Category: News

The following Bills have been approved by Executive Council for presentation as Government business at the next formal meeting of Legislative Council on Friday, 6 December 2019:

• Police and Criminal Evidence (Amendment) Bill 2019
• Currency (Amendment) Bill 2019
• Financial Services (Amendment) Bill 2019
• Public Accounts Committee (Procedure) Bill 2019

These Bills can be found on the Bills for an Ordinance page on the St Helena Government website at the following link: https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/government/legislative-council/bills-for-an-ordinance/

Any comments on these Bills should be sent to the Clerk of Councils on tel: 22470 or via email: connie.johnson@sainthelena.gov.sh

Notes to Editors

Police and Criminal Evidence (Amendment) Bill 2019

To amend the Police and Criminal Evidence Ordinance, 2003, to establish a Criminal Records database and to permit the Governor in Council to make Regulations for the recording of specified offences; and for connected and incidental purposes.

Currency (Amendment) Bill 2019

To amend the Currency Ordinance, 1975, to make provision for the treatment of any deficit that may arise in the Currency Fund; and to further regulate the distribution of any surplus in the Fund; and for connected and incidental purposes.

Financial Services (Amendment) Bill 2019

To amend the Financial Services Ordinance, 2008, to further regulate the requirements for licensing with respect to certain relevant businesses registered and regulated outside St Helena.

Public Accounts Committee (Procedure) Bill 2019

To further make provision for The Procedures Under Which The Public Accounts Committee Will Operate Pursuant To Section 69(6) Of The St Helena, Ascension And Tristan Da Cunha Constitution Order 2009.

#StHelena #BillsforOrdinances #LegislativeCouncil

SHG

29 November 2019

The monthly meetings of the Highways Authority and the Environment & Natural Resources Committee (ENRC) took place on Thursday, 21 November 2019.

As part of the revision of the current Roads Policy, the Roads Manager provided guidelines and best practices on road construction methods for access roads to private residences, community and district roads and new main roads. These guidelines provide information on the width of roads, size of passing bays, longitudinal grade and camber (cross fall), drainage, layer works and surface dressing. Currently, there are no real specifications available for the construction of standard roads and the equipment available varies. The points raised and suggested will be used as a guide by everyone involved in constructing a road. This is a welcome addition to the Roads Policy and will also support the Planning Office when applying a decision notice to planning applications. However, the Committee noted that with the ever increasing requests from individuals to approve their access, we do not want to specify a road design which will incur greater cost or deter people from developing but to merely assist applicants with the design of their roads. It will also provide the basis of road construction where it is now being realised that certain road developments on-Island where communal roads are required will eventually become part of the Island’s road network in the future.

The Marine Conservation Officer provided an update on the Marine Policy and Regulations, with regards to interacting with marine species in and around the waters of St Helena. It is well known that a key asset to St Helena’s marine environment is its marine species and their habitats, some of which are endemic. Although human interaction with our marine world is encouraged, there are limits on how this interaction takes place. This Policy will provide the best practice guidelines to both locals and tourists.

The proposed Dark Skies legislation was discussed. In attendance for this item were members from the Attorney General’s Chambers, the Deputy Chief Secretary and Chief Planning Officer. This proposed legislation will have an impact on some current but mostly all future developments on-Island. Although most of the proposals were accepted there were some issues raised by members where they felt further work needs to be undertaken. A further joint discussion will be held with the Economic Development Committee and Environment & Natural Resources Committee to address these matters.

Approval was received from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to allow the ENRC to amend the Burial Grounds Ordinance, 1895. This legislation will be progressed with another minor change regarding spacing between graves and it is envisaged that this will be tabled at a formal Legislative Council meeting in early 2020.

A briefing was provided by the Committee’s representative on the Working Group undertaking a risk assessment for the proposal to lift the ban on cycling on certain roads on the Island. Some comprehensive work has been carried out and this will provide the Committee with basic information in assisting them to make an informed decision. Members of the Working Group were also thanked for their work and effort in undertaking this review.

Finally an update was provided by the Infrastructure & Transport Directorate’s Technical teams regarding progress being made in making land plots available for development and for Government Landlord Houses. To date, approval has been given to progress the Comprehensive Development Area (CDA) at Bottom Woods and further plans have been submitted for development permission in two other areas of the Island. It is envisaged that two more submissions will be made in early December. The teams were commended on their excellent work and progress thus far.

#StHelena #ENRC #HighwaysAuthority #MeetingSummary

SHG

28 November 2019 

St Helena Government’s Corporate Policy and Planning Unit has released St Helena’s Sustainable Economic Development Plan (SEDP) mid-year report for 2019-20. 

The headlines include:

• A Letter of Intent was signed in July 2019 to deliver superfast broadband to St Helena. Work has begun within SHG to develop plans for the Cable Landing Station in Rupert’s Valley. A visioning exercise was also undertaken with the public in July 2019 which led to the development of a ‘needs and delighters paper’ that outlines public expectations on the realisation of St Helena’s Digital Strategy
• The Investment Prospectus was endorsed and launched in October 2019 with an event in St Helena and London. This includes information on starting up and expanding a business: http://www.investinsthelena.com/project-details/investment/  
• The St Helena Research Institute Launched in November 2019 with events on-Island and in London. The launch included a competition for researchers willing to develop an academic paper evaluating the impacts of achieving St Helena’s Digital Strategy
• The Ship Registry Policy was updated in October 2019 to broaden eligibility for yachts and pleasure vessels to be registered with the Red Ensign on St Helena: https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/public-services/registry/ 
• The Labour Market Strategy was consulted upon and is due to be endorsed in December 2019
• 2,407 Tourist visitors arrived between October 2018 and September 2019, compared to 2,316 during the same period the previous year 2017-18 and 973 in the same period in 2016-17
• The Minimum Income Standard was updated to reflect inflationary increases in prices, and the Basic Island Pension and Income Related Benefit increased as a result. The basic level of IRB for a single person increased from £70 per week to £71.50 in October 2019. The Minimum Wage increased by 8p in April 2019. Both changes ensured that those with the lowest incomes were protected against price increases
• A site for a new ‘marine lab’ has been identified in Jamestown and funding has been secured. Planning permission has been granted 
• Work on the Tourist Office to help towards improving the look of the building in Jamestown and include wheelchair access has now been completed
• Spending on St Helena’s Economic Development Investment Programme (EDIP) has been agreed so far for the micro-projects budget, rock fall protection, IT investment and consultancy support
• SHG’s Waste Management Service (WMS) has implemented aluminium drink cans recycling onsite at Horse Point Landfill Site with the intention of exporting this valuable waste stream. Plastics recycling is now being undertaken by SHAPE.

The full mid-year report can be found on the Public Information, Reports and Policies page of the SHG website: https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/government/public-information/.

Notes to Editors

St Helena’s SEDP 2018-2028 was endorsed by Executive Council in May 2018. In order to ensure that the SEDP continues to be effective, six-monthly reviews of the actions were planned alongside yearly updates of the indicator data.

The SEDP vision is to achieve development which is economically, environmentally and socially sustainable and the actions outlined within the SEDP intend to address barriers to achievement.

#StHelena #SEDP #EconomicDevelopment

https://www.facebook.com/StHelenaGovt/

Tweets by StHelenaGovt

SHG

28 November 2019

Jeffery Ellick has been duly elected to serve as a Member of the St Helena Legislative Council.

Returning Officer, Carol George, last night announced the results of the Polls for the Bye-election held yesterday.

The total number of votes cast for each candidate was:

Jeffrey Ellick                        208

Gillian Brooks                     188

Jeremy Johns                     34

Lionel Williams                    30

Elizabeth Knipe                  17

The Count took place from 8.10pm to just after 9.15pm last night.

In total, 481 votes were cast. This represents approximately 22.4% of those eligible to vote.

There were four invalid ballot papers.

#StHelena #Bye-Election #PollingDay #LegislativeCouncil

https://www.facebook.com/StHelenaGovt /  
https://twitter.com/StHelenaGovt 

SHG
28 November 2019

A Service of Remembrance for Police Constable Leonard (Lenny) Coleman will be held at St James Church, Jamestown, on Monday, 2 December 2019, at 10am.

Police Constable Lenny Coleman, aged just 21, was killed in the line of duty on 2 December 1982, having suffered a gunshot wound during the course of a domestic incident.

Police Constable Coleman’s death had a significant impact on the local community and on the Police Service. This is still felt today.

The public is welcome to attend this service at St James Church on Monday at 10am.   

#StHelena #StHelenaPolice #ServiceofRemembrance

https://www.facebook.com/StHelenaGovt/
https://twitter.com/StHelenaGovt

SHG
27 November 2019

ST HELENA WATER SITUATION REMAINS SERIOUS

St Helena’s water situation remains serious and, despite recent spells of rainfall, surface flows have not increased and stored water levels remain very low.

Consumption rates also remain an issue with the required rate of under 1000 cubic metres of water occurring on just two of the past seven days. That said, on Sunday, 24 November 2019, the consumption rate was at 892 cubic metres, the lowest in the past month, and the public is commended for this.

Unfortunately, if daily consumption rates of above 1000 cubic metres continue and the stored water volume subsequently continues to decrease, further Island-wide water restrictions will be imposed.

There have been some short spells of rain over the past week. Unfortunately, the many days of sunshine has meant that the ground is very dry. Therefore any spell of rainfall is being absorbed and not contributing to surface flow levels.

Connect Saint Helena (CSH) is continually pumping from Chubb’s Spring and Hutt’s Gate as well as from Fisher’s Valley and Warren’s Gut.

Pump testing from Shark’s Valley took place over a three-day period during the last week with a total of around 208 cubic metres of water being extracted.

With St Helena nearing the holiday period, and with warm weather patterns and no significant rainfall forecast, it is therefore very important that we all keep our water consumption to essential use only.

The public is reminded that we are currently under an Island-wide hosepipe ban. If you see anyone using water irresponsibly or notice a burst pipe or leak, then please inform CSH immediately.

Every drop counts, every action counts – save water now to be safe later

#StHelena #WaterShortage #EveryDropCounts

https://twitter.com/StHelenaGovt
https://www.facebook.com/StHelenaGovt/

St Helena Resilience Forum
27 November 2019

Monday, 25 November was the United Nations (UN) White Ribbon Day 2019 – a day used to raise awareness about all kinds of abuse.

On St Helena, the UN Development Programme Safe Haven Project and the Children & Adults Social Care Directorate ran a week-long awareness raising campaign to recognise White Ribbon Day 2019.

Around the world, White Ribbon awareness focusses on men taking a stand against domestic violence. The White Ribbon Day Committee chose to change the focus from targeting males and decided that the aim and vision would be to use the voices of the male and female population of St Helena to encourage all on the Island to ‘Speak Out and Stand Up’ against all kinds of abuse, irrespective of gender and age.

The Campaign concluded yesterday with a peaceful march from Napoleon Street to the Castle Gardens for a closing ceremony.

During the ceremony, a number of speeches were given, including a reading of the poem ‘Returning Faith’. A rose bush was also planted and a plaque laid in the Castle Gardens in honour of survivors and victims of domestic abuse.

 In HE’s speech, Acting Governor, Greg Gibson, said:

“The Campaign is different in focus this year, asking everyone on St Helena – male and female, young and old – for us together as a society to support victims and ‘Speak Out and Stand Up’ about all kinds of abuse. It is that message to ‘Speak Out and Stand Up’ I wish to reiterate. Only by doing this together can we achieve the society we all want.”

Director of Children & Adults Social Care, Tracy Poole-Nandy, added:

“We are here today to raise awareness of domestic abuse and to reach out to the community to ensure that we stand against this abuse and to make sure we support survivors so they can continue their lives safely.”

UN Project Manager (St Helena), Nicolene Adams, concluded:

“We wish to sincerely thank the United Nations Development Programme for their constant financial support that enables us through the awareness raising campaigns to improve local responses and expand service provision to the community of St Helena.”

Throughout the week-long Campaign, White Ribbon activities were held at various locations around the Island for Government, Private Sector and Non-Government Organisations. The activities included signing of pledges, which were pinned to wooden ‘family cut-outs’ and the distribution of White Ribbons and T-Shirts.

The White Ribbon Campaign Committee would like to thank everyone who have given donations to the WISH charity. A total of £117.00 has been received thus far and has been deposited into the WISH bank account.

The Committee would also like to humbly ask any participants who have received White Ribbon Campaign T-shirts to please place a donation directly into the WISH Charity bank account using the following details:

Account name: WISH Charity (Women Issues in St Helena) 

Account number: 23792002

The White Ribbon Campaign Committee would like to thank everyone for their support during the White Ribbon Campaign 2019.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

#StHelena #CRC #UN #RightsOfTheChild

SHG

26 November 2019