Category: Public Announcements

St Helena Government’s new Roads Manager, Benjamin (Ben) Hathway (photo attached) arrived on Island on Wednesday 23 July 2014 on a three year contract.

Ben is based at Donkey Plain and as Roads Manager is responsible for the entire road network on the Island. His role will include looking after the Island’s roads, managing the workforce, putting together operational programmes and working with other sections of the Environment and Natural Resources Directorate to ensure a joined up approach to roads management.

Ben will be building on the work of the previous Roads Manager, including slightly modifying some production methods, trialling other materials, inspecting roads and producing phased work programmes based on these inspections.

Ben explains:

“My main priorities over the coming weeks will be to understand key issues regarding the roads on St Helena and working to begin to resolve them. There is no quick solution and everything will take time but hopefully I can start to address the challenges we may have.”

Ben added:

‘Roads management on St Helena is vital. The main ways of getting around the Island are using private or public transport, and walking. The roads network on the Island, like anywhere else in the world, is central for business and social uses. It is therefore crucial the network is maintained to a good standard.’

Ben has 23 years roads experience and started his career as a road worker. He worked his way up to Roads Inspector and spent a number of years as a Quantity Surveyor. Prior to his arrival on St Helena, Ben was the Network Manager for Cambridgeshire County Council in the UK.

Ben concluded:

‘I’m looking forward to working on St Helena and serving the Island community – the people of St Helena have made me and my family feel very welcome and we are settling into our new home.

‘During the next few months I will be doing my best to understand issues affecting the roads on St Helena and will be happy to speak with anyone to hear their views.’

SHG

29 July 2014

Poultry breeding on St Helena involves activities such as the importation of chicken parent stock and the production, brooding and sale of 3-week old chicks.  For many years this service has been available from the Agriculture and Natural Resources Division (ANRD) to local egg producers and smallholders.

ANRD has been seeking private sector interest in taking on the key elements of the existing poultry breeding service – so that their Veterinary and Livestock Section can concentrate on delivery of their core services to livestock producers and the general public.  This partnership will also achieve a reduction in subsidy for the poultry breeding service.

On 18 July 2014, Rodney Yon of White Gate, owner of Roddy’s Chicken Farm, entered into a 3 year partnership arrangement with ANRD to manage their current poultry breeding service and establish further egg production housing to increase egg production at Roddy’s Farm to meet the needs of the Island.  ANRD will continue the importation of chicken parent stock as and when required to ensure biosecurity requirements are met, and will provide veterinary support and advice to Rodney to enable chick production to continue.

Head of ANRD, Darren Duncan, commented:

“It is pleasing to see a private sector operator prepared to share risk through partnership with SHG and ESH to deliver an important agricultural service to the community and to scale up egg production.  This will increase production of a product for which we have a competitive advantage and which we rely on as a staple food”.

Enterprise St Helena (ESH) has been instrumental in supporting Rodney to realise this expansion and both ANRD and ESH have provided funding under the SHG/Private Sector Agriculture Partnership Policy to enable Rodney to combine this new service with a larger egg production operation from the ANRD poultry unit premises near Sunnyside.

ESH Private Sector Development Manager, Martin George, said:

“This is indeed a proud step in the right direction.  Rodney is one of many individuals that demonstrate enthusiasm in commercial development and is evidence of the success of the public private partnership policy.”

Rodney added:

“I am extremely excited to start this new venture.  I have signed a lot of contracts in my life and this contract tops them all.” 

From 1 August 2014, all requests for pullets (young hens) should be made to Rodney Yon on telephone 23633.

Two pictures accompany this release.

SHG

29 July 2014

An Island Major Incident Plan is currently being finalised, centred on emergency planning arrangements that need to be in place should a major incident occur on St Helena. While the chances of a major incident occurring on the Island are very low, it is important that the right planning and preparedness are in place to deal with any such situation promptly and effectively.

The Major Incident Plan is being developed around identifying the biggest risks facing the Island and reducing these risks as much as possible. To ensure this, the Emergency Planning team – led by Alistair Smith – are currently identifying the Island’s existing capability to deal with major incidents and fine tuning any gaps in the process. They are putting together both a general Major Incident Plan and also some specific plans where the highest risks have been identified.

The public can be assured that having a robust emergency plan in place for the Island is being taken very seriously. Once completed the plan will not only look at potential Airport-related incidents – although this will be tested as part of the Airport Certification process – but will serve the Island as a whole.

The plan will operate under a ‘one Island’ team effort and in the event of a major incident key functions of the plan will include keeping the public informed, minimising the  impact and ensuring things return back to normal as quickly as possible.

In order for the plan to achieve its intention, over the next few months a series of training and tests will take place across SHG and the Island to ensure its effectiveness. The feedback from the consultation undertaken so far across SHG, utility functions, Basil Read and community groups has been very positive and over the next few months the emergency planning team will be holding further meetings within the community and will be looking to identify individuals who have skills that could be called upon in the event of a major incident.

A major incident exercise will be held on 17 December 2014 which will be an essential part of preparation and implementation of the plan. This will be a whole Island event and people are kindly asked, if at all possible, to avoid planning any major Island activities on this day. The public will be kept informed of developments leading up to December’s exercise and community groups interested in taking part are asked to contact Alistair through the St Helena Access Office, on tel: 22721 or email: Alistair.Smith@sainthelena.gov.sh

SHG

28 July 2014

A large area of natural land surface at the Airport site (Prosperous Bay Plain) will of course be lost to construction and associated project works for St Helena’s Airport.

To record the invertebrates present in the area and to get a better understanding of the distribution of endemic, native and non-native (invasive) plant species, in February 2014 the Access Office commissioned St Helena National Trust to conduct a survey of the area prior to its loss, as a part of the Landscape and Ecology Mitigation Programme (LEMP).

The survey has allowed pre-construction mitigation activities to take place, such as lichen translocations, and will inform post construction rehabilitation, such as planting arrangements, in this area.

The findings are contained within the St Helena Airport North Runway Invertebrate, Plant and Endemic Lichen Survey which is now available on the St Helena Access website at http://www.sainthelenaaccess.com/application/

SHG

28 July 2014

A new St Helena Port Authority has now been established, to replace the former Harbour Board, taking over its functions and responsibilities. The Authority consists of 12 permanent members divided equally into two separate sub-committees:

Port Security Committee

•       Police Dept (Merlin George)
•       H.M. Customs (Lionel Joshua)
•       Immigration (Emerald Newman)
•       Harbourmaster’s Office  (Steve Kirk)
•       ANRD Biosecurity Officer (Jill Key)
•       Private Security Contractor (Paul Laban)

This committee deals with law enforcement, border control and security at Jamestown Wharf and in Rupert’s Bay, fulfilling the requirements of the ISPS Code (International Ship and Port Facility Security Code).

Port Stakeholders Committee

• Diving Club  (Graham Sim)
• Fisheries Manager (Terry Richards)
• Life Boat (Fire Service) (Alan Thomas)
• Queen Mary & Victoria Stores (Gregory Cairns-Wicks)
• Solomons & Co (Jason Thomas)
• Thorpe & Sons (Nick Thorpe)

To allow for a fair and balanced cross-section of the Wharf community, membership of this committee is split equally between the largest merchants and other Wharf users. This committee fulfils the requirements of Chapter 47 of the St Helena Harbours Ordinance.

Both committees will convene every three months, unless events or circumstances dictate otherwise, when emergency meetings can be called. The Chairman of the Port Authority is the Harbourmaster, who may appoint a Vice-Chairman for each sub-committee as agreed by the members.

SHG

28 July 2014

On Friday 25 July, Morag Stevenson (Solicitor General) was sworn in as Acting Attorney General, in the presence of HE Governor Capes at the Castle (pictured).  The substantive Attorney General post is currently being recruited.

SHG

28 July 2014

Due to the continuing need to keep doctors and nurses close to the General Hospital, community nurses are covering shifts there. As a result, the Health & Social Services Directorate advises that with effect from Tuesday 29 July 2014, outpatient and one-stop clinics in the districts will be temporarily unavailable. For the moment, all outpatients will be seen in Jamestown.

The Dispensary Bus will travel to the districts to deliver repeat prescriptions from 10am, as follows:

• Half Tree Hollow – each Monday
• Longwood – from Wednesday 30 July, the bus will deliver each fortnight
• Levelwood – from Thursday 31 July, the bus will deliver every 4^th week.

Repeat prescriptions will still be available as normal from the Pharmacy, and once the clinics are back to normal the Dispensary Bus will resume its usual service.

All diabetic nurse-led clinics will continue as usual. Please contact the Diabetic Nurse for an appointment.

The Directorate once again thanks people for their understanding, and wishes to place on record its admiration of Health staff in meeting the demands of the current situation. The public will be updated as soon as possible.

SHG

25 July 2014

While works continue on the Wharf, access for vehicles and pedestrians will be limited.  The Wharf will remain closed to all private vehicles, between the hours of 4pm and 8.30am, all week, unless otherwise authorised by Port Management.  Pedestrian access will be granted during the same hours.  No vehicles can be left parked between the Freight Terminal and the lower landing steps.

Port Management
SHG

23 July 2014

Executive Council met today 22 July 2014 with two items on the Open Agenda. The first item was the Bill for the Spear Guns Control Ordinance and Spear Guns Control Order. There is an existing Spear Guns Control Ordinance but in order for a prosecution to be successful an enforcement officer would actually have to witness someone using a spear gun during the closed season.

The amended Ordinance will create the offence of possession of a spear gun in the closed season in restricted areas – such as James’ Bay and Rupert’s Bay – for public protection reasons. The Council advised the Governor that this Bill for an Ordinance should be presented as Government Business at the next formal meeting of Legislative Council on 11 August 2014.

The second item on the Open Agenda was a memorandum to endorse the following definition of disability: “A disabled person is someone who has a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day to day activities.”

This definition of disability has been endorsed by the St Helena Disabled Persons Society and Council was pleased to endorse it and discussed how this definition could inform positive public debate about disability. Further publicity will follow. Under Any Other Business, there was a discussion on the recent UK media reports about alleged abuse on St Helena. Executive Council reiterated its belief that these articles paint a totally distorted image of St Helena.

The Governor spoke of the widespread dismay among Saints and friends of St Helena around the world following the sensationalist UK media headlines of the past week. He said that FCO Ministers and officials were aware of the situation and shared the concern of Councillors that the damaging allegations should be addressed in a transparent and objective way. Recalling that in their 16 July statement Councillors mentioned that they would welcome any independent review, the Governor was pleased to report that the UK Government had given approval for the formation of an independent panel to conduct an inquiry into the allegations.

The Governor expected to receive more information soon on the composition of the panel, the terms of reference and the timing of the inquiry. ExCo welcomed this positive development as an essential step towards restoring St Helena’s good name. In the meantime, Councillors said their immediate concern was to reassure the community that, despite the irresponsible reports in the UK media, St Helena Government continued to take seriously its commitment to protect children and the vulnerable.

They had noted a recent statement from the Lucy Faithful Foundation which ‘condemns the sensationalist editorial lines (in the UK media) given the potential negative effect that such coverage is likely to have on efforts to tackle and prevent abuse’. ExCo undertook to give priority to ensuring that the good progress made in recent years on safeguarding children and the vulnerable should not be undermined by such grossly irresponsible journalism. The meeting concluded at 11.00am.

ExCo 22 July 2014

Derrie Yon of the Briars was awarded a BA (Hons) in English Literature and Creative Writing on 17 July 2014, after a 3-year degree course in the UK at Bath Spa University.

During her course, Derrie (pictured) studied numerous areas, including Gothic Origins and Innovations, Gothic Revivals, Modern Gothic, Poetry and Odes, literary criticism and plays such as those of Samuel Beckett and Arthur Miller.  She also studied the works of Shakespeare.

Derrie said:

“The English Literature component of my degree has been one of the hardest but most rewarding challenges of my university experience. My experiences and communication skills have allowed me to gain a place on the Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) at Bath Spa University, which will enable me to reach my goal of becoming a teacher.”

Her Creative Writing course included the study of Fiction, Prose Fiction and Professional Writing – a course designed to teach report writing, third sector writing, speech writing and other types of specialist writing.

Derrie commented:

“I thoroughly enjoyed this course and achieved high marks in most of the modules. I started my own novel, based on the legend of Fernando Lopez for my one of my modules.  It was challenging but I produced work that I was proud off.”

Director of Education, Colin Moore, said:

“Derrie is a shining example to the young people of the Island who might aspire to one day become teachers.  St Helena has some remarkably talented young people who will be the future leaders of the Island. Derrie has worked hard and has graduated at a very high level.  On behalf of the Directorate, I would like to congratulate Derrie on her achievements. 

“The Island needs as many as possible of our young people to gain internationally recognised qualifications, so that we can keep pace with an ever changing world economy.  There is so much that St Helena can be proud of when we consider the achievements of our talented young students and graduates.” 
Derrie concluded:

“University has allowed me to have the confidence to be in charge of my own future and make my own goals in life. I have grown as a person, met so many people and had so many experiences. It was a life changing journey at university and I will look back on it with pride.”

SHG

22 July 2015