By Spokesman Newsroom
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Thursday 19th October 2023)-In his message delivered on the occasion of World Food Day (18th October 2023), Minister of Agriculture Samal Duggins urged the people to be responsible users of water. “I urge our people to be responsible users of this precious resource as clean, safe and quality water is becoming more difficult to find.” According to him, the theme chosen for this year- ‘Water is Life, Water is Food, Leave No one located at Fortlands in Basseterre, starting at 6PM.
Individuals and groups within the creative arts field are invited to attend and share their insights in crafting a vibrant space for art together. “We have our plan. We know what we envision,” Jeffers commented. She went on to talk about how the centre could eliminate challenges experienced by creatives who do not have private spaces to use.
“Sometimes I have challenges to find a space for my dance class; that won’t be an issue – we’ll have multiple dance studios and multiple recording studios. This is not knocking people’s private space but we want to be able to provide for other persons who don’t have that private area…,” said Jeffers who is the owner of a private dance company called Synergy.
She drew a comparison of her experience having studied dance in Jamaica saying there were four dance studios “in a little space  which featured “everything in one place  like a shower, shop for dance clothes, gym and work room. “It was all encompassing and we want to provide on a larger scale for all the arts…for all the service providers.
So, it’s not just performing arts. I don’t want people to say performing arts…it’s a creative arts multi-purpose centre,” she said. Jeffers continued: “We want to keep it lively. And the thing I love about the [future] building is it provides job opportunities because it’s gonna have parking spaces, cafe, restaurants… come and sit down and eat your lunch’ watch a little entertainment …pop up lunch hour shows… in the cafe, do some research on your art form.” “…we want to make sure that we do not leave nobody out because at the end of the day…we want to make sure that everybody is catered to,” she remarked further about the upcoming consultation event.
Front Page Photo: Well-known performing arts specialist Loughlin Tatem (seen at microphone) seen during a one of the Creative Connect sessions put on by the Department of Creative Economy held in March 2023 (Credit: Department of Creative Economy/ Facebook) Behind’ is critical. “Water covers the majority of the earth’s surface and our very existence depends on water.
For Sustainable Development Goal 6Clean water and sanitation is the lifeline of the other SDGs.” Duggins added: “It is essential therefore for countries including St. Kitts and Nevis stop taking water for granted especially with the increasing demand while having prolonged droughts because of climate change.
I urge our people to be responsible users of this precious resource as clean, safe and quality water is becoming more difficult to find.” He also pointed out that as the Minister of Agriculture, “I want to show my solidarity to this recognition through my ministry by announcing the Drought Resilience Irrigation Project as we affectionately call DRIP to properly utilize water on farms for maximized productions.” He went on to say that his ministry will continue to work for the farming community to find innovative ways to trap and store water as this precious resource is a priority for successful production. Duggins encouraged proper waste disposal.
“Let us remember to also dispose of our garbage through the landfill and refrain from illegal dumping that can pollute our oceans and disrupt aquatic systems which we so depend on.” “Water is one of the most precious resources of this world and it is essential to everything that we do. Water is vital for agriculture, livestock, fisheries and a key component to food production, nutritional security and health,” he stated.
Front Page Photo: Image used for illustration purposes show the hands of someone using a water pipe (credit: casinosslotsusa. com)
