CPA To Brief New Councillors

At Governor Capes’ invitation and financed by the Governor’s Delegated Fund, a Delegation from the UK Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) will arrive on-Island on Tuesday 30 July.  The Delegation, working with senior SHG officials, will hold a series of seminars for newly elected Councillors, as a major part of their induction process.

The seven-day induction programme has been designed to strengthen and promote good governance in St Helena. 

Members of the Delegation will brief Councillors on their role as Councillors, the leadership required from them, strategic policy making and the function of Committees, dealing with conflicting pressures, working with officials, the importance of keeping the community informed, effective communication, scrutiny and the accountability of Councillors, and the ethical behaviour and standards that are expected from Elected Members. 

Governor Capes said:

‘I am grateful to the CPA for responding so positively to my request for a small team to visit St Helena at this important moment, to help prepare our recently elected Councillors to carry out their new responsibilities.

‘I recognise that it represents a significant commitment from the visiting team in terms of time away from their many duties in the UK and I much appreciate their willingness to assist. Although it is quite costly to bring the team here for a week, I believe it makes good use of the Delegated Funds provided to me by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Our Councillors have a heavy agenda ahead and I want to give them the best possible start.’       

Members of the CPA Delegation are: 

• Lord Shutt of Greetland OBE FCA (a former Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Lords)
• Barry Paint (an Elected Member – or ‘Deputy’ – on the Island of Guernsey)
• Tim Crookall (a Member of the House of Keys on the Isle of Man)
• Joyce Watson (Welsh Assembly Member for Mid and West Wales since  2007), and
• John Grimes (former Head of Governance at the National Assembly for Wales)

SHG

26 July 2013