18 November 2024
The Legislative Council have commissioned an independent review of the governance structures of St Helena three years after the implementation of the ministerial form of government. The objective of this review is to assess the effectiveness of constitutional changes introduced in 2021 in delivering efficient, effective, transparent and accountable governance for St Helena. With the support of the Governor’s Office, in August, the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) were engaged to carry out the review with funding from the FCDO.
WFD were asked to recruit a team of three experts bringing together:
- Expertise in the general principles and practice of governance, including the operation of the public service in relation to elected representatives/Ministers;
- A deep understanding and experience of legal and constitutional theory and practice in the overseas territories;
- The operation of government within small island or local government contexts especially in aid-dependent contexts;
- Knowledge of St Helena or wider Overseas Territories is desirable, especially ODA-dependent territories.
They have now secured a highly experienced and respected team to undertake the review consisting of Dr Ronan Cormacain, Steven Tweedie and Lord Robert Lisvane. Lord Lisvane visited St Helena in May as part of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association British Islands Mediterranean Region Conference. The team will also have access to WFD’s wider register of experts should they need further peer review or expertise. Their CVs are available to the public upon request. The team is expected to visit St Helena at the start of December for two weeks.
Following a desktop review, primary research, virtual engagements, two visits to the island to include public and key stakeholder consultation and feedback on draft reports, the team will produce a final assessment report which they will present to local stakeholders. The assessment is provisionally due by the end of March although there is some flexibility built into timelines to ensure the team are able to fully consult, research and consider context and implementation. The assessment will provide the team’s view of:
- the evolution of the governance arrangements and the experience since 2021 – what was the system pre-2021 and what changes have been realised since
- the clarity of the current respective roles and responsibilities of all governance actors and the extent to which these are understood, both by the actors themselves and more widely;
- where responsibility and accountability lies for government business, management of the public service, management of funding and the efficacy of the structures that support each of these;
- the effectiveness of the 2021 changes in delivering on the objectives – what were the objectives for change; were they sound; were they met;
- the appropriateness of the 2021 objectives in today’s context – do they remain fit for purpose and comprehensive including in consideration of programme governance and effectively meeting UKG governance requirements for aid;
- the suitability of the changes in practice in ensuring the most effective and constructive relationships between different governance actors including the legislature, Ministers, public service, public bodies and Governor/Governor’s Office as well as the relationship between governance actors, the public, governance actors and UKG;
- primary factors leading to this level of effectiveness, including any capacity, drafting, organisational or other issues such as clarity of roles and responsibilities and process across all parts of the system;
- the effectiveness of the change management in place to implement 2021 changes – was the change clear, reasoned and understood by all;
- gaps, redundancies or deficiencies in the design of the 2021 changes in delivering effective, inclusive and accountable governance for St Helena including issues of legislative coverage and quality;
- Constitutional alignment to the new system and objectives of Ministerial government including any apparent tensions or inconsistencies either within the Constitution itself or with laws made under its legislative powers;
- legal authorities within the amended Constitution and where these have or could be delegated;
- feasible options for addressing any issues.
These deliverables will be within the parameters of those constitutional areas appointed through electoral competition, as part of the public service or those bodies reporting to the Governor or legislature. The team will ensure that the assessment is appropriately evidenced and is informed by a consultative and inclusive process.
The review will be informed by all stakeholders on the island and will be fully consultative in nature. To this end and ahead of their first planned visit from 30 November to 15 December, the team are keen to be contacted by anyone interested in engaging with them at any stage in the process. They can be reached confidentially on StHelenaGovernanceReview@gmail.com
It is planned that the review will then be followed by a second phase considering implementation of recommendations.
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SHG
18 November 2024