The Department of Youth Development and Sports is sounding a national call to all Youth and Sports Organizations of Saint Lucia to be counted as part of its National Database Development.
This process will assist the Department of Youth Development and Sports to have a registry of Established Clubs and Youth Organizations as well as to identify their needs in an effort to develop strategies and programmes to build capacity and empower them to become more sustainable and impactful in their communities. Clubs and organizations are therefore encouraged to use this method to submit or resubmit their information to the Department in a timely manner to ensure they are positioned to benefit from the services and programs of the Department.
This initiative forms a part of the Department of Youth Development and Sports’ strategic plan to map organizations serving young people in Saint Lucia so that we may offer services that are more targeted, evidence-based and effective to our partner.
Get registered and be counted:
Youth Clubs and Organizations
Sports Clubs and Organizations
National Youth Organizations
National Sports Organizations
Youth Faith-Based Clubs and Organizations
Student Councils
School Clubs and Organizations
District Youth and Sports Councils
Service Groups
Registration will run from the Wednesday 19th September to Monday 31st December 2018.
Please register using the following link: Click here
For more information, contact the Department of Youth Development and Sports at 468 4991/468-4980.
Prime Minister the Hon. Gaston Browne and Tourism Officials Meet with Carnival Corporation Executives.
Prime Minister the Hon. Gaston Browne alongside Minister of Tourism, The Hon. Charles Fernandez and other Cruise Industry partners met today (Mon) with the executives of Carnival Corporation PLC, the decision makers for Carnival Cruise Lines.
The Hon. Prime Minister took the opportunity to update the executives on developments being made at the country’s major ports inclusive of the cargo port at the Deep Water Harbour.
According to Prime Minister Browne the Government of Antigua and Barbuda is committed to expanding and developing the island’s Cruise product and this is evident via the major financial investments being made.
The Ministry of Education last Friday commenced activities to celebrate Education Month 2018, under the theme ‘Education for a good life through innovation and STEAMS’.
The activities kicked-off on Saturday with a career guidance, Science and Mathematics Fair with a focus on STEAMS (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) at the Education Department in Region One.
On Wednesday, September 19, the ministry will be hosting the closing ceremony of the Guyana Early Childhood Education Project at the Umana Yana. On Friday, September 21, the West Demerara Secondary School will be host to a career explosion.
The Three Miles Secondary School will hold a STEAM display at its Dormitories on Tuesday, September 25th. STEAM Explosions will also be held at Fort Wellington the West Coast of Berbice, the Anna Regina Secondary School and the McKenzie Sports Club Ground on September 27 and 28 respectively.
An attendance awards ceremony will be held at the National Cultural Centre on September 28. On that day too, an education exhibition will be held at the Aishalton Secondary School. A Schools Steel Band Performance titled “Amity” is scheduled for the Botanical Gardens as well.
On October 4 and 5 at the Hope Secondary School, the curtains will be brought down on the activities with a Career Extravaganza.
Education Minister, Nicolette Henry in her Education Month Message last Thursday said the further advancement of Guyana will depend on the nurturing of people with high quality and a diverse range of talents.
To this end, she said there must be high-quality education which depends on policy-makers, administrators, teachers and educators of high calibre and professionalism.
President Granger orders multi-agency task force to tackle South Rupununi problems.
President David Granger, on Saturday, ordered that a multi-agency task force be set up to address the many multidimensional issues challenging the communities of the South Rupununi. The President was at the time visiting the community of Shulinab, Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo (Region Nine) for Heritage Day celebrations.
The Head of State’s decision followed a number of complaints by Toshaos of the various communities about illegal mining, pollution, allegations of trafficking in persons (TIP) among other criminal activities, affecting their communities. He committed to having the many issues presented to him by the South Rupununi District Council (SRDC) investigated and remedied.
“[There is need for] setting up of a mechanism for the regular if not continuous, exchange of information and more important, the solution of these problems. It is no point, at this stage, resorting to the ministerial system – I am thinking along the line of a multi-agency task force which can deal with all of these problems as they occur. We must deal with the problem in a more holistic way,” President Granger said.
Saturday’s meeting follows one held in Aishalton, Region Nine, in February where similar concerns were raised. The Head-of-State, after listening to the presentations, said that the situation warrants immediate attention and called on Minister of Public Affairs, Mrs. Dawn Hastings-Williams to organise stakeholder meetings in the near future. In the case of environmental issues, the President said that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), and the Protected Areas Commission (PAC) must work together “to bring an end to this scourge and contamination of the headwaters of this village”.
In thanking the SRDC, which monitors the South Rupununi, for a comprehensive report President Granger said he is very concerned about the contamination of the headwaters as well as the increase in criminal activities in that part of the region. “So from every point of view there is cause for concern. It calls for all-round vigilance, it’s not just the environment, it is also security, public health,” the President said.
The Head of State then called on leaders to commit to preserving the environment and to co-operate to solve problems in the region. “Problems have to be solved…we are committed to solving the problems and not to sweep the problems under the carpet,” he said, while calling on Minister Hastings to convene a roundtable with all stakeholders to address the matters.
Meanwhile, Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Mr. Sydney Allicock described the challenges “as very serious” while stating that they must be addressed soonest. “It is bigger than just a Toshao,” he said, noting that there is need for a lot of technical and financial support to remedy the existing difficulties. Similarly, Minister of Public Affairs, Mrs. Dawn Hastings-Williams said a proactive approach is needed to tackle the many issues raised and committed to working with stakeholders.
Additionally, Mr. Nicholas Fredericks, Toshao of Shulinab, said despite the many challenges facing the South Rupununi, the SRDC is pooling its available resources to be “the eyes and ears on the ground”. He too called for deeper collaboration among stakeholders while noting that information sharing, in a timely manner, is critical to finding solutions to the problems.
Ministry of National Security Notes Decrease in Major Crimes.
The Honorable John Saldivar, Minister of National Security, met today, September 17th, in this month’s meeting with the senior members of Belize’s Security Forces, which includes the Belize Police Department, the Belize Defense Force and the Belize Coast Guard.
The meeting is one of the Minister’s monthly meetings held with the security forces. Present at these meetings are all the Officers Commanding from Police Precincts countrywide. In his remarks, the Minister congratulated the men and women for their recent successful capture of the drug plane in the north and for the great work done in the month of August.
Of note is that in the month of August major crimes, countrywide, fell by twenty-seven percent (27%) compared to July. One hundred (100) major crimes were reported in August compared to one hundred thirty-seven (137) for the July period. Minister Saldivar exhorted the Senior Command to continue to motivate those under their leadership to maintain and improve on these results, and to continue to live up to those high ideals they swore to uphold when they took their oath as law enforcement officers.
The Minister also encouraged these leaders to continue the work of identifying and weeding out the few who would seek to tarnish the name of law enforcement. Hon. Saldivar reminded those in attendance of the Ministry’s commitment to zero tolerance for rogue cops and expressed his desire for swift action to be taken against those who allow themselves to be tainted while in the service to the Belizean people.
The Ministry of National Security continues to coordinate the work done by all Security Forces in an effort to provide greater citizen security, while respecting the constitutional rights of all Belizeans.
Mayor of Montego Bay and Chairman of the St. James Municipal Corporation, Councillor Homer Davis, speaks to JIS News about hurricane preparations in St. James.
St. James Prepared as Hurricane Season Peaks.
The St. James Municipal Corporation says it is prepared to deal with any eventualities should the parish be impacted by a tropical cyclone during the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season.
The season, which officially began on June 1 and will end November 30, generally experiences its peak from mid-August to the end of September.
During this period, conditions are ideal for strong and quick-moving tropical storms, hurricanes and depressions.
Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Homer Davis, told JIS News that the Municipal Corporation is in a state of readiness and the relevant agencies are on alert to provide emergency assistance as required.
The Mayor said that shelter managers have received adequate training in shelter management and first aid.
“We have also equipped our shelter managers with the necessary tools, for example, raincoats, flashlights, waterboots and a number of other things that they will need in case they have to respond to managing their shelters,” he noted.
He informed that drain cleaning has been ongoing, with extensive attention given to the critical channels in June.
“The Minister of Local Government and Community Development (Hon. Desmond McKenzie) has committed to each councillor in each municipality one million dollars per year to assist in cleaning critical drains, so I would say that most of our critical drains are in a state to accommodate a regular flow,” he noted.
Mayor Davis appealed to citizens to practise proper waste disposal habits and desist from using gullies as dump sites, in order to prevent flooding and environmental pollution.
Tropical Weather Outlook
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL
200 PM EDT Mon Sep 17 2018
For the North Atlantic…Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico:
The National Hurricane Center is issuing advisories on Tropical
Depression Joyce, located a few hundred miles south-southwest of the
Azores. The NOAA Weather Prediction Center is issuing advisories on
Tropical Depression Florence, located inland over the Appalachian
mountains.
Disorganized showers and thunderstorms extending from just west of
Jamaica to eastern Cuba and Hispaniola are associated with the
remnants of Isaac. Environmental conditions are expected to remain
unfavorable for re-development while the system moves westward to
west-northwestward across the northwestern Caribbean Sea. Even
though development is unlikely, locally heavy rains and gusty winds
are possible over portions of Hispaniola, Jamaica, and eastern Cuba
during the next couple of days.
* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…10 percent.
* Formation chance through 5 days…low…10 percent.
Trinbago Knight Riders fan Ameer Hassanali shows his patriotism at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy. Photo captured by Express Chief Photographer Dexter Philip
Trinbago Knight Riders – TKR have created history in the Hero Caribbean Premier League, becoming the first team to successfully defend their title to cement themselves as T20 kings once again.
Dwayne Bravo and company sent the capacity crowd at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy into a frenzy as they dominated the Guyana Amazon Warriors by eight wickets in the final last night to lift the coveted CPL trophy for the third time in four years.
Cognizant of the number of Used Vehicle Dealers operating in Grenada, the Inland Revenue Division (IRD), of the Ministry of Finance, will be meeting with persons involved in the trading of Used Vehicles.
The meeting will be held on Thursday, September 20th, 2018, at the Inland Revenue Division (Training Room), Ministry of Finance of Finance Conference Room, commencing at 10:00 am.
The main aim of this meeting is to educate all Used Vehicle Dealers of their obligations with the IRD. The IRD encourages all Used Vehicle Dealers to attend this important meeting.
For further information, please contact Mr. Randy Boyke-Cadet, Deputy Comptroller (Headquarters) – Inland Revenue Division, Ministry of Finance and Energy at 435-6945/6
Please be guided accordingly.
Mexican Research Vessel “Dr. Jorge Carranza Fraser” to Conduct Fisheries Research Work in Belize’s Waters.
The Central American Organization for Fisheries and Aquaculture (OSPESCA), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations along with Mexico’s National Fisheries and Aquaculture Institute have embarked on a project entitled “Prospecting and Evaluation of Fisheries Resources in Central America”. As a member of OSPESCA, the Belize Fisheries Department is participating in this project and has deployed a Fisheries Officer to assist in field data collection onboard a 195 ft. long research vessel “Dr. Jorge Carranza Fraser”, which is owned by Mexico’s National Fisheries and Aquaculture Institute.
The objectives of the project are to gather field data on the composition of fauna on the continental shelf and continental slope to a depth of 300 meters, produce a list of main species sampled, study the distribution of commercially important fish species, collect biological material for further analysis at research centers in Mexico, obtain a photographic record of species sampled, evaluate physical oceanographic conditions including temperature/salinity profile of the water column and conduct a bathymetric and morphological assessment of the seafloor within the agreed marine survey areas.
The research vessel is scheduled to depart the Port of Progresso, Yucatan (Mexico) on September 17, 2018, and will visit Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama to carry out fisheries research activities. The results of the research work will yield valuable field information on the status of fish stocks of commercial interest and other information on underexploited and unexploited fish stocks throughout the region.
The research vessel is expected to arrive in Belize on September 19, 2018, and will remain here for 7 days before it moves to other countries along the Caribbean coast of the Central American Isthmus. Survey activities will be done considering the bathymetry of the area and in a depth range 100m to 300m. In Belize, data will be collected at 11 oceanographic stations, and 8 transects will be done covering a total distance of 550 nautical miles.
