Category: Press Releases

The Programme Management Office (PMO) is pleased to advise that the following micro projects, funded through the Economic Development Investment Programme (EDIP), have been approved for implementation in 2023/24:

• Yacht Moorings – The number of yacht moorings will be increased to accommodate an additional seven moorings.
• Forest Recreation – Improvement and enhancement of the amenity area at Big Rock and the car park at Scotland. 
• Jamestown Middle Steps – The existing steps will be refurbished, railings reinstated and new access/egress for swimmers installed.
• HM Prison – The Prison will be expanded to allow up to an additional six prisoners to be accommodated.

The EDIP Review Group approved these projects following an assessment against the agreed criteria.

Project works will now progress during this financial year.

Notes to Editor:

All projects are assessed against the criteria which was approved in 2019 by the Executive Council. This approval was for an annual budget of £150,000 to be made available from the EDIP for ‘micro projects’. These are considered to be projects that can be implemented relatively quickly by the local private sector, with a total cost of £50,000 or less and have maximum direct benefits to the wider public. The micro projects budget is intended to support projects that are linked to SHG’s and EDIP’s strategic priorities.

#StHelena #EDIP #MicroProjects

SHG

1 August 2023

Further to the recent announcement published on 4 July 2023 regarding the rehabilitation of Field Road, the Programme Management Office (PMO) would like to advise that significant quantities of crushed rock aggregate, to the required project specifications, will be required for these works.

The specifications are the same as were used successfully to rehabilitate Side Path Road. The provisional quantities required for Field Road are:

• Sub-base 1,500m3
• Concrete 1,700m3 

As these are significant quantities in the context of the local construction sector, the PMO are providing this information in advance of signing the construction contract with the preferred tenderer who, following construction contract signature, will be responsible for all the construction works. 

This information will enable the private sector to gear-up and plan their production accordingly, for providing the materials required for Field Road (e.g. to procure appropriate explosives, and blast as necessary to produce sufficient aggregate stockpiles etc).

The PMO will be arranging follow-up discussions with the private sector as necessary.

SHG

31 July 2023

Over the past two weeks of updates on the Agricultural Production Project, focus has been on securing pastures with appropriate fencing and clearing these of invasive and non-native species, along with pastures that had storage units and animal shelters constructed on them.  

This week we’ll be looking at works that have been undertaken at the ex-Agricultural Development Authority (ADA) fields.    

The ex-ADA fields are made up of 56.5 acres of land which are leased to ten individuals. 2.83km of track runs throughout the site. 

Three activities were identified to be undertaken at the ex-ADA fields as part of this project. These were:

1. Construction of a toilet facility
2. Upgrade of 0.5km of access track
3. Protecting 15 acres of land from rabbits

Construction of Toilet facility

No toilet facility was available for tenants to use. This meant they needed to go home or go to the nearest public toilet to use a restroom facility, therefore decreasing the time spent on site and reducing productive man hours 

S.Doy Construction was awarded the contract to construct a new toilet facility at a cost of £12,422.00.

Upon connection of the toilets to the main water and wastewater branch the total cost of this activity came to £12,963.57.  Toilets became operational in December 2022.

0.5km of access track upgraded

Approximately 0.5km of the track was identified for upgrade. This was done to improve accessibility to the site in all weather conditions and also mitigate against the amount of dust settling on produce, allowing for continuous operations within the estate.

A contract was awarded to S.Doy Construction for this work at a total cost of £15,066.00. 

The track was reopened in April 2023.      

15 acres of land protected from rabbits

15 acres of land was identified to be protected from rabbits by installing new rabbit-proof fencing or repairing the existing fence.   

These works where broken down into four separate contracts:

CONTRACTOR	PARCEL NO	TOTAL	COMPLETED
Jason Bennett	LWN0256	£1,144.90	March 23
Robert Mittens	LWN0365	£865.00	March 23
Robert Mittens	LWN0268,452,453	£1,525.00	April 23
Robert Mittens	LWN0467	£985.00	March 23

All of these works will help to increase economic activities and productivity by developing the SHG agricultural estate.

Next week, focus will be on the refurbishment of the Poultry Units at Farm Buildings and Scotland.

It should be noted that all contracts advertised under this project, was carried out though open procurement and have only been advertised locally.  The tenders have reached a wide range of the private-sector businesses.

#StHelena #EDIPProjects #AltogetherWealthier

SHG

28 July 2023

The Land Development Control Authority has given approval for tree topping works to take place in both the Castle Gardens and Duke of Edinburgh (DoE) Playground. These are planned to begin during the week beginning Monday 31 July at the DoE Playground and works will continue at the Castle Gardens up until the end of September.

This year, works at the DoE Playground will focus on the tree located in the lower playground, while at the Castle Gardens the two trees either side of the main entrance will be addressed. This work is required to address risks identified in these areas. Specifically the risk of personal injury, property damage, current tree growth pattern and the ability to provide tree management activities under these current growth patterns.

In both cases the works will focus on bring the tree canopies down to a more manageable height, through a practice known as topping. This will see the removal of tree limbs at various points to reshape or resize the trees canopies. This will be effective in reducing the overall height and spread of the existing canopies.

The topping will increase public safety in key recreational areas in Jamestown by reducing the risks identified, increasing overall tree health and stability, and enhancing the overall appearance of public areas.

For further information please contact the Crown Estates Officer, Gina Henry, via email through gina.henry@sainthelena.gov.sh.    

#StHelena #TreeTopping #CastleGardens #DukeOfEdinburghPlayground

SHG

28 July 2023

The Statistics Office will be conducting a Household Expenditure Survey (HES) from August to October 2023. The survey is being conducted under the Statistics Ordinance 2000, and is the tenth such survey to take place on the Island.

The main purpose of the survey will be to update the ‘shopping basket’ used in the Retail Price Index (RPI), which in turn is used to measure the rate of inflation in St Helena. It is important that this basket is reviewed every five years to make sure that it represents a current and relevant picture of the average spending patterns of households on the Island. This helps to ensure that the measures of inflation calculated by the Statistics Office are as accurate as possible.

Fieldwork for the survey will start at the beginning of August and is expected to take approximately 6-8 weeks to complete. The Statistics team will be visiting a sample of around 150 households, selected at random within each District, to explain the purpose of the survey, what it involves, and to help respondents complete the questionnaires and forms. If your household is selected, you will be asked to complete a questionnaire on the basic characteristics of the household and household members, plus details about regular bills and infrequent spending, such as utilities, appliances, furniture, and items in bulk. An expenditure diary will help you and household members record the value and description of every item they purchase over a two-week period.

All results gathered from the survey will be kept strictly confidential and will be used only for the purpose of compiling statistics, as required by the Statistics Ordinance. The time and kind cooperation of all those selected to take part is highly valued and appreciated.

#StHelena #Statistics #HES #Prices #Inflation

SHG
28 July 2023

It has come to the attention of the St Helena Government that members of the public may have acquired, imported and be currently using terminals, such as Starlink, for the purposes of internet connectivity. Using such terminals is in contravention of the exclusivity of current telecommunications licencing arrangements made under section 3(4) of the Telecommunications Ordinance 1989. 

From 1 November 2023 anyone using such a terminal will be liable to be subject to a ‘cease and desist’ order issued on behalf of the Government. A cease and desist order is an instruction to stop using terminals, and continue to refrain from using terminals, whilst the exclusivity of the current telecommunications licencing arrangements remain in force. Any breach of such a cease and desist order may result in the confiscation of the equipment. 

SHG recognises the importance of public access to the fibre optic cable and extending those benefits to the community, and is therefore working diligently to achieve this.

#StHelena #Telecoms

SHG

27 July 2023

In May 2023, testing and commissioning works for the Equiano fibre optic cable were completed, one month ahead of schedule, meaning that the Island’s connection is now live and ready to be used.

In anticipation of this, SHG and OneWeb negotiated a lease for a new earth station at Horse Point, which was signed at the end of June. This development paves the way for future revenue generation for the taxpayer and further employment opportunities within the community.

The government has committed to providing the wider public with access to the cable by January 2024. This was anticipated to be the point at which the new publicly owned Island-wide network would be completed, and would be the beginning of a new operator licence term. Due to delays in finalising designs for the new network, it is now accepted that it will not be completed by January 2024.

With a view to providing immediate benefits to the community whilst work on the new network continues, SHG has entered into negotiations with Sure South Atlantic (Sure). These will seek to deliver much faster speeds and expanded data allowances to consumers, at a reduced cost, by connecting to the now live Equiano cable as soon as possible.

As Sure’s current operator licence period expires in December 2023, an extension of this will also be discussed.

Discussions have already begun and all parties hope to be able to share news on the outcome of these in the coming weeks.

On these negotiations, Minister for Treasury, Infrastructure and Sustainable Development Mark Brooks said:

“We all know how important the cable is to the future of the Island. Led by the Chief Secretary, various programme groups are working to deliver the remaining work streams under this high priority project. I and my fellow Ministers have provided very clear direction to the community and to SHG officials as to what needs to result from this work. Significant resource has been committed by Ministers, including specialist support from industry experts. We now need to make sure that this turns into concrete results for everyone.”

“This government has committed to addressing the Island’s digital poverty and exclusion. Working with Sure to allow consumers to access the cable now will make a significant contribution to this, with even more to come in the future.”

Sure Chief Executive for St Helena, Christine Thomas, said:

“The Equiano fibre cable will provide the entire community with improved connectivity, the exciting benefits of which include faster speeds and larger capacity. We are working in the spirit of partnership with the St Helena Government and firmly believe that our dedicated on-Island team, supported by the wider expertise of the Sure Group, will be able to quickly realise the long-anticipated benefits of Equiano.”

“The speeds and capacity of fibre introduce potentially transformational changes for connectivity in St Helena, and we look forward to working with the government and announcing some concrete steps in the coming weeks to connect the whole community.”

#StHelena #IsolationConnected

SHG

27 July 2023

As many will have noticed, there are lots of viral respiratory tract infections circulating around the Island at the moment. The main viruses currently circulating are Influenza A, Influenza B and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). These all tend to cause stuffed or runny noses, sore throats, a dry cough, headaches and generalised muscle aches, sometimes with fevers. Sore or red eyes can also be associated with these viral infections.

What you can do if you’ve got an infection

There is no specific treatment for any of these viruses. However, you can take Paracetamol or Ibuprofen for the headaches and fever as well as simple cough linctus for the cough.

All of these are available in the shops and there is no need to come to Jamestown Hospital to see a nurse or doctor with these symptoms. It is actually best to stay away from crowded places if you do have these symptoms as you risk passing the infection on to others, and especially so from the Hospital given you might pass your infection on to unwell people or medical staff.

How long you’re likely to be unwell for

The sore throat, headache and generalised muscle aches take about two to five days to settle. Unfortunately the cough can persist for up to six to eight weeks after everything else has settled, which is why some people have referred to recent viral infection as the ‘100 day flu’. This is normal and again there is no specific treatment needed as long as you feel otherwise well.

If your cough starts producing a lot of yellow or green sputum and you start to feel unwell with shortness of breath, chest pains and persistent fevers, it maybe that you have a super-added bacterial infection. In these cases you should present to the Hospital as you may need antibiotics.

Why are there so many viruses circulating at the moment?

It is normal for these viruses to circulate in the winter time when people tend to spend more time indoors and are in closer contact with family and friends, as this makes it easier for the viruses to spread from person to person.

Things feel worse this year because there have been a lot less viruses circulating around for the last three years due to the Covid-19 restrictions. Now that these restrictions have been lifted, people are mixing a lot more and planes are coming in regularly again from overseas. When they do this inevitably brings infection from other places with it too.

The good news is that the main Influenza season in South Africa is now starting to come to an end, so it is likely that in the next few weeks we will start to see a decrease in the numbers of infections circulating on the Island as well.

#StHelena #ViralInfections

SHG

27 July 2023

On 13 May 2023, the Environment, Natural Resources & Planning Portfolio (ENRP) received a batch of 1000 Dekalb-Amberlink breed day-old chicks.

As per biosecurity requirements, the chicks underwent a four week period of quarantine and were released for sale to the public on 12 June 2023.

It is ENRP policy for the provision of chicks for egg production that priority for purchase of chicks is given to commercial producers. However, the contribution to the supply of eggs across the Island by smallholders is also acknowledged, and therefore a number of chicks were allocated to these producers.

Persons had to register their interest in purchasing chicks by completing an application form which was assessed against a criterion. Orders were then fulfilled based on a points system.

The overall demand for the day old chicks was 2,481 with a total of 130 applications received. Of these, 27% were from commercial producers and 73% from smallholders.

In line with current policy, priority was given to commercial producers, with all commercial producers receiving at least 50% of their requested chick numbers. Of the 1000 chicks, 80% were allocated to commercial producers and 20% to smallholders. Due to the level of requests, on this occasion it was not possible to provide any one producer with the full complement of chicks requested.

The total cost to ENRP to import and then quarantine the chicks was £6,209.94. The chicks were sold at £3.00 per chick, meaning SHG applied a subsidy of 52%. SHG absorbed much of the costs associated with the importation and quarantine of the chicks in an attempt to keep the end user price down. This is in line with the SHG Vision and Strategy to facilitate actions to improve our self-sufficiency in local fresh egg supply for the community and to encourage local production so that people have access to sustainable supplies of fresh produce.

#StHelena #DayOldChicks #ENRP

SHG

27 July 2023

As part of SHG’s ongoing Island-wide Cyber Security Awareness Campaign, a number of public Cyber Security Workshops have been organised by Cyber Security Awareness and Training Officer, Gareth Drabble. These workshops will be held in various locations around the Island to better engage with the wider community on this important subject.

With fibre optic internet connectivity coming soon to St Helena, there will be many anticipated benefits and much improved communication with the outside world.

However, this improved communication will also take away the limitations placed on cyber criminals who will be able to launch cyber-attacks on the Island with greater ease. Consequently the amount of cyber-attacks targeted at the Island will increase significantly once fibre optic internet connectivity is fully realised. 

The goal of these workshops, entitled ‘Staying Safe in Cyberspace’, is to raise awareness of the most common types of cyber-attacks and dangers of the internet, how to identify them, how to respond to them and what safeguards can be put in place to protect individuals, families as well as businesses and organisations.

These workshops are free and open to anyone of any age who are interested in learning more about cyber security and staying safe online. The workshops have been planned in the following locations at these dates and times:

• Rosie’s Taste 4 Life, Half Tree Hollow – Thursday, 27^th July: 7:00pm – 8:30pm

• Levelwood Community Centre – Thursday, 10^th August: 7:00pm – 8:30pm

• Jamestown Community Centre – Wednesday, 23^rd August: 7:00pm – 8:30pm

• Kingshurst Community Centre, St Paul’s – Thursday, 7^th September: 7:00pm – 8:30pm

• Harford Community Centre, Longwood – Thursday, 21^st September: 7:00pm – 8:30pm

• Blue Hill Community Centre – Thursday, 5^th October: 7:00pm – 8:30pm

• Sandy Bay Community Centre – Thursday 19^th October: 7:00pm – 8:30pm

As many people as possible are encouraged to attend these workshops, which are another key step in ensuring the Island is cable ready. The public are thanked in advance for their support and engagement with these workshops.

SHG
26 July 2023