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
Two development applications have been referred to Executive Council sitting as the Planning Authority. The Development Application is being referred to Governor-in-Council in accordance with Section 23(2)(b) of the Land Planning and Development Control Ordinance 2013.
An open session meeting will take place on Thursday 06 February 2025 commencing at 11:00 where Executive Council will consider the following applications:
Change of Use from Residential Care Home to (HMO) House of Multiple Occupation at Barn View, Longwood
Balcony and Verandah at the Yacht Club with Secondary Means of Escape at the Yacht Club, The Wharf, Jamestown
Members of the public who would like to view hard copies of the documents should contact the Secretary to Executive Council, Natasha Bargo, at the Castle by telephone on 22470 or via email through natasha.bargo@sainthelena.gov.sh.
Executive Council sitting as the Planning Authority comprises of Governor Nigel Phillips as Chair, Chief Minister Julie Thomas and Ministers Christine Scipio, Martin Henry, Mark Brooks and Jeffrey Ellick. The Acting Attorney General is a non-voting member of Executive Council.
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.
The St Helena Government (SHG) has entered into a contract with Jeremy Benn Associates Ltd (JBA) to develop a Water Resource Management Plan (WRMP) for St Helena. This plan is essential for managing the island’s water resources for the future and improving St Helena’s resilience against climate change.
The project is part of the £30m Economic Development Investment Programme (EDIP) funded by the UK Government.
JBA consultants will visit St Helena for a week from 1 March 2025 to collect data and assess water resource needs, and will apply tailored methodologies to address the island’s unique challenges which will inform the WRMP. Their approach integrates data analysis, water resource modelling, planning and extensive stakeholder engagement to create a practical, actionable plan for St Helena.
In 2020, SHG approved the Water Resources Strategy 2020-2050, which aims to ensure sufficient, safe, and affordable water for the Island’s population. The WRMP is a key part of this strategy, and is significant for the island as it will help balance water supply and demand, supporting health, economic activity, food security, and environmental sustainability. It is a vital tool in achieving the goals outlined in the Water Resources Strategy.
The WRMP will be completed over 12 months, with data collection and analysis taking place in 2025. The final plan is expected by the end of 2025.
Following the initial visit in March 2025, further consultations will occur. The WRMP will be shared with the public for feedback as the project progresses.
For more information, please contact Portfolio Director, Darren Duncan on email: darren.duncan@sainthelena.gov.sh or telephone no. 24724.
Editor’s Notes JBA Consulting, part of the JBA Group family of environmental, engineering and risk management companies, is a consultancy specialising in flood and water resource management, hydrology, and environmental planning which delivers innovative solutions to support sustainable water management and community resilience. Their portfolio spans projects worldwide, including water resource studies for the Falkland Islands and the Isle of Man, recognising the unique aspects of St Helena’s context.
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.”
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.
Latest index value and inflation rates for Q4 2024
The Statistics Office has released new estimates of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the annual inflation rate. For the fourth quarter of 2024 the CPI has been measured at 103.1; in Q4 2023 the CPI was 95.3, which results in an annual inflation rate of 8.2%. This is much higher than the annual rate for Q3 2024 (which was 2.9%), and is the highest annual rate since 2009.
Note that the index has been ‘rebased’ to 100 in Q3, 2024, and there has been a terminology change to Consumer Price Index (from the previous term Retail Price Index) as a result of a slight change in the index composition to make it more internationally consistent.
Price changes over the last year
On average, all broad groups of items saw their prices rise compared to a year ago. Some of the most significant changes were 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. Additionally, the substantial drop in the price of broadband internet and mobile phone data packages in October 2023 is now no longer affecting the annual price inflation rate. This has resulted in an annual average price increases of 28.1% in Household Energy, 18.4% in Communications, and 9.7% in Food – the annual increase in average Food prices is the highest since Q2, 2017.
Price changes over the last quarter
The quarterly change in the CPI was 3.1%, comparing Q4 2024 to Q3 2024. All groups of categories experienced average increases since the last quarter, apart from the Clothing, Communications, and Household Energy groups (due to their nature, clothing items tend to change frequently, depending on stock and demand). The groups with the highest quarterly increases were Food (6.4%) and Transport (4.3%), the consequence of an increase in the prices of goods and services, especially bread, meat, and the public bus service.
Note that normally price changes in both the UK and South Africa have a strong impact on prices on St Helena, since the majority of goods imported are purchased in those two countries, although for the Q4 2024 Index, price increases in local goods and services have had a major effect. In December 2024, annual consumer price inflation in the UK was measured at 2.5% (UK Office for National Statistics), down from 2.6% in November. In South Africa, annual consumer price inflation was measured at 3.0% in December 2024 (Statistics South Africa), up from 2.9% in November 2024. Changes in the value of the Rand compared to the Pound can have a large effect on the price of goods purchased in South Africa. For example, for the period January to December 2024, the Pound averaged 23.4 Rand, which is a 2.1% increase compared to the same period in 2023, when it was 23.0. This change tends to counteract the effect of price inflation in South Africa on final shop-floor prices on St Helena.
Methodology
Rebasing the Index
The Index was rebased in the third quarter of 2024, following the 2023 Household Expenditure Survey (HES) and subsequent analysis by the Statistics Office. The HES reviewed the composition of the average ‘shopping basket’ of goods and services purchased by households on St Helena, to make sure it reflects current spending habits. The Statistics Office has also reviewed the items that are used to represent each category of spending in the basket, to make sure they are also up to date and relevant. The rebased Index includes 205 categories of expenditure, within nine broader groupings; these broader groupings are unchanged from the previous Index. Within the broad groupings, the detailed categories of expenditure have been adjusted slightly to better align with international guidelines, and in particular they now only include expenditure related to household consumption, and not all expenditures. This has also made a change to the terminology necessary: the Index has been renamed the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rather than the Retail Price Index (RPI).
What is price inflation and how is it measured?
Price inflation is the change in the average prices of goods and services over time. The rate of price inflation is calculated from the change in the CPI, which is the official measure of the average change in the prices of goods and services paid by consumers. The CPI is estimated each quarter, i.e. once every three months, and the rate of price inflation is usually quoted on an annual basis; that is, comparing price changes over a 12-month period. Prices and the CPI tend to go up, but they can occasionally go down – which is known as price deflation.
The CPI is a statistical measure of the change in consumer prices on St Helena; an increase in the CPI means that, on average, prices have gone up since the last time they were measured, and a decrease in the CPI means that, on average, prices have fallen. The annual change in the CPI is called the annual inflation rate, and is the usual measure of the change in prices in an economy. The CPI is an average measure: if it goes up, it does not mean that all prices have gone up, and similarly, if it goes down, it does not mean that all prices have fallen.
Why do we measure inflation?
An accurate measure of price inflation helps understand the extent and nature of the impact of price changes on the government, businesses, households and individuals. Inflation rates are often used in budgeting and accounting processes so that costs can be adjusted for the effect of price changes.
How is the CPI calculated?
The basis for the CPI is the average weekly cost of goods and services purchased by households on St Helena for consumption, sometimes called the CPI ‘shopping basket’. Items which households purchase more of, such as food, have the biggest share of the CPI basket. The current CPI uses a basket from the latest Household Expenditure Survey in 2023; prices representing the groups of items in the basket are collected every quarter, and the price of the total basket is compared to the price in the baseline period, the third quarter of 2024. By convention, the value of the basket in the baseline period is scaled to 100, and the CPI values are quoted in relation to that baseline. For example, a CPI value of 120 means that average prices have increased by 20 per cent compared to those recorded in the baseline period.
Composition of average household weekly expenditure (Q3 2024 CPI ‘Shopping Basket’)
What happens when items are not available?
If an item of the ‘basket’ is not available then either the previous price will be carried forward from the previous quarter, or a suitable substitute item will be identified and an adjustment calculation made. Care is taken to ensure that this substitute item represents the item category and that it does not introduce error to the measurement of the CPI. An important principle is that price changes should reflect actual price increases and decreases, and not changes in the quality of items.
Please get in touch. We are Neil Fantom, Statistical Commissioner, Kelly Clingham and Justine Joshua, Senior Statistical Assistants and Courtney O’Dean, Statistics Assistant. You can find us in person at the Statistics Office on the top floor of the Post Office, Jamestown. You can also contact us by telephone on our direct line through 22138. If calling from overseas, the international dialling code for St Helena is +290. Our general office e-mail address is statistics@sainthelena.gov.sh, or you can email team members directly (the format is firstname.lastname@sainthelena.gov.sh).
With reference to the TC Job Vacancy advert, for the Head of Tourism, St Helena Government (SHG) wishes to issue an apology to the organisers of the Cape to St Helena Yacht Race, St Helena’s Day Celebrations, Festival of Lights and Carnival for the incorrect wording used within this advert.
As can be seen from the Job Description, a requirement of the role is to “ 14. Develop and manage – or support through partnerships – established events, such as the Cape to St Helena Yacht Race, St Helena’s Day, Festival of Lights, Carnival and the Festival of Walking. Develop additional products in line with the Tourism Strategy”. SHG acknowledges the valuable contribution made by the organisers and through this job role ensures a commitment to providing these events with support, such as international promotion or logistics. It was not the intention to discredit the event organisers, or their hard work.
Carolyn Nutkins, Head of HR and Organisational Development reported, “I sincerely apologise to everyone affected by the mistake made in the recent advertisement for Head of Tourism. As soon as it came to our attention that it had been worded incorrectly, we have corrected it publicly. We all recognise and appreciate the huge amount of work and effort put into arranging all of the community events such as those listed, by schools, groups and individuals, and are sorry to have caused any concern or offence to those responsible.”
SHG apologies for the incorrect version of the advert being issued. The corrected version of the advert has been replaced through all advertising channels.
The latest provisional estimates have been released for the numbers of passenger arrivals and departures to and from St Helena, up to the end of November, 2024.
Note: this release was updated on April 15 2025; estimates of the arrivals of St Helenians and those arriving for leisure are not yet available for November 2024 onwards, due to a change in immigration arrival procedures.
Arrivals
In November 2024, there were an estimated 421 arrivals, with 373 arriving by air; this compares with 332 arrivals in November 2023, with 315 arriving by air.
https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/EA4bJ/27/
During the last 12 months (December 2023 to November 2024) there have been 4,365 arrivals, compared to 4,196 in the same period a year ago – a 4.0% increase.
Departures
In November 2024 there were an estimated 319 departures from the island, 102 less than the number of arrivals. During the last 12 months (December 2023 to November 2024), there were a total of 4,328 departures, compared to 4,195 in the same period a year ago – a increase of 3.2%.
St Helena’s Sustainable Economic Development Strategy 2023-33 outlines the modernisation of the Bank of St Helena (BOSH) as a key work stream required to enable the modernisation of St Helena’s financial services and company law – a sector identified by the government as one that can enable future transformation of the economy.
As part of the ongoing work, St Helena Government (SHG) is developing a banking policy for the island, so that both BOSH and SHG can have a clear strategy and action plan for improving banking services for St Helena’s residents, businesses, and investors.
To assist in developing the policy and associated strategy, BOSH and SHG are seeking feedback on the use of banking services by residents, the diaspora, and other users of banking services. It is essential that we gather as much data on banking activity as possible in order to have a complete and full understanding of the needs of businesses and individuals, so that future investment can be targeted at the most critical areas.
If you do not have access to the internet, you can also complete the survey in person at the St Helena BOSH branch, Market Street, Jamestown or the Ascension branch, Administration building, Georgetown.
This work is being supported by SHG’s and BOSH’s independent professional advisors. The advisors will be visiting St Helena in late February to follow up on feedback received. If you are interested in speaking to the team in person, please email Economic Development Portfolio Assistant, Alexandria Thomas on Alexandria.thomas@sainthelena.gov.sh to register your interest. All feedback will be kept strictly confidential.
