international treaties that we are party to. And having signed on to those treaties, we must demonstrate the goodwill by showing that we are implementing. Implementation is not just legislation, by the way. Having passed the legislation that has serious implications for many adjustments that are to be made in our institutions, in our policies, in how we do things currently. And I am afraid to say that in that regard, we are still lagging behind. So there is a lot to be done between now and the next two years to ensure that we get up to scratch and to be on par with what is required and what is expected of us. For instance, a child is defined now up to the age of 18. It has implications for a lot of things. In incarceration, for example, where do you now keep an 18-year-old? You cannot have an 18-year-old in the same jurisdiction as adults and so on. So all of those factors are far-reaching effects and significant resource financial demands. And it also means that the child maintenance as well, so that now changes. And now we have to review all of those things. I mean, a number of things from a social standpoint that we have to take another look at. Child maintenance, yes. The legislation governing child maintenance, how much is a parent supposed to provide for maintenance of a child? I mean, realistic figures. Not what we have now, but realistic figures. We have to work that out and be in tune with the reality of today. We talk of pensioners. That is our responsibility as well. Retirees, people who have, you know, used the elderly. We have to just not just look at the elderly but enact policies because we don't have specific policies for the elderly. It is my dream that very soon we can see a unit that is responsible for the elderly. We have gender relations. We have various units, but there is not a specific unit that is dedicated to the causes and the needs of the elderly. And I'm hoping that we can perhaps before I make my departure begin to make some serious strides in enacting a department that is responsible for that. You've been very vocal about how the society views and treats the elderly, the senior citizens. And I've heard you say before that the obligation of families to the senior citizens and to the elderly cannot be omitted from the equation of how they're taken care of because we have a number of elderly individuals who are living alone. Sometimes family members are in effect almost turned their backs. They're not ensuring that they have meals, at least not three meals a day. Some of them are living in abject poverty. When you look at the structures, the homes, they're broken down. So how does your ministry seek to address that area? Well, for now, given the fact that we do not have the structures in place to really effectively implement programs and we don't have the policies in place as yet to drive those programs, we have to begin to engage in advocacy for one. I have for my part been saying quite vocally that the owners should not be just on government, as you quite rightly indicated. I've said that the family has to play a role because even if the government steps in, I mean, given the fact that we have limited resources, we cannot provide everything that would be required. If the family plays a part, then much more can be achieved. Not only that, but even when we provide institutions, there's no question, there's no doubt that the family environment, the home setting, is a far more comfortable and more suitable setting for the individual than it would be at an institution. Taking someone to an institution very often is taking them away from their environment. And it requires a major adjustment. And so if we can have, for instance, even at the community level, what I have advocated, daycares, just like we have daycares for kids, for children, we can have daycares for the elderly where they're within the community. The other elderly people who would be at that daycare are people whom they know from their community. It would facilitate the family in going to work, not having to institutionalize those elderly people, whether it be their parents and so on. And that on evenings, just like you do with your children, you meet them and take them home and so on. I think that can go a long way in reducing the burden on the institutions and at the same time making, improving the quality of life of the elderly and at the same time facilitating the family members who have no choice but to go out to earn an income. And so I advocate greatly that government work jointly with the society. The society has a big part to play in this, but of course that is not an application of the responsibility of government. Government has a role to play. But having said so, there are far-reaching implications having made that statement. For example, when we look at retirees, we look at providing the income that government requires and so on. We need a population. I have said so, I had many forer, and some people raise their eyebrows when I say so. I mean in the 70s and 80s, we recall that we went on a massive population campaign. That campaign was to reduce or to control our population. That was coincidentally very successful. Too successful. Too successful. Back in the day, we had over 4,000 children being born. Calypso's have documented a catalog of that. Today, we probably have less than 2,000 children being born and that is evident in the school population. We see now, while we were on a shift system some years ago, we have underpopulated schools today. To the point that some have to be closure. I think that was an error on our part. I certainly believe so. You cannot have an economy without a population. And secondly, you need a population sufficiently strong in numbers to provide your pensioners with the resources to provide your tax base and to provide the right environment for business. And so, we have to be very careful that we adopt the right policies. And even after we adopt policies, I do not see the supporting moves that are made based on surveys, analysis, and evaluation of what we are doing. Because if we were carrying out the right evaluation, the schools that were recently built, that should not have been. We should have known that the depletion of the school population would have dwindled. That brings me to another factor, documenting data, doing research. As a policymaker, how do I determine what is the right policy to adopt? Do we just arbitrarily adopt policy? Are we guided by information? And the information that we have to be guided by is derived from research. There's not enough of that happening in St. Lucia. And so, even my ministry is looking more seriously at carrying out research. For example, when it comes to poverty and providing for the needs of poor people, our social protection programs are looking at a serious registry. Now, when we talk about registry, we have to go out there and find out in reality how many poor people are there. Who are the poor people? And how do we define poverty? And how do we define poverty? Now, the thing about it is currently, we take action, we put policy in place to assist what we consider as lesser fortunate people. Government provides subsidies, for instance. I have said so for many years now. They subsidize rice, flour, sugar, gasoline and everything. They subsidize it for you. They subsidize it for me. They subsidize it for the poor people. Why should a government minister be subsidized? I mean, when we look at poverty, they certainly do not qualify for that subsidy. There are millionaires in St. Lucia who enjoy that subsidy. That should not be. Think of the gasoline situation. Government subsidizes gasoline. Madnegons come to St. Lucia to buy gasoline. So you are in fact subsidizing and I'm not picking a war with our neighbors. I'm just saying, you know, we have to be very careful at how we pitch our social programs that it serves a purpose because millions are going to the wrong targets. Whereas those millions could be saved and utilized for the benefit of the same people who should have been targeted. So that registry will provide better targeting and so will be more effective in meeting the needs of those who need the social protection. It's quite obvious that your portfolio really zeroes in a lot on the society and the whole culture of the society, the indoctrination and how people are brought into society, the society development. For example, the aspect of the care for the elderly. As you mentioned, and how difficult it would be, we brought up the example of probably more persons, you know, staying closer to their parents, their grandparents rather than having them institutionalized. How difficult would it be to get the society as a whole to buy into this concept and to realize that they staying closer, maybe forgetting the excuse of they don't have time, they don't have no one at home to stay with them and it's a bit burdensome for them to go out and work and take care of them. But to let them know that just they making that sacrifice will in the end, in the long run, be of great benefit to the sanitation society. I think a great part of it is education. If we inculcate those values in our people from the school level, I think we will have a much better success rate at achieving this because in Japan, for example, an elderly person is seen as an institution. They are highly respected, highly regarded and treated with reverence. And so you do not turn your back on elderly people or like for example your elderly family members. We also have to begin to teach people that while we advance along with development and progress, there are some practices that we should retain or return to. And I am referring here now to the extended family concept that we used to have. In the semi-ad, you had aunty, grandmother, mother, children, cousins, and so not only can you better pool resources but say for example caring for younger ones, passing on information to younger ones and so on. But now we have greater independence. Everyone goes on their own as soon as possible. That brings about loneliness, lack of support, support systems and so on. You have young children having children. Children who should be parented are becoming parents. They know nothing about parenting. That is where they could get the support from their mothers, their grandparents and so on. And so their children would have proper parenting because it would have been available to them anyway within the extended family structure. I say so and I am not necessarily advocating that we go back to exactly what existed in the past where you had 10 people in one room. That is not what I am saying. But even if it means that you have, for example, when the government is looking at housing, duplexes where just wall separates from the other family from the other but you just go around the world and the assistance is right there, the presence is right there and so on. When you meet in the yard there, values can be inculcated. I mean the handing down of traditions and cultures and everything like that can be facilitated there. So it is a rebuilding of an institution in itself. It is like recapturing what we once had that made us who we are. I think we have lost some of that and it is to our parents. Now you spoke earlier about our population and how we are beginning to draw towards the end of being underpopulated. It is a very scary thing. How do we begin to turn the situation around? I think it is a delicate, very, very thin line because in our society today you have the idea that women are very career focused, not necessarily focusing on families and if they do, perhaps later on in life you give a thought or two about settling down. Men are also doing the same thing, trying to push ahead. So how do we now create that balance in the minds of our nationals and not trample on what people believe is their right for them to choose whether they want to be in a family or begin a family or not? See there are a lot of values. Today we are mostly driven by careers and I will not start having a family until I have established my career and until I am establishing my career and so on. Very often people have children very late in their lives, look at the financial implications of having children because people plan a lot further ahead. It is very expensive by the way to have children and while I am not advocating that the state gets involved to that extent to dictate to people, but if we recognize, let us not forget, I know a lot of people do not like the head, our primary purpose in life is procreation and that is what it is. Don't let the meat so move when I hear you. Well, I mean it is and if we are concerned about, I talk about the sustenance of certain social amenities and services and so on, your pension and things like that, but if we are to even think about the survival of our species, we have to consider that. And so we should place a greater premium on family. But are we capable of going the route of some of the other countries in Europe? Japan is now looking at that because they too are in that very doldrum, incentivizing. That's right and our incentives, yes we can. Our incentives may have to be different to theirs because we are not as rich a nation as they are, but if I know that there is proper day care facilities, for example early childhood education centers, that makes life easier for me with my child. If we go back to the extended family structure, the burden of rearing a child, raising a child, nurturing a child becomes a lot lighter. If with the very family values that we have, the support system would be in place because you have, I'm not a single parent, there are many people, not just my spouse but other members of the family who chip in where needs be and so on. I think there are things government can do to incentivize without going overboard given the limited resources that we have. Facilitation, that's what I'm talking about there right now, putting some institutions in place, get to the point where we make education for example cheaper, that is one of the big elements that is of concern and ensuring that we have job opportunities and that is what most governments aim to do, bring about investment, create the right environment for thriving commerce and business development. If all of that is in place then I don't see a problem. I think we can have an economy that can sustain a bigger population, the bigger population that will sustain the economy. Now just this week I heard the Prime Minister Barbados Mio Motley speak to this very issue and at a town hall meeting on the CSME and because you know it's facility free movement within Karakom and she was speaking to the idea of manage the migration because all of the islands are now beginning to grapple with the possibility that underpopulation is going to have dire consequences for the performance of the economies. So is that something that we could have a broader discussion on? Well there are options. I mentioned one option, having more children, bigger families, you introduce a new option of migration. However that has to be, that has to be carefully managed because you mentioned the fact that we are a small nation with a small population. Well given the fact that we are a small nation with a small population we could easily be overrun. Our culture, our values, our tradition can easily be usurped with the influx of people of a different culture who can come in and dominate our society. That you do not want if we want to maintain our identity, maintain who we are as a people, our culture, our traditions and so on. I think we should be in a position where they are welcome but they have to be assimilated into what exists here rather than impose upon us what they bring here. We're going to take a break on our program right now. We'll be back on In Focus. What's in the food you're eating? Do you really? All the chemicals and hormones used to accelerate their growth. All the artificial flavoring, sweeteners and colors too. We consume and we don't spare a thought for the damage that they'll do. Think about the children, think about the children. How will we save them? Chemicals and GMOs are not the solution. Use organic and join. Excessive agrochemical use, additives and genetically modified foods are hopeful to help and the environment. Join the Good Food Revolution. Grow, buy and consume organic. A message from Rye St. Lucia and the Ministry of Sustainable Development with funding from the GEF Small Grants Program, UNDP. Thanks for staying with us in Focus and we are getting well into our segment before I guess. Who is the Minister for Equity, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment, the Honorable Leonard Moutoud. So, Moutoud, just before we go too far away from one of the main points that you had mentioned in your previous discourse, that of the real absolute necessity for research and what will actually guide your ministry because you need to know the numbers, you need to know what areas need strengthening. We know that is a very crucial area. I think that even in times of budget, it's quite important for you to know these numbers because I think there was a toolbox concept as to what was necessary, what you needed to remedy them. So, maybe you can spend a few moments looking at the whole aspect of research and the importance of it to your ministry. Yeah, well it is very important. By and large we are guided to a great extent by the information that we get from the Statistics Department. We are also dependent on the country poverty assessment that is done every decade. I think we are on the cusp of having another one conducted right now, which will provide us more up to date information as to what the actual situation is. Finding out the actual situation is twofold. It tells us where we are as well as how successful or unsuccessful our programs have been in the last 10 years. And so, even statistics from Ministry of Finance is very important to us when they talk about unemployment data because as a social ministry we look at providing training, providing job opportunities, entrepreneurship and so on to take people out of poverty because we don't only want to work with people and provide social protection for them, but we want them to graduate as well out of that category. And so we will determine our success by the extent to which the numbers are favorable or unfavorable. And so the research is very important in that regard. And of course when it comes to policy formulation you will be guided to a great extent by that information. And so we have a social unit in the social department, but it is very limited in staff and capacity and so on. And so we depend on other agencies for that. But I think if every department, not just in our ministry, health, agriculture, education, every department does better documentation, then the information could be more readily available. And when I say education you may ask what does education have to do with. The Ministry of Education will tell you how many children are perhaps unable to meet their needs in terms of school supplies, in terms of being able to have the meals that they need to access transportation and all of those things. And we are party to the resolution to such problems because we provide both reasons on an annual basis for children. So who are those children? The Ministry of Education is best placed to assist us in knowing who they are. Our school transportation subsidy is dealt with by the Ministry of Education, but when our social workers and counter families who are in difficulty find out that children are not going to school, why aren't they going to school? Because they cannot afford transport, then you see where we overlap in the sense that we should be working collaboratively with other ministries to ensure that we provide the requisite coverage for the people who really need it. So yes, research is very important, gathering data and analyzing, not just gathering data, but analyzing the data and utilizing it to guide our policy and programs. Research played a great deal with the Senusia Social Safety Network. Earlier this year you went to Grenada to see what that experience was like over there and their program is dubbed SEED, Support for Education, Empowerment and Development. How did you find that experience just supposing that to what we want to do here? Very good, very useful. I must admit that in that regard they are a step ahead of us. What we want to do is not just to copy, card blush, wholesale, what it is they have done, but to study it, see what is applicable to our needs, tailor it to our needs and wear mistakes where there are pitfalls to avoid those pitfalls. And so I think it was a very useful exercise. I mean, we look at what they have done, for example, they do have a problem with declining school population, what they have done with some of their schools in terms of transforming it into various institutions for young boys, girls and so on. That is very useful. The registry has served a tremendous purpose and the way they have been able through technology, IT, to integrate the various services that they provide, because let me just say something to you. While it is true you want to provide services to underprivileged poor people, people who are indigent, you want to ensure that you provide the services to the targeted people, those who actually need it. At the same time, it is not beyond the people who need it to abuse the system. And so you have overlaps, you have double dipping, you have people who are beating the system by getting more than they are fair share. And some people make a career of doing that, and even in our little system, because they understand the system, they know where they are loopholes and they exploit it. That can be avoided by collaboration, by utilizing the technology where this department knows what is going on in that other department, they know what coverage you give to home and so on. And so when SSDF provides both three, they would have known that you would have gotten both three from Ministry of Education or from the Social Services Unit or whatever other source that exists. And so this is what we are trying to do now, to have a tighter, more targeted system in place, using the research data, utilizing underutilized resources like the schools that are now being closed down and having that registry that will provide guidance to us. You expressed some frustration about our situation in St. Lucia, because you are saying that they haven't estimated $34 million that is being allocated towards poverty reduction on island, $34 million. And yet you say that we've not made significant gains at all in targeting the problem. Well, when you consider the needs of the injured and the needs of the poor, it is wide. I mean, just let me indicate to you the various departments that we have. We have the welfare unit that provides public assistance, provides burial assistance, provide emergency housing, such services to individuals. We have the social services unit where the social transmission officers go at the community level to work with people, get more engaged and involved. You have the local government, which has a role to play as well. We have a number of agencies. Well, we have human services, children who have problems with the law and children who need protection. Human services comes in there. They are also responsible for the elderly as well, and people who face abuse and things like that. You have a number of institutions, boys' reading center, opt-in garden center, comfort home for the elderly, comfort bay home for the elderly, transit home and so on. All of those institutions have to be financed and have to be provided for. Then you have a number of agencies like the SSDF, you have NCA, you have Belfand, all of whom, you know, collaboratively with the ministry provide services. And we also provide assistance by way of stipends, by way of sponsorship and so on, to agencies that are quasi-government or private institutions. Now we are looking at, for example, the situation in Cornerstone, where there is a problem and we are looking at the situation right now to see where we can come in to assist. Opt-in garden is not strictly speaking a government-run entity, but we provide a subvention to them for administrative purposes and so on. So our reach is wide, is far, our, the demands on us is extensive, it's great, and so as a result, the resources is simply not adequate. And I say so, bearing in mind that we have limited resources and that they are contending demands for those same resources, because health is important, education is important, I mean you name it, there are other areas that has to be attended to, but I'm an advocate for social services. So that is what I'm talking about now. Now within, you mentioned that the Upton Garden Girl Center, Boystream Inc. that falls, the portfolio, with the recent incident at the Border Correctional Facility and the 16-year-old accused, the pressure, and certainly rightfully so, is on for their country to be able to have proper facilities to deal with children when conflict with the law. Have you began that conversation in your ministry on how we're doing that? Yes we have, and I have been around and in government long enough that I've learned not to speak prematurely. However, I can tell you that we have been having that conversation, and we are optimistically looking forward to hoping that it will come to fruition because the World Bank is looking at the proposal to fund an institution that will replace Upton Gardens, Transit Home, Boystream Inc. and will at the same time provide the ideal facilities for people of that age who are in conflict with the law where they can be incarcerated. Now I know you are a results-oriented person, so over the years we've had some intervention programs like that at the Boystream Inc. and as you might have already said, you have young men there for care and protection and those who are in conflict with the law. Rehabilitation programs, what has been the success rate of, or how does your ministry even begin to measure what is a success rate for rehabilitation programs? Well, let me say first of all that there are some success stories. I'll be the first to say certainly not to the extent that we would like to see. I think the success stories should be accentuated far more. For example, at the Boystream Inc. we have an individual who has done the CVQ level one and two successfully. We have a young man who has done so well that he has gone overseas in Guyana to represent St. Lucia and was chosen in that forum to go to the Dominican Republic as an advocate for boys who have gone through the system and so on. We have a musician, a young man who is an accomplished musician now, a panace, if that's what they call people who play pan. And these are people who have done well. There are others who have gone on in society and holding decent jobs and so on. You see, yes, we don't necessarily in our society talk of the good deeds and highlight the positive stories. We speak more of the negatives. And I'm not saying that we shouldn't. I believe that a lot more can be done because we offer programs like agriculture, auto mechanics, we do literacy and numeracy for the boys who need data assistance and so on. But the extent to which it is offered, I think those programs are not funded sufficiently. The facilities are not adequate and so on. So I'm hoping that with the advent of a new institution that all of that would be taken into account and would cater for what is required to ensure that we have a more successful program that is conducted for those individuals. It's quite obvious that your ministry absorbs a lot of pressure under the demands of the society. That's right. Based on what we've discussed so far in terms of you're involved in almost every technical of development in St. Lucia and all the social aspects. Adolescent survey, we know that it's something that is continuous within the ministry and that is a very important area because out of that you will get the impact on social ills. We often speak of the ills rather than the positives, but I'm sure that's one area. And also the after-school program, maybe like to look at how those are impacting on the work of your ministry and the ability to solve so many problems that we have. Well, we consider the after-school program to be a flagship program in our ministry. Reason being, when you look at young people who engage in criminal activity, who engage in deviant behavior, who have social adjustment problems, very often it is young people who are neglected who do not get the requisite attention and guidance that they need. And so it is revealed in different forms and they act in different ways because of their deficiency. The after-school program assists young people who would otherwise be on their own because let us not forget today, even when there are two parents, both parents have to work to make ends meet. And so within certain hours, even when they work daytime, within certain hours, there's no one at home. The children normally come from school at 2.30, 3 o'clock. Parents are still at work until after 4.30 and never get home before 5.36. So how do they account for those hours? I think the after-school program is playing a major role because you can never tell how they could be led astray during that time. But during that time, we have programs where they can be assisted. Those who are weak academically, there are those who can get involved in extracurricular activities such as IT, sports, theater, music. And we have some very successful programs. I mean, if I must say, the one I'm most familiar with in my constituency, the Moshi after-school program, a very successful program, I mean, I am so astonished every time I see the Moshi after-school band perform. By the way, I just want them to know that I'm not forgotten their request for new equipment. And so you can see the success, the difference that it makes. I mean, as a young person, myself grew up with a single parent who worked at a hotel. My brother and I were on our own quite a lot. It was not a structured program, but Ryan, you know, sports played a big role, sports came in and saved a lot of us. Not only does it engage you in something that is productive, but the self-esteem that it provides to the average individual, all of a sudden these people see themselves as some of the ego, the self-esteem and the pride that they develop in themselves. It goes a long way in shaping them as an individual in building character and so on. So I think it is difficult to measure the impact of programs like this, but I have no doubt in my mind that those programs play a significant role. And that's why I refer to it as a flagship program. And we have quite a number of communities where this is done now. Because of the success of those programs, we are looking to expand and incorporate more communities. And so there, I want to just make a little picture of the private sector can chip in and assist as well. We'd be happy because when they help, they would avoid a lot of potential problems in society that would impact on their business. And so that is one program. You mentioned another program, the after-school program. There's the YEP program for the Central Castries Basin where we know because it's a city, urban area, we know we have a lot of problems there. And so that program is financed by the Caribbean Development Bank. We are millions of dollars that it's going to be utilized over two million dollars and we have another 800,000 US dollars as a grant plus the government is making a contribution. Now that program is very diverse. You have the community policing, you have the youth diversion, you have after-school and after-school component to it and so on. Our ministry is not the sole agency responsible for implementing because when it comes to policing, of course that's Home Affairs. Diversion program, Home Affairs also has a path to play after-school, Ministry of Education and so on. So it is a multi-sectoral, software-run program that is targeted at those city youth where we have quite a lot of problems where some of the communities that is referred to as ghettos and so on, we want to go in there and make an impact, make a difference and not wait until things happen, but to stem it, you know, nip it in the bud and to be proactive, go in and work with them to avoid the problems rather than to react after it does happen. I'm happy about the youth empowerment program because the house administration, I am as well in the same building and they did mention that actually we need to speak on that so I'm happy that you're able to get that in. We know that coming closer to the conclusion of the program we need to speak to a lot more of the areas in which your portfolio covers and also some constituency matters. We've got to take another break in a very short while so when we come back we're hoping to get into those aspects and to speak a bit more on the interrelation between your ministry and other government agencies. We'll be back in focus. One of the eight university-recognized rights of the consumer is the right to be heard. This means that every consumer who is dissatisfied with a good or service has the right to lodge a complaint to the provider of that good or that service. This should be the first point of lodging a complaint. Ensure that the receipt as proof of the transaction is available. It is in gas and in the space. Consequences negative on the cause of climate change. Welcome back to InFocus, a program that highlights the policies and programs of the government of St. Lucia and we're really hoping that you're part of our program today and that you're getting a bit more information as to the functions of the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment. And if you need some extra you can call us on 468-2162 to be part of our program. So we'll continue with Ministers Augustine Street at this moment. Honourable Leonard Motu. The social, the St. Lucia Social Development for the SSDF. Big part, great partner for your ministry. Funding I know for some time as you indicated earlier has always been an issue. For the SSDF it is they rely heavily on being able to be funded in order for them to carry out so many of the various areas that they provide in services for. Give us an update as to where the SSDF is at and plans on how you're going to further strengthen its capacity. Okay, forgive me but before I answer your question I'll make a pitch. We have just started the budget process and last year our budget dwindled a little. We did not get some of what we requested and we don't just arbitrarily make requests. We are mindful of the limitations and so when we request what we actually need not necessarily all that we want and I say so because I'm hoping that next year we'll fare far better in terms of the demands that we make. We also try to help ourselves by reaching out to raise funds. I know the SSDF has reached out to the diaspora and there is I think the St. Lucia Overseas Associations they are working with them to you know and that has born fruit is in the process of buying fruit. I know they have worked with Lucilleck and the Marcy Stalls and they are sponsoring a program called Our Boys Matter which is under the auspices of SSDF. But under the SSDF we also have the Care Give Us Program where we provide care for homebound elderly people who are unable to take care of themselves and where the family cannot afford to pay for a care giver. That is one program that is with them. We have the Coudmesse Atleti. Coudmesse Atleti is a program where we provide educational assistance, housing assistance and some training as well and help families. It is targeted more at families and it helps families graduate out of poverty. Then we have the HOPE program which has a big training component. We have a microenterprise component and we also provide educational assistance under the HOPE program. And what other program do we have? If the SSDF, we have the BNTF program which is a very big program that is by and large funded very heavily by the Caribbean Development Bank. And we have a number of grants, grant funded programs that we have, projects rather that we have under the BNTF, the Basic Needs Trust Fund. And what happens is the Caribbean Development Bank provides about 75 percent of the resources and government will provide 25 percent. As we speak, there are a number of projects that have been undertaken. For example, in the area of access to proper sanitation and water, we have a water project taking place right now in La Bonne where we have phase two of the La Bonne water project because while we touted the success of that project a few years ago, the people in central La Bonne, La Bonne proper and towards Dauphais were connected but the people in lower La Bonne on the approach to La Bonne were not connected. So now we are going to connect an additional 40 people, households rather not people, but households to that project. VSEQUI. Now you see the problem is I'm saying so because my community, my constituency is seen as an affluent constituency and the image and concept and perception of my constituency is skewed by the fact that there are a couple affluent communities like Bonte, La Bonne, Nibi and Capestate. I do have rural communities, I do have poor communities. VSEQUI to this day as we speak, there are many households in VSEQUI without pipe and water. That is going to be a thing of the past because I'm hoping that in by December we can launch the program where that water program will take place where we have to do piping, we have to do an upgrade of the pumping system and set up the water tank to supply all households in that area with pipe and water. And I don't want you to think that because I use those examples, the only place that that is happening is my constituency. We have a similar program taking place in Parseus as well right now. There is the early childhood education centers that are being built. One is being built in Moshi. Yesterday we are designing ceremony and a contractor has been engaged and within the next eight days he has to begin construction of the early childhood education center. That gives me an opportunity to say a few things about my constituency by the way. And so we have one that is going to be happening in Jackmel, we have one that is going to be happening in Miku as well. And these are heavily funded by the Caribbean Development Bank for which we are very grateful and we must express our sincere thanks because these projects go a long way in providing facilitation to the people who need it, people who require that kind of social assistance. There are a number of roads as well that are going to be funded under that program because you see the basic needs trust fund, I think we have basic needs trust fund ninth program now and depending on the eight, seven, nine or whatever program it is, there are different focus. Sometimes it is a focus on education, focus on sanitation and water, focus on access, which means roads and so on. So right now we are looking at sanitation, education and access. And so these programs are under those programs. And so I just wanted to mention it because we want to express our thanks and at the same time say to those communities that relief is on the way because those programs we have identified the funding and they are actually being launched right now. I'm hoping that by August next year all of those programs will have been completed. And we can call us on 468 to 162 if you have a question for the minister. And this has been monitoring the Facebook. Is there any questions coming in so far? Well, we do have comments from Marie Sonson. She was saying that it's a great idea for the daycare for the elderly and she was wondering if Senucia had such an institution and there's too many seniors. She's agreeing that too many seniors are being left alone and that she's hoping to return home one day to help with the care of the elderly in Senucia. So we can take it that she's living overseas and involved in that work. Because you mentioned earlier the idea of private sector involvement as well. Oversight because I think we've had one or two in businesses open up providing services for the elderly. In a situation if we were to have a proliferation of this oversight would be under your ministry? Yes, it would be. And of course to provide adequate, efficient and appropriate oversight we would need to have policies in place. We need to have standards set. Why don't we have a policy yet for the elderly? Like I said, I don't know, that's a shame really. And you might notice there's a little embarrassment on my part because I mean we are the ones who have that responsibility and I've been pushing for that to happen. I've spoken to my peers about it. We both agree that that is an imperative and that we should give it the requisite importance that it deserves and as soon as possible to get it done. I was about saying that there is such an institution in Le Cleary for example. Yes, I'm familiar with this one. And people like Michelle and Charles and those people are in that and from all indications it's running successfully. I believe that we need to have more of these and of course we want to encourage private sector investment in those areas. I think it's a niche market that is there to be exploited at the same time provide a service because government cannot always provide all that is needed. And of course even not just for disadvantaged people but even more affluent people who can afford to pay but may require the service. So you know there's a place for it as well. And so I want to say to the caller, yes there is such an institution but now we are pushing to establish. I'm desperately trying to establish one in my constituency of gross weights of promise that I've made. Difficulty is to get an institution, a building, a structure or we could do that. I'm trying to go the route of retrofitting an existing structure. I'm looking at the possibility of a purchase of a structure. I'm looking at the possibility of the whole police station. Of course there are a number of things airmarked for that whole police station and a lot of contending parties looking to utilize it. I know that the Ministry of Home Affairs is looking for a house for the court and they're looking at the grossly human resource development centre. I certainly do not support that move. Initially I didn't have a problem with it but when I thought about it and the number of activities that will be taking place there you have a theater, you have a music lab, you have a training room, you have a conference area. When you think about it, court takes precedence of all of those things so if it's court nothing can happen there. At the same time there's a security issue and all of that. I think it's just too complicated. The retrofitting of the building though they say it will be temporary I do not know what temporary means in St. Lucia. Sometimes temporary means can be temporary for 50 years. So I don't trust that word and so at the same time we don't want, even if they move out eventually with the retrofitting not going to be done and all of that you know it can compromise the use of the centre so to speak. So I would prefer if we can perhaps refurbish the grossly police station the old police station and have them utilize there as a courthouse instead. Well now that you've gone into that my only thing is a good time to look at some matters pertaining to your constituency. And as Lisa has something else you want to follow. I do want to follow up on the family court. And you know we're moving into the observance of international men still later on this month and under the social justice many men crying out there that they can't seem to find a strong voice in the system. There's almost like no support given to them. There are men who are facing real difficulties with being able to have access to their children being able to just have a fair share when it comes to the family court. Your thoughts on what's happening with fathers within the system? I've publicly spoken on that. I mean first of all let me just comment on the fact that men you said men are looking for a voice and it's almost as if men are innocence neglected and so on. I think we brought that to an extent on ourselves because of our disposition. We know by turning to show that we're strong and much on all of this kind I think we will figure well okay you can take care of yourself you're doing it but the fact is there are men who are crying out for help. There are men who require help who require support. And I'm talking about international men's day it's not even a subject. I mean you brought it about a surprise that you even knew that. And so I think more has to be done when you talk about child support. I am an advocate that parents whether men or women have to take the responsibility it should be obligated to take the responsibility of parenting the child the children are the responsible for. But when a father is unable to provide for his children or child we should investigate the reason. If it is as a result of unemployment I don't think we should apply the same punitive measures that you do to a father who can and does not. There are men who wish to who do when they can but find themselves in unfortunate situations where they are unable to. And to incarcerate those men for that purpose I think is a disservice to society as a whole. You are destroying that man who does not have bad intentions who is not a bad person who has not willfully committed any offense. You are not helping the children you're making it more difficult for that father when he comes out of prison with all the stigmatization that exists in our society from getting a job for the image that he carries you you know put in the children in jeopardy because while he is incarcerated the children are not going to be cared for anyway. I think what the system should do is to provide employment from even our social programs. Okay now I'm saying for me my ideal job may be X if I cannot find a job doing X and I really care about my children and you offer me why I should in the interest of my children accepted so I'm saying that we can absorb those people in our social programs find them employment and ensure that they meet the needs of their children. That I think is a far more productive far more efficient and successful way of dealing with the issue rather than just incarcerating men and sending them to prison. Now I think the other side of that pointer is women and where their responsibilities lie not just as the noturer in the traditional sense because there are men who have you know custody not necessarily legally but the children are living with them but the mothers are not contributing to these children so well if we look in for equality and hold them the responsibility if we look in for equality it must come across the body I mean you are a parent as well you have a role to play as well and I support the view that the mother should contribute and play a role equally as the father should and so in that way we'll you know like we're hoping that we don't have to force people to carry out and and own up to their responsibilities but if it's be then I think it should be done. Mr. Minister we're just running down we're given opportunity now to focus on some aspects of your constituency that you really like to talk about. Yes I mean I I mean in the little time you have I cannot possibly speak of all that there is to be to be spoken of but I want to specifically zone in on roads I think by far that is the sole biggest the single biggest problem for us in our constituency I mean we are by far the most roads I keep saying so I have to drill that in we have by far the most roads and by far the most roads many of my communities only ask for proper roads. Just hold on to that thought and that's a good morning to the caller thanks for calling in you in focus. Good afternoon. Hi. Good afternoon. Are you near your television set? Yes we can hear you go ahead. Yes go ahead please if you have a question. We're with you caller go ahead. You had a question for the minister or comment. Yes go ahead sir. Yes we can hear you. You are going to sit by listen to the FFP, ruin your own, some of your men you know all kind of things knowing that you are safe out there and you are exposed to them. I think it's time for them so let's not take those guys to the to the bone you understand? This is going to be spectacular. So come back to the other side just ruling the FFP then, ruling on the FFP then, using the ruling government name, you guys are going to attack those guys now. I'm going to jump to the side case man. I'm putting them in the press because I don't want to do the dishonest, the distracting, the worst, the worst the worst is going to be the initials of the solution. You know what I'm saying? And I'm carrying on those guys you sit back there and you're going to think of them you're going to attack them. You know what I'm saying? It's time for those guys to be thrown in the loo. You know what I'm saying? Okay I don't, what I want to apologize caller to say that we in here we were unable to hear you clearly. So we want to apologize for that we really did try. I don't think the producer was able to deal with the feedback. Are you still online? Okay so we lost that corner. We apologize for that. He did say he was calling from overseas and I think that there are some interference with that. So we apologize. But I can't even begin to summarize what you were saying because we couldn't hear it at all. But Mr. Minister you were speaking about some of the things happening in the grocery area. But I want to speak about the village. Village tourism that's coming to grocery. It's a you know we've the government has identified tourism as one of the drivers for the economy. So plans for village tourism within that within the constituency. Can you give us a little insight because I don't believe like what? Grocery is a town. Village tourism? Well Grocery is a town. I mean but when you look at the little enclave that we have that was originally Grocery. It has the village field and you know when we talk of the village we're not referring to the status of the community but referring to the field and the atmosphere the ambience of the community so to speak. People speak of a Rodney Bay village as well. You know and so when you talk of village tourism we are thinking but I'm thinking specifically of what we would call the town where we can develop more entrepreneurship among the locals to ensure that we get a larger share of the tourist dollar because as you would appreciate in some of the oil inclusives for example not much filters out of the hotels some of which are foreign owned the more of the dollar that we can retain within our economy would be far better for us because if a local craft vendor or a sports provider a restaurant owner in the town of Grocery can get a share of that tourist dollar then what does he do? He will patronize the other community services and businesses and as a result because I believe strongly in wealth distribution I believe strongly in the circulation of wealth at the ground what I refer to as the ground economy I think when that begins to happen we fare far better many more people you know benefit because you know like we can have a situation here where Ryan has a million dollars and they say we average in 300 and something thousand dollars and I don't even have three dollars in my pocket you know but if each of us can have they say a couple hundred thousand dollars I think it is far better as a whole so it brings up one more equity you know it all is better for the economy and for the prosperity of our nation as a whole and that is why we are eagerly looking at developing the waterfront assisting the business people in the in the community to develop their businesses package it better make it more appealing more acceptable and to ensure that we provide them level training to meet the requisite standards that would you know make it more more marketable and you know pleasing to to attract the clients that they're targeting which is a tourist I'm looking at a problem that is now existing at the Rodney Bay facility and to an extent at page and point where yacht crews not yacht but cruise passengers go to sunbathe and they are in contention with the hotels and there's a conflict between guests from the hotels and cruise ship and we have a beach lying wasting grossly nothing taking place there so if we can bring those people to those they can say you're a lovely beach there you can sunbathe there at the same time they have access to doing water spots with the rent in a chair they have to eat and drink and so on so we have more of a circulation right not just in Rodney Bay or in castries but in the town of grossly as well so that is the idea behind the village tourism and to make grossly more aesthetically pleasing okay just on on that line my final question before this is a final question into maybe your your vision for grossly going forward and someone meant saw me today and say where are you going right now I told them what I was coming to do and he said okay I want you to ask me a question for me in terms of the yachties and the jetty at grossly proper and the aspect of probably getting some light in there and security and that will help in the time the whole thing of the it's a bit we will have the time to go into details but but you mentioned the jetty that will be the grossly waterfront will be a central focus of the grossly development right I speak of it as the grossly waterfront development program project sorry and we looking at refurbishing the jetty with a view to accommodating dinghies yachts and so on so that the many yachts that you see at some times of the year where there are over 100 yachts anchored in the bay will not just remain on the yachts but they will find it inviting to come into the town of grossly to do the shopping to recreate to socialize and to spend some money and so we are also targeting the matnikans who are close neighbor who are into boating to a great extent and who already have that propensity to come to grossly when we have activities like jazz carnival grossly they what have you we have to now position ourselves to be more inviting to be more facilitating and to retain more of the money that they bring and so that will play a vital role but I want to I want to quickly change gears because of a limited time sorry let me just have a drink and while the minister is just having a drink here I just want to thank you for your comments on Facebook and we have a comment here that's the praise of the minister and someone saying that the minister's his abilities and value to the government is so underrated and he's a great asset thank you thank you thank you not very often often I get compliments like this but I appreciate it what do you think they think you're underrated well you've been awfully quiet well we're in a society of chess beating so if you don't do that then people don't think much of you okay I want to talk about the road in grossly that is a major concern of mine it is a major problem for my constituents and I'm saying that within now and June to August next year I want to embark on a major road rehabilitation and maintenance program in the constituency where we're going to see at least 40 or more roads rehabilitated and I talk about comprehensive rehabilitation not potholing now there is the what I refer to as a Taiwan is road project the OECC project that is the one that is funded by the loan from Taiwan that you know 42 42 million dollars that is already on the way and I have quite a number of road I think some 17 roads identified to be rehabilitated and on that program under that program we have actually started with the Kazabah road we are just about to launch the start of the pier road and there are a number of roads I mean I will have the time at town hall meetings and so on to go into it with the constituents that will be done I just want to say that cap estate that has that is traditionally neglected when it comes to road repels is included Kazabah as you as you have heard is included boss issue Bonte Rodney Bay is included so the affluent areas of my constituency are included I will not be saying to them as their parliamentary representative that their roads are private roads and that it is not government's responsibility it is our responsibility and we live up to that responsibility very I didn't I didn't just say that all the roads will be done but they will see a significant improvement like that you mentioned yet yes and so at the same time I don't want the rural areas to think that they are left out a number of routine Moshi Grand Riviera Marisil Corinth Rosilla will be done and so there is another program other than the OECC you know that we now pay a dollar fifty in terms of a gas tax and that was air mapped for road repair and rehabilitation maintenance well let's face it we pay more on our fair share in those taxes the most cars you'll find is from my area so these people apart from the property taxes and other taxes that they pay they pay that gas tax as well and so they deserve the reward of the sacrifice that they are making to pay those taxes I heard from the ministry that have 19 roads on that program I submitted more than 19 by the way 20 something and I'm hoping that that will be rectified upward you know that we can probably get it but if I get 19 that's starting to scoff at it will bring me close to the 14 that I'm looking at having said so it will not solve all of our problems but it would alleviate our woes in terms of traversing those terrible roads tremendously I would be a relieved person I'd be satisfied as a parliamentary representative that I made a major dent because that would be by far the most ambitious most successful road program ever undertaken not just in the grossly constituency but anywhere on this island having said so I just want to say that I'm still mindful of the fact that I know of at least another 39 roads that can do with a touch up and it is a continuous process if Rome was not built in a day the limited resources that we have I don't think I can build grossly in a day but we are well on our way I ask for the patients tolerance and understanding of my constituents we have started and it will be ongoing you'll see a number starting as we go along going into next year Ryan I'm hoping by the end of next year that I would have done my bit that come 2021 that I'd be satisfied that we've made a significant that is not when I'd be scrambling for you Ryan as a constituent to say that is because of upcoming elections yes but you see the thing is we the constituents I'm hearing some of the the complaints on the ground so I'm happy that the minister will know that the people of Yadda also making comments do I now need to move to the road to the constituency you're welcome anywhere and speaking of what we do have some extra time thank you producer for giving us extra time so then I can now ask the minister speaking about moving all of this big boom that's happening because we now have that influx of people towards the north to towards grossly yes I'm not going to ask if you are concerned about this exponential growth in the constituency but it put it there are implications that's right for the way this is happening and even under your ministry you have to be mindful in certain areas that we've spoken about before so have you given thought into a discussion sitting down with certain maybe planners and so forth and watching how this constituency is developing vis-à-vis other constituencies on island and what it means so the economic activity that's taking place there what's happening and how it impacts other constituencies most definitely for example when we look at economy I'm happy about the plans and the projects that some of which have already begun in the south that will ease the pressure in terms of the influx of people coming to grossly seeking economic opportunities and why I say so they are positives to it but they are also negatives social ills a company that influx and so on housing I've spoken to the housing minister and I've said to him yes like every other constituency I want housing projects but the policy is we are providing housing for people of the constituency especially young people especially first-time house owners for those people not necessarily for incoming other citizens of other parts that is because we are disproportionately overpopulated compared to other constituencies I expect that by the next election I will want to have over 25,000 voters in grossly compared to other constituencies whether 7,000 5,000 even voters I have to meet the needs of every constituent it is their right it is my responsibility however if you're going to assure me that there will be equitable distribution of resources I don't have a problem but the reality is resources are never distributed equitably and so if you're going to give me equal equal distribution of resources that cannot work for me because Ryan I'm twice your size I should have two plates you have one simple as that and that does not happen so it puts us out of disadvantage that is why I've advocated for the cutting of the grossly seat to bring it more in line with first of all the requirements of the constitution and more comparable to other constituencies if I have three constituent but not I if we in grossly have three constituencies I'm not advocating for three constituencies of the sake of increasing government bill or representatives you know I'm saying so because it will be down to the benefit of the residents when you look at CDP each constituencies allocated funds for different for small projects and for development in the constituency instead of getting one million dollars I'll get three million dollars or grossly will receive three million dollars and quite rightly so when you look at some constituencies what the geographical space it is one food in some cases or less than what grossly is I've advocated that for years the Labour Party when they were in in government proposed a cut of course it didn't only include grossly there were other constituencies and represent parliamentarians and other constituencies felt that in their case it was not justifiable so there was a challenge launch which stalled everything but I've supported the proposal that the Labour Party made I'm prepared to go with the proposal that the Labour Party made it is unfortunate that I suspect that that may not be done before the next election but I'm hoping that irrespective who forms the government after the next election that they will be given top priority immediately after election because you know when you come too close to elections to that people accuse you of gerrymandering it becomes a political football and so on but if it is done very early where both parties has an input has a say and it is done properly I think it would be it would be down to the benefit of the constituents of grossly and I also I'm thinking of planning we are the big disadvantage with our five-year cycles where if after every five years you have a change of government you start over after every five years I think that is counterproductive that is a waste of resources and that is not doing us any good that is why I would like for a central planning agency like a grossly development foundation for example come take bring all the stakeholders to the table if you want to say the Chamber of Commerce of Grossly I'm the politicians both parties or how many parties there are existing church leaders community activists clubs schools everyone bring them together formulate a plan agree on that plan and thus that plan and the politician who wishes to represent grossly is going to articulate how he's going to implement that plan not that you are there today tomorrow I come with a totally different plan that in some cases totally obliterates what you have begun and just a waste of resources I these are the things that we have to start to look at when while we lament and complain about the fact that we are poor nation we are guilty of engaging in a lot of waste and you know we can minimize that waste I do insensible things you know such as what I'm suggesting here so in terms of a plan for grossly there is a standard plan for the grossly waterfront development articulated that plan it is it was articulated during the reign of the last administration and I am back and I'm still with that plan because incorporated in that plan is a lot of my vision there are few minor differences and changes but that we can we can work out an iron out but I want to say to the residents of grossly that some work has been done not all the work has been done be reminded that I was given a term of five years it's just about three and a half years now by the end of the five years judge me based on my performance judge me based on what I've delivered I assure you that when it comes to roads you will be blown away by the unprecedented success that we will have in roads and I say so because of every confidence in my government that they will live up to the commitments that we have made I say so as a representative because I know we deserve it as the highest tax paying constituency in this country and when you think of the kind of taxes we pay for property tax for example I am proposing to ensure that there's greater compliance that the local that I'm now Minister for local government and I'm putting a proposal to government that local government be involved be involved in the tax collection process if it is done at the local level there'll be greater compliance if there's greater compliance there'll be more revenue if there's more revenue there'll be a bit for a little you want to call it some some be retained by the constituency I don't know if you're about the commission or what have you it's not for me to work out what that ratio is between ministry of finance ministry of local government and other agencies to decide how much is retained I know I can do it for an extra 10 million dollars as a budget for my local government council if the grocery council has 10 million dollars at hand then we can begin to see the true impact of local government I'm advocating by the way that we begin in my report that we begin to introduce local government elections that is not in our interests so it's not something that we generally push I'm asking residents I'm asking voters do not depend on politicians to push that that will not be done because politicians see that as a way of taking power from them but I believe it is by and large forgetting our self-interest selfish interest that it is a way of nurturing leaders it is a way of meeting the needs of the constituency in a more efficient manner and I and if you really think about it it's a way of supplementing and supporting the work of the parliamentary representative and so I'll be advocating for that as well and I just quickly said so because I noticed I didn't really touch on local governments and touch on local government so these are the new initiatives that we're looking at as far as local government is concerned I would prefer not to have to sweat about a pothole in your area a grass to be cut on your road and so on I would want to believe that my local government council has the wherewithal and the capacity to address something like that while I deal with you know larger more macro issues concerning and affecting the constituency thank you very much Mr. Moutoud well listen we've gone overtime or extra time and it's really incredible how the minister responsible for equity social justice local government and empowerment can actually get through a day's work of all those portfolios also large constituency and even areas we didn't even speak about a local government so really Mr. Moutoud you really thank you very much for being here today it was a pleasure we're happy that our audience were able to get a bit more inside as to the working of your ministry here we can hear the calls yes because I always like to feel the pulse of the of the public and not that I don't have a good grasp of what my people are thinking but even people from the wider community it's important because my portfolios spun across the island you know so once again thank you for being part of our program today in focus thank you also for joining us and being part of our program today i'm rana brand baffle my cause this is Joseph and the ministry's one of equity social justice local government and empowerment honorable Leonard Moutoud saying goodbye