The Emergency Planning Department would like to inform the public that a large south westerly swell is forecast for St Helena from Sunday, 8 September, through to Wednesday, 11 September 2019. This may result in unsettled sea conditions in James Bay and Rupert’s Bay.

The public should use caution when accessing the Seafront area. To avoid damage to vehicles, drivers are asked to take care when parking near the safety rails.

Due care and attention should be taken when swimming in Rupert’s and James Bay during this time.

Port Control will be monitoring sea conditions and may restrict access to the Seafront, Wharf and Rupert’s Jetty areas if necessary.

SHG
5 September 2019

http://www.sainthelena.gov.sh

In recognition of the United Nations International Youth Day, the Children & Adults Social Care Directorate will be celebrating young people on St Helena in a special event at the Mule Yard on Friday, 13 September 2019.

International Youth Day is celebrated each year on 12 August but due to the Island schools being closed on this day, St Helena’s celebration is being held a month later.

The event will run from 10am – 4pm for Year 9 and 10 students of Prince Andrew School.

The programme for the day will include:

• Jamestown Amazing Race
• Lunch, where students will be issued vouchers for meals, drinks and a treat
• Novelty Sports in the Leisure Park
• Hotdog Eating Competition

Young people not wanting to participate in specific events will be able to take part in other games in the Mule Yard.

The presentation of medals and badges and speeches will take place at the Mule Yard at 3pm. Members of the community may join for the closing speeches.

#StHelena #UnitedNations #InternationalYouthDay  

https://www.facebook.com/StHelenaGovt/

https://twitter.com/StHelenaGovt

SHG

4 September 2019

St Helena’s water consumption levels on 30 and 31 August and 2 September reduced to less than 1000 cubic metres. On 2 September, the water consumption levels were 865 cubic metres. This is the consumption rate that is required to sustain a safe level of stored water on the Island and all residents are commended for their efforts in reducing their water use to reach this target.

To preserve our precious resource it is important that we continue to cut down our water use to essential use only. Despite some recent rainfall, surface water runoff has not increased, meaning there has not been enough rain to runoff into the reservoirs. At least two weeks of continuous meaningful rainfall is needed to make a positive difference in reservoir levels.

St Helena’s winter period is between June and September and this is normally the time when the Island experiences the most rainfall.

The total rainfall for August 2019 was 35.4mm compared to August 2018 when there was 106.0mm. The total amount of rain for this August is also below the August monthly average of 59.0mm for the past 19 years. NB: All data collected is specific to Bottom Woods, MET Office.

It is forecast that there will be further showers for the next few days but it will become mainly dry by the end of the week with no heavy or prolonged rain in the coming weeks.

Connect Saint Helena (CSH) continues to pump water from Chubb’s Spring and Hutt’s Gate to Red Hill to replenish stocks in this area.

Remember, if you see anyone using water irresponsibly or notice a burst pipe or leak, then please inform CSH immediately.

 Every drop counts, every action counts – everyone must save every drop of water possible.

#StHelena #WaterShortage #EveryDropCounts  

https://twitter.com/StHelenaGovt

https://www.facebook.com/StHelenaGovt/

St Helena Resilience Forum

4 September 2019

The UK Government’s global Chevening Scholarship Programme for study in the UK in 2020/2021 is now open for applications until Tuesday, 5 November 2019. 

To apply, candidates must meet certain criteria including:

• Having completed all components of an undergraduate degree that will enable entry into a postgraduate programme in the UK
• Having at least two years’ work experience
• Returning to St Helena for a minimum of two years following the course

Further information and guidance on eligibility can be found at: www.chevening.org/scholarships/who-can-apply/eligibility.

For the 2020/2021 programme, courses will commence in September 2020. The scholarship offers full financial support and allows candidates to gain access to a wide range of exclusive academic, professional, and cultural experiences.

Further information about the Programme can be found on the Chevening website: www.chevening.org, through which applications should also be submitted.

Manager of the Governor’s Office, Kerry Lane, is able to provide advice and support locally. For more information, please call Kerry on 22308 or email her via: kerry.lane@sainthelena.gov.sh or Kerry.Lane@fco.gov.uk

Chevening Scholarships are the UK Government’s global scholarship programme, funded by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office.  The Chevening Programme makes awards to outstanding individuals with leadership potential from around the world to study postgraduate courses at UK universities.  These are usually one year long master’s degree courses.

#StHelena #CheveningScholarships #FCO

https://www.facebook.com/StHelenaGovt/

https://twitter.com/StHelenaGovt

SHG

3 September 2019

St Helena Government is seeking views from the public on a Policy Statement for Management of St Helena’s Fisheries and a Policy for the Licensing of Fishing Activities in St Helena’s Waters.

For many in the community, eating seafood or catching their own fish is traditional to the St Helena way of life.  Our fisheries are important contributors to the Island’s economy and creates local employment opportunities and a supply of fresh local produce.  Fisheries resources play a vital role for commercial fishing enterprises and is important for customary recreational boat and spear fishing and sports fishing. Implementation of Fisheries Management and Fishing Licensing policies are planned to help ensure our fishing activities and the fisheries upon which such activities depend is managed within a sustainable framework that provides benefits for current and future generations.

Fishing licensing is intended to bring fishing into line with other sectors benefitting through use of the Island’s natural resources. Licensing of all boat fishing and all spearfishing activities is being proposed with related fish catch limits. Licensing is not being proposed for rock-fishing as this is recognised as being a traditional form of fishing activity which fisheries stakeholders would like to encourage in its current form, providing fish catches are for personal consumption and not for sale.

A reform of fisheries legislation is planned to provide a robust regulatory basis for management of the fisheries and both policies will help to inform and provide direction for the necessary changes to the legislation.

Consultations are being targeted to the different stakeholder groups during the consultation period and dates for the public are as follows:

• Recreational fishing meeting:

Canister Conference Room (upstairs) on Wednesday, 11 September 2019, at 4.30pm

• Drop-in surgery for the public to ask questions/discuss documents:

Essex House Conference Room on Thursday, 12 September 2019, from 3pm to 6pm

Electronic copies of the draft policies can be found on the Publications page of the SHG website at: http://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/publications/. Hard copies are also available from the Scotland and Essex House Office Receptions. Further information can be obtained from the Senior Fisheries Officer, Gerald Benjamin, on tel: 24724 or email: gerald.benjamin@sainthelena.gov.sh

The closing date for responses is 4pm on Friday, 13 September 2019.  Please send your comments to Gerald Benjamin via the above email address.

A summary of all feedback received through this exercise will be provided to the Economic Development Committee for their consideration as part of the process of updating the policies and their recommendation for adoption.

#StHelena #Fisheries #SEDP #EconomicDevelopment

https://www.facebook.com/StHelenaGovt/

https://twitter.com/StHelenaGovt

SHG

2 September 2019

The monthly meetings of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee and the  Highways Authority took place on Thursday, 15 August 2019.

Signage to warn drivers of the blind bends on Field Road was discussed following reports made by several road users to the Police Directorate. It was noted that signs have been posted at the top and bottom of Field Road to warn drivers of this issue.

The misuse of the disabled parking spaces in Jamestown and parking on double yellow lines were once again raised and the Police Representative gave assurance that this would be addressed in their regular programme on both Radio Stations.

A request for street lighting in the car park at Ladder Hill adjacent to Rosie’s Taste4Life was discussed following reports of vehicle damage and anti-social behaviour in this area.   A security or movement detector light will be installed when one becomes available.

The Roads Inspector informed members that slurry trials have proven to be very successful for the Roads Maintenance Programme and the Roads Management team has agreed for its continued use in all areas.

Funding for Community and District roads was deliberated and it was agreed that this year’s allocation will be used to complete jobs that had been funded in the previous year. This approach will reduce the number of new applications for future funding.   Recipients of this funding will be notified by letter soon and they should liaise with the Roads Manager and Roads Inspector to ensure that these funds will be spent within the required time frame.

The public consultation period for the excision of lands from the SHG Forest Estate deemed to be unproductive for forestry purposes has been completed and the lands have now be transferred from the Agriculture & Natural Resources Division to the Crown Estates. These lands will be assessed by Crown Estates staff and will be advertised to the general public for future development.

The Acting Director of Infrastructure and Transport presented a paper addressing Social Housing on St Helena and the barriers facing first time buyers or builders.  SHG has not constructed any additional Government Landlord Housing for several years and with the increased number of applications on the current waiting list the allocation of the current stock has now become almost unachievable. Several propositions were tabled in this paper and it is envisaged that some land will become available soon to enable private development of homes and the construction of several Government Landlord Houses.

#StHelena #ENRC #HighwaysAuthority #MeetingSummary

https://www.facebook.com/StHelenaGovt/

https://twitter.com/StHelenaGovt

SHG

2 September 2019

A new draft Labour Market Strategy (LMS) has been developed for St Helena and is out for public consultation from today, Monday 2 September, until Friday, 11 October 2019.

The draft LMS is organised around three key goals:

• Resolving inequities, both real and perceived, in St Helena’s labour market
• Increasing the working age population on St Helena and
• Preparing the workforce to meet the vision laid out in the Sustainable Economic Development Plan.

The draft LMS was developed based on early meetings with the Chamber of Commerce and students at Prince Andrew School, individual consultations and a workshop attended by Elected Members, SHG Officials and representatives from the private sector. The programmes and policies proposed in the draft LMS were designed in response to specific concerns raised in these discussions.

SHG Senior Economist, Amanda Curry Brown, said:

“I am so grateful to everyone across the Island who was willing to share their experiences and whose brilliant ideas informed the draft Labour Market Strategy. The story of St Helena’s labour market right now is one of extremes: businesses in certain sectors struggle to find workers while workers in other sectors struggle to find jobs, there is a wide range of opinions about the role of immigration in building the workforce and both traditional industries and new technologies provide opportunities for economic growth. Policies and programmes must be carefully designed to meet the needs of the largest number of St Helenians and I hope the draft Strategy provides a good starting point for tackling these important challenges.”

Chairperson of the Economic Development Committee, Councillor Lawson Henry, added:

“I am very encouraged with the result of this important piece of work on our draft Labour Market Strategy as it brings together how fragile the Island’s labour market really is and the challenges we face with labour shortages, an aging population and shrinking tax base.  The Labour Market Strategy also underpins a number of other policies and is likely to require possible interventions by SHG if we are going to achieve some or indeed all of the goals in our Ten Year Plan. 

 “I wish to commend the work already undertaken by our Senior Economist, Amanda Curry Brown, in putting together the draft Labour Market Strategy and I would like to encourage the key sectors to take part in the consultation process.”

The draft LMS is available on the Publications page of the SHG website: http://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/publications/. Hard copies will also be available at the Public Library and Customer Service Centre in Jamestown.

The Economic Development Committee will hold consultation meetings for all members of the public on Monday, 9 September, at the Half Tree Hollow Community Centre and on Wednesday, 11 September, at the Harford Community Centre. A public consultation meeting for employers will take place on Tuesday, 24 September, at the Jamestown Community Centre. All three meetings will start at 7pm.

Alternatively, you can share your opinions by completing a short online questionnaire via: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VYQ5PR8.

If you prefer to respond to the consultation by email, please contact the Senior Economist via: Amanda.Brown@sainthelena.gov.sh by Friday, 11 October 2019.

#StHelena #EconomicDevelopment #LabourMarketStrategy #SEDP

https://www.facebook.com/StHelenaGovt/

https://twitter.com/StHelenaGovt

SHG

2 September 2019

• 2019 Island Health Survey data shows positive shifts in community health-related actions compared to 2018
• Noticeable efforts at smoking cessation, taking regular physical activity and reducing consumption of unhealthy food and drinks and increasing healthier ones 
• SHG Directorates and organisations and businesses across the community have been part of making this start to happen

The St Helena Health Directorate has released the results of their 2019 Island Health Survey. The data indicates that between April 2018 and May 2019 the community on St Helena undertook to make some positive shifts in their health-related actions and achieved some success in reducing the risk factors for the most prevalent chronic conditions.

Small adjustments which people themselves have taken to improve their health include efforts at smoking cessation, taking some more regular physical activity, and starting to make specific shifts to reduce consumption of unhealthy food or drinks and increase consumption of healthier ones.

SHG directorates and organisations and businesses across the Island have played an important role in making these changes start to happen.

Key headlines over the year between April 2018 and May 2019:

• The number of people smoking decreased
• The number of people wanting to quit smoking/trying to quit increased markedly
• The frequency and amount of consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks declined markedly
• Daily frequency of water consumption increased, and the number of people drinking the lowest amount decreased
• The number of people drinking fruit juice more frequently declined substantially
• Frequency and amount of people adding ‘extra’ sugar to drinks or food decreased
• The number of people eating ‘Energy-dense Nutrition-poor’ snack food most frequently (confectionery/chips) decreased
• The number of people considering they eat healthily the ‘majority of the time’ increased notably
• The number of people who never walk decreased markedly; and the number of people who walk more than one hour weekly increased very substantially
• The number of young people doing some ‘other moderate activity’ weekly increased
• A substantial number of people shifted from previously categorising their health as ‘fair’ to ‘good’
• Fewer people felt they had ‘very little’ control over their health, and more people felt they had some control over their health

Chairman of the Public Health Committee, Councillor Derek Thomas, said:

 “The 2019 Island Health Survey forms part of the St Helena Health Promotion Strategic Framework. The focus for 2018-19 has been looking at opportunities to make healthier options easier and less healthy options less appealing or accessible.

 “The 2019 results show a positive move in the right direction and over time we will expect this to reflect both in the levels of chronic disease on-Island and also the quality of life of people who have been diagnosed with chronic conditions.

 “This is just the start. To make a difference to the Island’s health we need to continue this approach and it needs the whole community to continue to play their part – at home, at work and in what their organisation does.”

The majority of areas showing the start of positive shifts require continued and further measures of work. For example, to ensure people quitting smoking can stay quit, further improving the supply of alternative non-sugar drinks and increasing water consumption to replace sugary drinks and fruit juice, and broadening reach so that sections of the community that are slower to adopt changes can benefit.

Further priorities to be addressed will be fruit and vegetable consumption allowing the community to access affordable fresh produce.

Phase 2 work of the Health Promotion Strategic Framework (HPSF) is ongoing throughout 2019 and a new HPSF will commence in early 2020 and will be most effective with the continued support and contributions from people from all parts of the Island.

#StHelena #HealthDirectorate #PositiveShifts #AltogetherHealthier #HealthPromotion #HPSF

https://www.facebook.com/StHelenaGovt/

https://twitter.com/StHelenaGovt

SHG

30 August 2019

From Tristan da Cunha, Riann Repetto and Kelly Swain, undertook a training visit with the Agriculture & Natural Resources Division (ANRD) between April and August 2019.

Riann worked with the Veterinary & Livestock Section to gain veterinary training and experience in preparation for his role on Tristan da Cunha as their Veterinary Officer. Riann was exposed to all aspects of the veterinary work on-Island from farm to domestic animals.

Kelly’s line of work is in horticulture and while on-Island she undertook work experience with the Conservation, Farmers Support, and Biosecurity sections. Kelly also spent some time working with the private sector.

Riann commented:

“I had a good time training on St Helena. I found the training to be very beneficial and the people I trained with were the best as they were very kind and helpful.”

Kelly added:

“The time I worked for ANRD was incredible and hopefully will become beneficial to me back home. The overall experience was great, but most of all the people were friendly and kind. This is the first time for me to take part in training on St Helena and was the best decision I made. I love the place and hope to be back soon.”

Acting Director of Environment, Natural Resources & Planning (ENRP), Darren Duncan, concluded:

“Hosting the training and exposure visit for Riann and Kelly has been a real pleasure for the ANRD staff involved and it’s just as rewarding to know that both have enjoyed their time with us and their training will be beneficial on their return to Tristan.

“Regional co-operation through collaborative working relationships and capacity building are important to the ENRP Directorate and we are always happy to facilitate the transfer of skills and learning between the islands whenever the opportunity arises to do so.”

#StHelena #Tristan #ANRD #Training

https://www.facebook.com/StHelenaGovt/

https://twitter.com/StHelenaGovt

SHG

29 August 2019

The Social & Community Development Committee (SCDC) held their monthly meeting on Wednesday, 14 August 2019.

Updates from the Equality & Human Rights CEO/Commissioner included:

• The Commission’s Annual Report will be published soon
• 70% of the Commission’s case work from last year had been closed
• The majority of complaints received under the heading Police & Prison over the past year relates to the Police Directorate and is being addressed. Complaints included the execution of searches with and without warrants, the length of time phones and IT equipment may be held, the use of drones for surveillance and the issuing of Tasers to most Police Officers
• The highest number of complaints were private sector employment and benefits issues. The Commission will continue to focus on these this year. It was also noted that the latter will also be incorporated in the review of the Social Security system which should address most of the issues
• The theme for this year’s work by the Commission is ‘Disabilities including Equal Access to Work & Training’ to address issues around disability etc.

The continued non-compliance on employment matters by some sections of the private sector was discussed with the CEO and a series of measures were agreed which the Committee will now take forward.

Work towards having the Immigration Amendment legislation in place by the end of 2019 continues to progress. The public will be consulted on the draft legislation. A draft policy for endorsement on proposed changes is intended to be brought to Committee in September. A request was also made for the Immigration Control Board to consider disclosing to the public the basis of their decision making.

The Committee was also pleased to hear that the review of the Social Security Ordinance was nearing completion and that a report with recommendations would be submitted to the Committee soon.  The public will also have an opportunity to comment on the proposed Amendment legislation at a later stage.

The Committee awaits updates from SHG on the work they have undertaken on Data Protection and Freedom of Information.

A list of key new legislation was discussed and updated so that Council as a whole can agree overall priorities that can be undertaken by current support resources. These included:

• Adults Welfare Legislation that outlines the social care responsibilities to vulnerable adults
• Health & Social Care Bill that outlines the responsibilities of the Health Directorate and the Children & Adults Social Care Directorate to vulnerable adults
• Asylum Bill that outlines how somebody claiming Asylum on St Helena will be supported should the need arise.

Updates from the Children & Adults Social Care Directorate included:

• The Directorate continues to make great strides towards recruitment by way of the CARE Campaign which is proving very successful
• The United Nations International Youth Day will be celebrated on St Helena on 13 September; a number of Directorates and individuals have pledged their time to this and it is hoped that the events will be successful in celebrating our youth on St Helena
• The Fostering campaign was launched with great success. This is a significant achievement and will hopefully bring better results for any future looked after children on St Helena.

The Social & Community Development Committee were voting members, Councillors Anthony Green (Chairman), Cyril Leo (Deputy Chairman), Kylie Hercules, Derek Thomas and Gavin Ellick and Non-Voting Members, Acting Director Children and Adults Social Care, Victoria Kellett, and Acting Deputy Chief Secretary, Lindsay Shankland. The Committee’s Secretary is Nicole Plato.

#StHelena #SCDC #MeetingSummary

https://www.facebook.com/StHelenaGovt/

https://twitter.com/StHelenaGovt

SHG

29 August 2019