Despite the strong public response to the Photography Competition, we would like to see more entries from the younger age categories. The deadline for the competition has therefore been extended. All are still encouraged to participate, especially those in the younger age categories of 10–15 and 16–21 years old.
If any students would like to participate in the competition but are unable to get their entries to Jamestown please call 2368 for assistance and further information.
The new closing date is Friday 9 August at 4:00pm
Remember there is a chance to win AMAZING prizes.
£150 for first place
£75 for second place
£50 for third place
This is for each age category.
A maximum of 5 photo’s should be submitted for judging and should (ideally) be stored on a CD or a memory stick, and placed in an envelope with a description of the pictures and approximate date/s taken, together with your name, age category, and contact details. Entries should be addressed to Ian Jones, Chief Public Relations Officer, 1 Main Street. They can be posted or you can drop it by the office.
Once the competition has been judged and the results announced (in August) all entrants are welcome to collect their CDs and memory sticks will be given back to participants.
Mr Eric Benjamin is Sworn In as Speaker of the House
Mr Eric Benjamin, of Market Street, Jamestown, has today been officially Sworn In as Speaker of the House of Legislative Council.
Due to being off-Island when he was duly elected at the inaugural meeting of Legislative Council on 24 July, Mr Benjamin took the prescribed Oaths of Office in the presence of His Excellency, Governor Capes, this morning in HE’s Office at the Castle.
Mr Benjamin has already begun his official duties as Speaker following today’s arrival of the delegation from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, who begin their programme of sessions with Councillors this afternoon.
The first draft of the Social Policy Plan was due to be completed and shared at scheduled community meetings during May and June, following the series of participation meetings that took place earlier in the year.
With around 300 people taking part in developing the Social Policy Plan, it is important that the community gets the chance to consider the plan that they have developed and to provide feedback.
Following the end of Purdah, a draft of the Social Policy Plan is now scheduled to be released to the public.
Meetings will be held from 7pm to 8pm in the following venues; to discuss the draft plan:
• Monday 19 August – Kingshurst Community Centre
• Tuesday 20 August – Jamestown Community Centre
• Thursday 22 August – Levelwood Community Centre
• Wednesday 28 August – Half Tree Hollow Community Centre
• Thursday 29 August – Sandy Bay Community Centre
• Monday 2 September – Longwood Community Centre
• Thursday 5 September – Blue Hill Community Centre
As part of the consultation, and from 30 July 2013, copies of the plan (also available in a larger font) will be available in all of the Island’s Community Centres, the Public Library, local shops, the CCC, Prince Andrew School and the Hospital. In addition to these hard copies, an electronic copy will also be made available on the SHG website.
Following this period of consultation with the public and stakeholders, the plan will be revised before moving through the political process for endorsement by Executive Council. SHG 30 July 2013
St Helena Government has today released the findings of the Ethics at Work Survey carried out for SHG by the UK’s Institute of Business Ethics (IBE) from January to March 2013.
SHG commissioned IBE to survey attitudes to ethics at work on St Helena. The survey forms part of SHG’s work to strengthen good governance and provides baseline figures for SHG to improve its ethical environment.
The survey was carried out primarily for SHG but was also extended to larger private sector businesses and civil society organisations. This allowed SHG to gain an overview of how ethics are perceived at work across St Helena as a whole.
This is the first ethics survey for St Helena and the results are invaluable for ensuring improvements are targeted towards priority areas in the future. SHG’s Ethics Working Group, who managed the project, would like to extend their thanks to all those who took the time to respond to the survey. The Group will now work to address issues raised during the survey.
A summary of the Ethics at Work Survey report (including a forward-looking SHG action plan) along with IBE’s full report can be found on the SHG website under Publications.
Consumption Must Stay Low to Maintain Stored Water Levels
Despite the intermittent rainfall currently being experienced on St Helena, the water situation in affected areas remains serious.
This week’s headline message is consumption has to remain low to maintain stored water levels in the Redhill distribution zone. These levels, although higher than earlier, are only being maintained by intermittent rainfall and reduced consumption – If the rain stops and consumption levels rise, we could easily slip back into a critical situation.
The public are therefore urged to maintain efforts to reduce domestic water consumption wherever possible and stretch this resource, until we return to normal rainfall patterns.
Members of the public wishing to use untreated water for construction and agricultural purposes are reminded that they need to liaise with Connect St Helena, who will advise them on how much water can be used and where it can be used from.
Connect Saint Helena continues to monitor and collect water volume and consumption data. Contingency measures remain in place should rainfall reduce to a point where it seriously affects stored water levels.
The latest weather forecast indicates a dry day today, turning wetter towards the end of this week. Ahead of us lies the dry period between September/October and March.
Hosepipe Ban and Water Quality
Lowered water consumption in Levelwood is causing water quality issues. Because of the possible health implications which could arise from water staying in the system longer than usual, it has been decided to lift the Hose Pipe ban in the Levelwood area as a temporary measure to flush the system and lower the risk of bacterial water contamination. The Hosepipe ban remains in place for all other areas of the Island.
Residents in the Redhill water zone are also reminded to continue to boil their water as a precautionary measure. Persons consuming the water from Casons do so at their own risk and should heed the signage there.
Entries are invited from the age of 10 years and upwards. Images submitted must not be given to any other organisation on or off the Island to use for publicity.
Subject, categories and numbers of images
All images must be of St Helena. There are no set categories, but all images of people, places, wildlife and scenery should capture the sights, atmosphere and culture of the Island.
Image ownership and copyright
All entries must be the original work of the entrant and must not infringe the rights of any other party. The entrants must be the sole owner of copyright in all photographs entered and must have obtained permission of any parents/guardians if children under 16 are featured plus any other relevant third party permissions. Further, entrants must not have breached any laws when taking their photographs. Winning images will be displayed on the St Helena Government Website and may be used, without charge in publicity and advertising by SHG, at SHG’s sole discretion.
Images
Images submitted for judging must be on CDs placed in an envelope accompanying a description of the picture, date taken, photographer’s name, age and contact details and addressed to Ian Jones, Chief Public Relations Officer, 1 Main Street.
Editing and manipulation
Photo-editing software (such as Adobe Photoshop) may be used to edit images. If an image consists of composite elements from more than one file or image, all parts should be the sole work of the photographer, with no third party involvement.
Deadline for entries
The closing date for applications is Wednesday 31 July 2013, before 4pm.
Judging panel
The judging panel will consist of photographers experts from a range of specialisms and experience.
Prizes
Prizes will be awarded for first (£150), second (£75) and third (£50) in the age categories of 10 – 15 yrs, 16 – 21 yrs and 22 and over.
The inaugural meeting of the newly elected Legislative Council took place on 24 July 2013 in the Court House, Jamestown, commencing at 10am.
The proceedings were opened with the entry of the President, His Excellency Governor Capes, followed by Prayers, the Administration of Oaths and Governor Capes’ address to the Council.
The TV broadcast of the first LegCo meeting after the General Election highlights the swearing in of Councillors, the Governor’s Address and the results of the various elections that were held.
At Governor Capes’ invitation and financed by the Governor’s Delegated Fund, a Delegation from the UK Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) will arrive on-Island on Tuesday 30 July. The Delegation, working with senior SHG officials, will hold a series of seminars for newly elected Councillors, as a major part of their induction process.
The seven-day induction programme has been designed to strengthen and promote good governance in St Helena.
Members of the Delegation will brief Councillors on their role as Councillors, the leadership required from them, strategic policy making and the function of Committees, dealing with conflicting pressures, working with officials, the importance of keeping the community informed, effective communication, scrutiny and the accountability of Councillors, and the ethical behaviour and standards that are expected from Elected Members.
Governor Capes said:
‘I am grateful to the CPA for responding so positively to my request for a small team to visit St Helena at this important moment, to help prepare our recently elected Councillors to carry out their new responsibilities.
‘I recognise that it represents a significant commitment from the visiting team in terms of time away from their many duties in the UK and I much appreciate their willingness to assist. Although it is quite costly to bring the team here for a week, I believe it makes good use of the Delegated Funds provided to me by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Our Councillors have a heavy agenda ahead and I want to give them the best possible start.’
Members of the CPA Delegation are:
Lord Shutt of Greetland OBE FCA (a former Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Lords)
Barry Paint (an Elected Member – or ‘Deputy’ – on the Island of Guernsey)
Tim Crookall (a Member of the House of Keys on the Isle of Man)
Joyce Watson (Welsh Assembly Member for Mid and West Wales since 2007), and
John Grimes (former Head of Governance at the National Assembly for Wales)
The public are reminded that as of Thursday, 25 July 2013, slight changes have been made to the bus timetable.
Changes to the timetable are:
On Route C the two trips from Jamestown leaving at 11.30am and again at 12.30pm are now merged. Currently the trip which leaves Jamestown at 11.30am travels to Ladder Hill, Half Tree Hollow, New Ground and White Wall, returning to Jamestown at 12.20pm. The bus which leaves Jamestown at 12.30pm travels to Ladder Hill, White Wall, New Ground and terminates at White Gate.
Now, the merged, single trip leaves the Grand Parade, Jamestown at 12 noon, travels to Ladder Hill, Half Tree Hollow, White Wall, New Ground, Cleughs Plain, Rosemary Plain, and Scotland, before terminating at White Gate. Following this termination, the normal Route B runs, beginning at 1.35pm (details of this run can be found on the existing timetable).
The public should note that this newly merged trip from Jamestown will not run on a Wednesday and Sunday. Similar trips running on these days will leave Jamestown at 8.30am, 3pm and 9pm. These trips on a Wednesday will now only travel as far as the CCC. But subject to the demand of Hospital staff also using this run, the bus might travel further, to take staff home.
These changes to the revised timetable will cut out less frequently used routes and offer more ‘in demand’ routes.
Legislative Council 2013Inaugural Meeting of Legislative Council 2013
The inaugural meeting of the newly elected Legislative Council took place today in the Court House, Jamestown, starting at 10am.
The proceedings were opened with the entry of the President, His Excellency Governor Capes, followed by Prayers and the Administration of Oaths. Governor Capes presided until the Speaker was elected.
Oaths were taken before the Governor, first by Ex-Officio Members, the Acting Chief Secretary, Acting Financial Secretary and the Attorney General, and then by Elected Members.
Governor Capes then addressed Legislative Council (see earlier press release) after which the following elections took place:
Election of Speaker and Deputy Speaker
Mr Eric Benjamin was elected as Speaker of the House, with Mrs Cathy Hopkins as Deputy Speaker. Following these elections and due to Mr Benjamin currently being off-Island, Madam Deputy Speaker assumed chairmanship (once the appropriate Oaths had been taken).
In her address to the House, Madam Deputy Speaker reminded Members of the weight of responsibility they now carry during their term in Office as leaders of the community – how the Island progresses will be theirs to frame. She wished them well and offered her full support.
Election of Committee Chairmen
Elected Members were then asked to elect from amongst themselves Chairmen for the five Council Committees. The following were elected:
Economic Development Committee – Councillor Lawson Henry
Environment & Natural Resources Committee – Councillor Cyril George
Health &Social Services Committee – Councillor Ian Rummery
Social & Community Development Committee – Councillor Nigel Dollery
Members of these committees will be appointed by Governor Capes after consultation with the relevant Chairmen. Detailed allocations of responsibilities will be dealt with separately to allow for consultation with the new Councillors on the detail of which Committees cover which areas.
Election of Executive Council Members
Members elected to serve on Executive Council were Councillors Lawson Henry, Ian Rummery, Cyril George, Christine Scipio-O’Dean and Nigel Dollery.
Election of Members of the Public Accounts Committee
The final election was for three members to serve on the Public Accounts Committee, Members elected were Councillors Brian Isaac, Tony Green and Leslie Baldwin.
The final business of the morning was the customary Adjournment Debate, allowing Members to speak on issues they wished to take forward. This was followed with a response from Acting Chief Secretary, Gillian Francis in which she congratulated newly Elected Members, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker and thanked Directors and employees of SHG and ESH for their ongoing hard work and support.
