Sunday, 14 October 2018, marked the one year anniversary since the start of commercial flights into St Helena. This is a momentous milestone for St Helena Airport.

The first commercial flight arrived at St Helena Airport from South Africa on Saturday, 14 October 2017, with 72 passengers onboard.

To date (excluding the past weekend’s flights), there have been 104 scheduled flights to and from South Africa. This has seen 6208 passengers arriving and departing from St Helena Airport on these flights.

As with any airport, St Helena Airport has also experienced delays due to unfavourable weather. Despite the wet winter season, there have only been seven delays to Saturday flights during the first year of commercial services. Nevertheless, commercial flights have afforded thousands of people quick access to and from the Island, enabling many Saints who have not been back to the Island for several years to return to visit friends and family, and become reacquainted with St Helena.

Chief Executive Officer and Accountable Manager of St Helena Airport Ltd, Gwyneth Howell, said:

“This period has flashed past us and much has changed. In the past year, as an operation, we have learnt a lot and improved our services along the way. We would like to thank our customers, contractors, ASSI, SHG, and of course our Airport Staff for their unstinting efforts.”

To commemorate the one year anniversary of commercial air services, SA Airlink’s Chief Executive Officer, Rodger Foster, is due to visit the Island next month.

#StHelena #StHelenaAirport #CommercialFlights #OneYearAnniversary

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SHG
15 October 2018

St Helena Government is pleased to announce the visit of His Excellency, Christophe Farnaud, the Ambassador of France to South Africa, from 13 October to 20 October 2018. This is the first official visit by a senior French official in recent times.

This visit follows from a visit to Paris and Cape Town by Her Excellency, Governor Lisa Honan, French Consul, Michel Dancoisne-Martineau, and other Enterprise St Helena roadshow members in November 2017 to promote St Helena as a tourism destination following the opening of St Helena Airport.

The week of His Excellency’s visit will mark three years since the start of the St Helena Napoleonic Heritage Ltd, which manages the French properties associated with Napoleon. It will also coincide with the 203rd anniversary since Napoleon’s arrival on St Helena.

Ambassador, Christophe Farnaud said:

“I am very honoured to be the first French Ambassador to be officially visiting St Helena. This visit will allow us to work together to enhance our cooperation, in particular in the field of tourism, through the valorisation of the Napoleonic sites.”

The visit is jointly hosted by the Governor and the French Consul and aims to:

• promote the opportunities for joint French/British tourism and the opportunity of two-centre holidays in South Africa and St Helena
• raise awareness and strengthen the links around historical French/British/St Helenian connections
• highlight the opportunities for French foreign investment on St Helena

The programme will include events with local tourism providers, engagement with Prince Andrew School, meeting elected members, and a set of cultural events to mark the Island’s shared history.

Governor Lisa said:

“I am delighted to be able to welcome Ambassador, Christophe Farnaud, to St Helena. The theme of the visit is cooperation between St Helena, the UK, and France. That cooperation is, of course, built on shared history. But that relationship has multiplied to the modern relationship between the three which we have today. Now that we have air access, and now that St Helena is open to the rest of the world, we must exploit that access for the benefit of St Helenians.”

Michel Dancoisne-Martineau commented:

“This is a major first in the history of the French properties on St Helena Island. In the 160 years that France has officially owned the Napoleonic sites, this is the first time that an Ambassador, as head of diplomatic mission, will visit his domains in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean.”

#StHelena #Tourism #Napoleon #France #FrenchAmbassadorVisit

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SHG

12 October 2018

Following discussions with staff, subcontractors and suppliers, St Helena Government (SHG) is pleased to advise that work will recommence in all areas with effect from Monday, 15 October 2018. Staff who have continued to provide essential services during this interim period are thanked for their dedication and commitment to the project.

SHG is pleased to note that all staff who received an offer of ongoing employment have now accepted and works can therefore resume. Normal hours and working arrangements will continue. Transport providers are requested to operate as normal so that staff can get to work.

SHG offers sincere thanks to staff, subcontractors and suppliers for their continued support and looks forward to working with them to complete the project successfully.

#StHelena #StHelenaAirportProject

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SHG

12 October 2018

Executive Council met yesterday with one item on the open agenda. This was to consider two proposed amendments to the Public Finance Ordinance, 2010 and to advise whether the Public Finance Amendment Bill 2018 should be published and presented as Government Business at the Legislative Council Meeting to be held on 26 October 2018.

Both amendments relate to advances made by the St Helena Government to individuals and organisations under the provisions of the Constitution which refers to “Borrowing or Lending by the Government of St Helena”.

The proposed amendments to the Public Finance Ordinance make provision for the total amounts that could be advanced to be increased from £1,000,000 to £2,000,000.

The second amendment allows these advances to be exempted from being approved by Legislative Council.

Council advised the Governor that they were content to recommend that the Bill is presented as Government Business at the next scheduled Legislative Council meeting on 26 October subject to agreement that the details of any advances made, are set out and laid in a Sessional Paper in accordance with the Constitution and that this should be done twice yearly.

Council also advised the Governor that the SHG Financial Regulations should be updated to include a cap of £500,000 on the maximum amount that could be advanced to any one organisation.

 ExCo

12 October 2018

OCTOBER 2018

His Lordship, Chief Justice Charles Ekins Esq, will arrive on St Helena on Saturday, 20 October 2018.

The formal opening of the St Helena Supreme Court will take place on Monday, 22 October 2018, at 10am. This Supreme Court Session will continue until Friday, 2 November, and the Chief Justice will depart St Helena on Saturday, 3 November 2018.

#StHelena #SupremeCourt

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SHG
10 October 2018

THURSDAY, 11 OCTOBER 2018

A special meeting of Executive Council will take place in the Council Chamber at 9.30am on, Thursday 11 October 2018.

The following item will be discussed on the Open Agenda:

1. Public Finance (Amendment) Bill, 2018

This paper (ExCo Memo) is available online at the following link: http://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/councils/executive-council/.

The planning application for a new build prison in the Goat Pen area in Bottom Woods, which was due to be presented this week, will be discussed in a future meeting of Executive Council, once an Environmental Impact Assessment has been completed. The public will be kept informed.

Members of the public who would like to view hard copies of the ExCo Memo should contact the Clerk of Councils, Anthea Moyce, at the Castle on tel: 22470 or via email: anthea.moyce@sainthelena.gov.sh.

Elected Members serving on Executive Council are Councillors Anthony Green, Lawson Henry, Christine Scipio-O’Dean, Derek Thomas and Russell Yon.

Non-voting members of Executive Council are Chief Secretary, Susan O’Bey, Financial Secretary, Dax Richards, and Attorney General, Sara O’Donnell.

#StHelena #ExCoMeeting

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SHG
10 October 2018

The following is a public announcement from the Legislative Council:

Councillors would like to advise the public of the following changes which have been made to the Constituency Meetings for October 2018.

Each meeting will start at 7pm.

SHG
9 October 2018

http://www.sainthelena.gov.sh

WEDNESDAY, 3 OCTOBER 2018

The monthly meeting of the Public Health Committee was held on Wednesday, 3 October 2018.

A warm welcome was given to new staff within the directorate – Mental Health Team Lead, Sherilea, and Charge Nurse (Theatre), Sebastiano.

The Chair gave an update on plans for the next Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC) meeting in December. He plans to visit patients undergoing treatment in Pretoria during his journey to the UK for the JMC meeting.

The Director of Health updated the committee on a timetable for briefing from the various sections of the Health Directorate. The Committee aims to hear from all sections of the Health Directorate in the coming months.

It was noted that feedback received from the new DfID Health Adviser at the end of her visit was positive and a reflection of the hard work by the team.

An update on the Pharmacy Section was heard by the Pharmacist before a briefing was given on clinical governance. The Committee recommended that the report on clinical governance be shared with other elected members as well as the public.

The Committee received an update on the budget planning process and agreed to meet for an extraordinary session on Thursday, 11 October 2018, to discuss the budget in detail.

The Chair closed the meeting after announcing that the Director of Health has indicated he does not plan to extend his contract beyond the current agreement, with a recruitment process planned to commence soon. The Committee thanked the Director for his contribution to the development of Health Service on the Island.

#StHelena #PublicHealthCommittee #MeetingSummary

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SHG
9 October 2018

As a round up to Education Awareness Week, each of the Island’s four schools held their own UNESCO Teacher Appreciation Day assemblies on Friday, 5 October 2018.

The schools chose different times to host throughout the day to ensure the Director of Education, Shirley Wahler, Chair of the Education Committee, Cllr Christine Scipio, and other members of the Education Directorate could attend each assembly,

In the three Primary Schools, students of various ages took turns to perform acts, songs, and dance routines, all in honour of their teachers. Messages were read by students for their favourite teachers and thanks were given with every performance, recognising the hard work and dedication of all teaching staff.

Teachers were treated with gifts and compliments by their school’s PTA, students and colleagues. A cake, coloured to represent each Primary School – green for Harford, red for Pilling, and yellow for St Pauls – was also presented at each school.

At the end of each assembly, small speeches recognising the importance of teachers and appreciating what they do were given by Shirley Wahler and Christine Scipio. This was followed by the awarding of Long Service Certificates to those teachers who had dedicated over ten years of continuous service to education on St Helena.

The final assembly of the day came from Prince Andrew School (PAS). For this assembly, all staff of the school was asked to sit at the front of the main school hall. The assembly began with a presentation from the school’s senior students, giving thanks to the teachers and acknowledging their importance to both the academic and personal growth of the Island’s children. The final part of the presentation included headshots of all the PAS staff from each department, much to the amusement of the students who greeted each photo with laughter, clapping, and cheers. A video then played with individual and groups of students recording messages to their teachers, including a French class saying thanks in French.

As with the Primary Schools, PAS received a cake coloured in blue to represent the school colour and Long Service Certificates were then presented to awardees in PAS, including to Valerie Yon for 44 years of service to education on St Helena – the longest service recognised on the day. This was followed again by short speeches from Shirley Wahler and Christine Scipio.

Christine said:

“Today is St Helena’s fourth annual Teacher Appreciation Day. This gives us an opportunity to reflect on how much we owe to teachers and to those who work in our schools now and in the past. They are kind, patient, hard-working, dedicated, and play a critical role in educating and shaping the youth of St Helena, who are our future leaders.

“Teachers, thank you for everything that you do and for the contributions that you make to the entire community. Happy Teacher Appreciation Day!”

Staff of all schools were given a USB stick with a photo of St Helena and a quote from former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, which read: ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world’.

#StHelena #Education #EducationAwarenessWeek #TeacherAppreciationDay

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SHG
8 October 2018

The Statistics Office is conducting a Business Survey from October to mid-November 2018. The last survey of this type was conducted in 2010.

Chairman of the Economic Development Committee, Lawson Henry, said:

“This is an important survey to better understand St Helena’s economy, the current business environment, and St Helena’s labour market. It is a long time since businesses were surveyed in this way, and St Helena has been through a period of tremendous change since then. It’s especially important now that scheduled air services are operating, and a new freight service has been introduced. The analysis from the statistics, arising from the data collected from this survey, will play an important part in decision-making; therefore I would encourage businesses to take part.”

The survey fieldwork will start on Monday, 8 October, when questionnaires will be delivered. The survey is expected to take around six weeks, and it will be conducted within the legal framework of the 2000 Statistics Ordinance. All businesses with employees (i.e. apart from self-proprietors) are required to complete and return the questionnaire. Statistics Officers will collect completed questionnaires, and will give businesses any help they need.

The survey includes around twenty questions in areas related to the business environment, employment & staff recruitment, leave & benefits, and staff training. A further section on income and expenses will only be required of larger businesses (those who employ ten people or more). The information provided on the questionnaires will be treated with strict confidence, and will be used only for the purpose of compiling statistics, in accordance with the Statistics Ordinance.

Statistical Commissioner, Neil Fantom, said:

“Our job in the Statistics Office is to help people make better decisions; good data does not guarantee good decision-making, but it does make it much more likely. I’d like to thank all businesses for their cooperation and help with the survey – we’ve tried hard to make sure the survey is straightforward and simple for businesses to complete, but the enumeration team will be available to help if needed. Please contact us on tel: 22318 or by email: statistics@sainthelena.gov.sh, or visit our office in the Castle, if you have any questions or comments, or need help with the survey. We’ll be more than happy to try and help to make the process as painless as possible.”

#StHelena #Statistics #2018BusinessSurvey

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SHG
5 October 2018