hamzaupwork.com

Category: Public Announcements

  • Constituency Meetings – March 2025

    Constituents are invited to attend the district meetings to be hosted by Councillors next month. These will have a largely open agenda to enable constituents to make their priorities known, put forward suggestions and ask questions. Feedback will be provided on matters raised in previous meetings, if this has not already been given.

    The constituency meetings will start at 19:30 and be held at the following dates and locations:

    DateVenueChairperson
    Wednesday 5thGuinea Grass Community Centre Councillor Midwinter
    Wednesday 5thBlue Hill Community Centre Councillor Turner
    Monday 10thJamestown Community Centre Councillor Brooks
    Tuesday 11thSandy Bay Community Centre Councillor Turner
    Tuesday 11thSt Mary’s Church, Briars Councillor Essex
    Wednesday 12thSt Michael’s Church, Rupert’s   Councillor Brooks
    Wednesday 12thHalf Tree Hollow Community Centre Councillor Coleman
    Thursday 13thHarford Community Centre Councillor Knipe
    Wednesday 19thLevelwood Community Centre Councillor Thrower

  • Celebrating St Helena’s Day 2025: Call for Event Organisers

    St Helena Government is keen to hear from organisations who have an interest in organising this year’s St Helena’s Day celebrations – a chance to celebrate and showcase our island’s community spirit and unique culture.

    As the organising body, you will have the creative freedom to design an authentic St Helenian experience for the community. While no funding is available for setup or promotion, all proceeds raised on the day will be yours to keep, making it an excellent opportunity to support your organisation’s goals and continuing the St Helena’s Day tradition.

    If your organisation would like to take this on, please contact Arts and Culture Champion, Councillor Andrew Turner, via email to councillor.aturner@gmail.com by 28 February 2025 to register your interest.

  • Shy Road Closure

    The Highways Authority has given approval for Shy Road to be closed from Monday 17 February to Monday 03 March 2025 from 09:00 to 15:00. This is to enable staff from the Roads Section to carry out repairs to a section of the retaining wall that is deteriorating.

    During this closure only emergency services will be granted access. Signage will be in place.

    The Roads Section would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused, and thank the public in advance for their continued understanding and cooperation.

  • Reminder of Peaks National Park Closure

    The public are reminded that the Peaks National Park (PNP) is closed and will remain so for at least the next few months. The continued closure is necessary to minimise the spread of the plant pathogens that are present within the PNP and the potential for these to spread via foot traffic and destroy our endemic biodiversity.

    Please observe the Environmental Protection Notices (EPNs) that are located at a number of entrances across the PNP.

    Photos

     An EPN posted at the Cabbage Tree Road entrance

    The public are thanked for their co-operation in helping to preserve St Helena’s unique environment.

  • Importance of Cancelling Appointments

    The Health and Social Care Portfolio (HSC) would like to remind patients of the need to cancel any appointments that they no longer need or cannot attend, preferably at least the day before the appointment.

    Missed appointments cause considerable disruptions for other patients waiting to be seen by either a doctor or another health professional.

    Cancelling in advance means we can offer that appointment to someone who may be waiting.

    In December alone, an entire three days of appointments were missed with the physiotherapy service.

    Amongst GP appointments as much as one week a month of appointments can be missed by people not cancelling. This contributes to longer waiting times for those waiting for an appointment.

    Patients who miss two or more scheduled appointments without providing advance notice may be placed back on the waiting list. This measure is necessary to ensure timely access to services for all patients.

    The HSC would like to thank the public for their support and understanding.

  • Education Consultant to Visit St Helena

    Education Consultant, David Jeffrey, will be on-island from Tuesday 04 February to Tuesday 18 February 2025 to support the Education Review. Mr Jeffrey’s expertise will be instrumental in producing the final Education Review Report.

    During his visit, Mr Jeffrey will also be visiting Career Access St Helena, the Public Library, the St Helena Research Institute, the St Helena Community College, all four schools, and the Inclusion Section. These visits will provide him with a comprehensive understanding of the Education, Skills and Employment Portfolio, how each sector functions, and how they contribute to the decision-making process.

  • Traffic Management Plan for Napoleon Street and Nose Gay Lane

    As part of the R2 and Side Path Road and Field Road Project, a Traffic Management Plan has been submitted for Napoleon Street and Nose Gay Lane to meet Condition 5 of the planning approval.

    The Planning Section previously issued a notice on 17 January 2025 regarding this submission (Planning Application 2020/87DoC5). The public are advised that implementation of the plan will be postponed until a later date.   

    The public are encouraged to review the plan and share their feedback to Shelley Thomas, Secretary of the Rupert’s and R2 Project Board, at Essex House via telephone on 22270 or email Shelley.Thomas@sainthelena.gov.sh.

    The Traffic Management Plan is available for review on the SHG website at

    https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Traffic-Management-Plan-Ruperts-1.pdf

    Hardcopies are available at Essex House reception and the Post and Customer Service Centre.

    SHG
    31 January 2025

    www.sainthelena.gov.sh

  • Ferry Service VHF Radio Working Channel

    Port Control would like to advise all users of the Ferry Service that the vessel/operator will be operating on the working channel (VHF 12). This is to reduce the volume of radio traffic on channel 16 (which is primarily used for maritime distress).

    The change will come into effect at 00:01 UTC on Thursday, 30 January 2025.

    The maritime community is thanked in advance for their cooperation.

    SHG
    28 January 2025

    http://www.sainthelena.gov.sh

  • SHG Responds to Inflation Increase

    Earlier today the Statistics Office published the Q4 2024 Consumer Price Index (CPI) which shows inflation for the year to Q4 2024 has increased to 8.2% which is driven largely by:

    • increases in electricity prices in January and July,
    • increases in the price of telephone tariff and mobile data packages in July, and
    • increases in the price of bread, local meat, and public transport in December.

    This is a significant increase, the highest in 15 years.  Ministers are aware of the impact this will continue to have on the community at large and wish to reassure the public that options are being considered to lessen the impact on the most vulnerable such as, raising the minimum wage substantially and looking at raising the personal tax allowance from April 2025. Furthermore, Ministers have stressed to the UK the financial pressures on the island and have requested additional funding as part of the zero based budget submitted during this year’s Financial Aid discussions.

    The Minister for Treasury Marks Brooks added:

    “We fully recognise the impact inflation is having on all aspects of community life, and in normal situations governments would use monetary policy to influence the rate of inflation.  However St Helena is dependent on financial aid from the UK and therefore normal policy tools are limited.  In addition to continuing the reduced customs duty on essential food items, subsidising the cost of utilities, public transport service and providing a subsidy to transport freight from Rupert’s into Jamestown, policy options are being considered to increase the minimum wage and to look at increasing the personal tax allowance which will lessen the impact of the higher inflation rate. The success rate of such policy options however, will be heavily dependent on the outcome of our annual budgetary aid from the UKG, which is not likely to be known until late March/early April 2025.”

  • Consultancy Advice for the Divestment of Government Shareholdings

    St Helena Government (SHG) is the owner of four state corporations and the majority shareholder of Solomon & Company.  SHG wishes to explore options for the potential divestment of its shareholding either in whole or in part in three of these entities:

    • Solomon & Company (St Helena) PLC
    • St Helena Hotel Development Ltd
    • Bank of St Helena Ltd

    Such divestment decisions are best supported by high quality information and option evaluation so that an optimal solution can be selected in the public interest.  Accordingly, SHG is inviting tenders from consulting firms specialising in the provision of transaction advisory services.  The appointed consultant will identify and evaluate options for consideration in Phase I during the period April to June 2025 and report the results to SHG.   Should SHG decide to proceed with divestment in any one of these three entities, the appointed consultant will assist with the disposal process in Phase II during July to September 2025.

    Ministers wish to emphasise that SHG has made no decision at this point about whether to divest the public equity interest in any of these entities.  The purpose of the consultancy advice is to inform the future decision making in this regard.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What will happen if SHG decides to sell its shareholding in the Bank?

    Any decision to divest some or all the shareholding in the Bank of St Helena (BOSH) or indeed to issue new share capital will be informed by expert advice hence the purpose of this consultancy.  SHG is looking to expand the range of banking services to BOSH customers and a divestment to a strategic partner may be very helpful in achieving that strategic intention.

    What will happen if SHG decides to sell its shareholding in the Mantis Hotel?

    The decision to build the Mantis Hotel was to increase capacity in high-quality hotel accommodation to enable the tourism economy to expand alongside the opening of the St Helena Airport.  SHG has always been clear that it is not their intention to retain the hotel in the long term and is planning an exit strategy.   The consultancy will assist SHG in informing decisions to transfer ownership of the hotel to the private sector.

    What will happen if SHG decides to sell its shareholding in Solomon & Company?

    The majority shareholding held by SHG in Solomon & Company has a long history.  SHG is seeking the advice of the consultants to inform any decision on divestment of this shareholding whether in whole or in part.  Appropriate account will be taken of the need to protect the longer-term public interest and ensure best value for the public purse in any divestment decision.

    All enquiries should be emailed to the SHG Communications Hub via shgpressoffice@gmail.com