Category: News

St Helena Government’s Harbour Master, Steve Kirk,  Emergency Planning & Sea Rescue Manager, Simon Wade, and Operational & Civil Contingencies Manager, Ian Johnson, along with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office’ CSSF (Conflict, Stability & Security Fund) Projects lead, Sam Cherrett,  are currently representing St Helena at the Red Ensign Group Conference in Montserrat.

The delegates join 68 representatives from other UK Overseas Territories in a four-day programme of presentations, workshops, and discussions covering several aspects of Maritime Safety and Legislation. Topics include Ports, Coastal State and Registration of Vessels and the crucial role it plays in enabling Coastal States to meet mandatory international obligations by 2020 which St Helena is legally bound  i.e. SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea), MARPOL (Marine Pollution), UNCLOS (United Nations Convention of the Laws of the Seas).

The UK and Overseas Territories will be audited to assess compliance of the obligations.

Attendance at the Conference was funded under the Maritime Obligations work as part of the Justice, Security and Governance programme of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office’ Conflict, Stability & Security Fund.

Further information will be provided when the delegates return to St Helena.

#StHelena #RedEnsignGroup #Altogether Safer #CSSF

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SHG
4 April 2019

St Helena Government was disappointed to read in three recent Sentinel articles – ‘St Helena Coffee under Threat from Tax Reforms’ (p.5, 7 March) ‘Stop the Devaluation of St Helena Coffee’: Coffee Producers Band Together (p. 6-7, 21 March) and Refocusing the St Helena Coffee Discussion: Back to the Real Issue (p. 6-7, 28 March) – that the 2018 Tax Reforms have been cited as a potential threat to our niche St Helena Coffee product.

There unfortunately has been a misunderstanding of two separate policies – The Tax Policy which supports the achievement of the goals of the Sustainable Economic Development Plan (SEDP) and the SHG Biosecurity Policy on the protection of a particular local species of plant.

The 2018 Tax Reforms and subsequent Tax Policy reduced the Import Duty from

20% to 5% on ‘Trees, shrubs, and bushes, grafted or not, of a kind which bear edible fruit or nuts’ or plants in general. This was not specific to coffee plants. The reduction in Import Duty was one of a range of duty reductions made in April 2018 and is to help the agriculture sector which is one of the SEDP sectors, and in particular assist horticulture and fruit growing.

The press release issued on 6 April 2018 and available online here: https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/changes-to-customs-excise-duty/ states:

‘A number of imports related to agriculture, fishing and drinks making will see a decrease in import duty from 20% to 5%. These changes provide further support for industries which directly contribute to export or import substitution and help to improve St Helena’s trade imbalance, as set out in the Sustainable Economic Development Plan.’

We note that at the time of this press release there was little commentary on these changes by the Sentinel in their following publication on 12 April 2018 except to point out that ‘SHG April 6 released new customs and excise tariffs to come into effect May 1’.

The Economic Development Committee (EDC) endorsed the SEDP which encourages coffee growth in general and Income Tax has also been reduced for coffee growing activities, but there has never been a policy endorsed by EDC to encourage the specific bringing in of coffee plant material.

The Agriculture & Natural Resources Division (ANRD) has Biosecurity measures which adequately safeguard the St Helena coffee industry from new pests and disease arriving on-Island.

We are aware that St Helena Coffee is special, but it is currently unknown whether the uniqueness of the bean stems from some previous cross pollination to create a unique strand of coffee plant on St Helena, whether the growing conditions such as soil and temperature create the unique taste, or it is a mixture of both, which allows St Helena’s coffee to be of such high regard globally. This is an area that SHG will be looking into in response to the letter by coffee growers, and regulations against the importation of new coffee plant material and seeds can be considered on the back of this, should the import of coffee plant material be a risk to the existing stock. It is noted that there have been no queries from any prospective importers regarding the requirements for, or possibility of importing coffee in either plant or seed form made to Biosecurity at least since the year that ASYCUDA reported imports (May 2016), and any potential change is to mitigate future potential problems which could occur.

Unfortunately, the Sentinel has made claims that a policy of importing coffee plant material exists in SHG – but it does not. We apologise that there has been a misunderstanding around SHG’s policy with regards to coffee growing and we hope that this information clarifies the situation.

The EDC has invited both coffee growers and the Sentinel to discuss the issues around coffee growing on Thursday, 4 April. SHG representatives will be there to listen to concerns and assist where actions are necessary to protect and enhance St Helena’s coffee industry.

#StHelena #SEDP

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SHG

2 April 2019

The Environment & Natural Resources Directorate (ENRD) has restructured from 1 April 2019. ENRD has now split into two separate directorates – Environment, Natural Resources & Planning and Infrastructure & Transport.

Here is an overview of the services that are provided under each new directorate:

Environment, Natural Resources & Planning Directorate

The Environment, Natural Resources & Planning Directorate comprises of:

Environmental Management Division, responsible for –

• Implementation of the Environmental Protection legislation
• Development and implementation of Environmental Management strategies and policies, including a Solid Waste Management Strategy, Climate Change Policy and Pollution Policy, Waste Management Policy, Strategy and Operational Services
• Managing the Peaks National Park and other sites of endemic interest on the Island
• Managing the St Helena Meteorological Station
• Conducting all marine-related management including fish data collection, fisheries science marine biodiversity surveys, habitat mapping, marine species taxonomy, seabird and cetacean monitoring, and managing a marine sightings scheme
• Conducting scientific research projects
• Carrying out environmental site visits and initial site assessments, monitoring development projects, and reviewing Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs)

Tel: 24724

Agriculture & Natural Resources Division, responsible for –

• Development and implementation of agricultural policy
• Providing agricultural support and extension services for producers and the public in the areas of arable production, pest management, livestock & veterinary and soils testing
• Leasing agricultural lands and buildings for agricultural production and product storage purposes
• Management of the SHG forest estate and delivery of services such as emergency call outs to assist with fallen trees, selling dry trees for firewood, selling tree seedlings and chip & fodder permits, selling forest produce, providing an advisory service and carrying out private tree felling & surgery tasks, providing a wood raw material service to sawmill and firewood service operators
• Management and implementation of the Island’s Biosecurity Policy to prevent pests and diseases reaching St Helena
• A fisheries licensing and reporting function for the Island

Tel: 24724

Planning & Building Control Division, responsible for –

• Drafting planning and building primary legislation, orders, and regulations
• Preparing development plans and policies for approval
• Providing advice and guidance to the public and SHG on compliance with policies and the law, development potential of land, building conservation, and building construction
• Processing development applications and appeals
• Making recommendations on development decisions
• Monitoring and enforcing compliance with approved drawings and planning conditions
• Inspecting, approving and certifying building works on-site

Tel: 22270

Infrastructure & Transport Directorate

The Infrastructure & Transport Directorate comprises of:

Property Division, responsible for –

• Maintaining all operational properties for SHG
• Leasing and sale of SHG land and buildings and administration of the properties held on lease
• Carrying out site inspections and condition surveys
• Administration of the Lands Disposal Policy
• Providing valuation advice to SHG and the Bank of St Helena

Tel: 22270

Housing Section, responsible for –

• The letting of Government Landlord Housing (GLH) and Chief Secretary Houses (CSH)
• Managing the GLH tenancy agreements
• Allocating houses to GLH tenants
• Repairing SHG houses and managing upgrading and improvement works
• Providing advice to the private sector on lettings
• Managing the turnover of CSH between contracts

Tel: 22270

Roads Section (including Public Lighting and Rock Guards), responsible for –

• Carrying out routine inspections of the SHG road network and Sea Front
• Carrying out planned and reactive maintenance of road network infrastructure including road surface, adjacent walls, safety railings, road signs & markings, and bridges
• Carrying out verge cleaning of identified roads within resource limits
• Responding to out-of-hours call-outs to assess and repair damage to road infrastructure if deemed unsafe
• Managing water which lands on the public road surface and surface water running in watercourses passing under the public road
• Managing public lighting – the lights on Jacobs Ladder, and Christmas street lighting (with Connect Saint Helena Ltd)
• Maintaining a list of public lighting faults
• Arranging prioritised repairs on a monthly basis within resource limits
• Conducting regular inspections of the rock fall protection infrastructure above Jamestown, the slope above the Museum Car Park, and the fence above the Shears in Rupert’s
• Conducting ad hoc inspection and clearing of any rock fall risk
• Identifying new risks and providing monitoring and advice to SHG
• Responding to rock fall incidents at any time

Tel: 23765

Government Garage, responsible for –

• Management of the SHG vehicle fleet
• Providing vehicles for SHG Directorates on a full cost recovery basis for the services provided
• Providing a service to the public for the hire of plant and certain equipment where these services cannot be provided for by the private sector

Tel: 23208

A full contact list for all services will be issued shortly.

#StHelena #ENRDRestructure #EnvironmentNaturalResources&PlanningDirectorate #Infrastructure&TransportDirectorate

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SHG
2 April 2019

Three pupils – Ella-Mae Joshua, Year 6, Pilling Primary, Axel Francis, Year 3, Harford Primary, and Aisha John-Bagley, Year 4, St Paul’s Primary have been declared the winners for their schools in the first ever ‘Lunch Off’ competition.

Healthier drinks and food are one focus area of the Health Promotion Strategic Framework 2018-19, which aims to reduce the incidence of chronic conditions such as type two diabetes and heart disease on St Helena. It is working with merchants and institutions on-Island to improve the availability of healthier items, and on the other side, encouraging and helping families and institutions understand how to adjust their usual meals, snacks and drinks to make a big difference for health.

The ‘Lunch Off’ was one part of this, and focused on helping parents, schools, and children to ensure the children’s lunches are healthier in easy practical ways. The Lunch Off builds on some excellent work already being done in schools, such as ‘Fruity Fridays’, encouraging more water drinking, and expanding opportunities for physical activity.

In the ‘Lunch Off’ competition which took place at each Primary School in February and March, class teachers held awareness and design sessions for children from Year 3 upwards to design their healthier lunch. The emphasis was on including popular items and things that are easier to get or buy and make. Parents of the Lunch-Off pupils received some information to help their children put their designs into practice. On Lunch Off day the children’s lunches were assessed by a panel of judges, including representatives from the Education Committee, Merchants, and Health Directorate. A winner for each school was chosen, that best demonstrated a healthy lunch that was also easy to make, included items that were easily available, and things that the children would enjoy eating. All participants received certificates for taking part.

Chair of the Education Committee, Councillor Christine Scipio, commented:

“Congratulations to all students and thanks to their parents for participating in the ‘Lunch Off’ competition. Making sure our children have healthy food and drinks is an important part of ensuring they grow up healthy and reduce their risk of the issues that may affect them later in life. What’s in their lunchbox can make up to a third of their daily nutrients and provides all of the energy they need to get through an action packed day.”

#StHelena #HealthPromotion #HPSF #2019Initiatives #LunchOff #AltogetherHealthier

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SHG

2 April 2019

The new Governor of St Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha, Dr Philip Rushbrook, accompanied by his wife Janis, will arrive on St Helena on Saturday, 11 May 2019, and will be officially sworn in the same day. Dr Rushbrook will be the first Governor to arrive by air at St Helena Airport.

It has previously been announced that Dr Rushbrook would arrive on Saturday, 4 May, the same day that Governor Lisa departs the Island. However, Dr Rushbrook will now arrive a week later to enable the Administration to better manage the farewell arrangements for Governor Lisa and finalise arrangements for the inauguration of Dr Rushbrook.

Further details on the inauguration of the new Governor will issue in due course.

#StHelena #NewGovernor

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SHG
2 April 2019

On Monday, 11 March 2019, Councillor Cruyff Buckley made a speech about policing on St Helena during the Adjournment Debate in the formal meeting of Legislative Council. The speech contained a large number of inaccurate statements that were conveyed as facts and which I would now like to take the opportunity to correct.

Councillor Buckley also used the Adjournment Debate speech to express a number of personal viewpoints and judgements. One viewpoint in particular stands out. Councillor Buckley states: ‘In America, the policeman is a working class hero. In England, the policeman is a working class traitor. Who are the working class traitors on this little Island of St Helena?’ Councillor Buckley seems to be suggesting that St Helena Police Officers are traitors. The police officers he refers to are your family and friends who work hard to ensure St Helena is a safe place in which to live, work and invest. They are doing exactly what the Government of St Helena wants them to do – they are making the Island safe and yet Councillor Buckley seems to regard them as traitors. I strongly reject this assertion.

Councillor Buckley also states in his speech ‘why use a gun when a knife will do?’  I find this reference particularly distasteful given that in the last few weeks a police officer suffered knife wounds – the police officer was responding to a situation of distress and did not think twice for his own life.

St Helena Police Officers work with the people of St Helena and the Government to build a safe nation, they give people the confidence to disclose unlawful activities and ultimately ensure that offenders are held to account. This is happening more and more as you have all seen in recent months. A variety of people who may have thought they were untouchable have been, and are being, held to account.

The police will enforce the laws that are made or adopted by Councillors. If Councillors are concerned about the law not being correct then they should change the law.

I would ask you to take time to think about the people who make up the St Helena Police Directorate, their hard work, their commitment to you and your community. You should be confident that your Elected Members are representing you, not deliberately or inadvertently misleading you.

I am proud of the St Helena Police Directorate and proud of my staff. Please remember that our intent is always to make you and your families safe.

I am sending a full response on each of the points raised by Mr Buckley to him personally, pointing out the factually incorrect and misleading statements and misrepresentation. The factual corrections are also attached to this statement.

Factual Corrections to Councillor Buckley’s Adjournment Debate Speech – 1 April 2019

Chief of Police David Lynch

1 April 2019