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The Environment & Natural Resources Directorate (ENRD) is pleased to advise that, following successful completion of repair works on the collapsed wall, Constitution Hill Road will reopen to the public from 4pm on Friday 27 January 2017.

ENRD would like to thank the public for their patience and cooperation during the closure of Constitution Hill Road.

SHG

26 January 2017

 

MOTORCYCLES ON SIDE PATH RIDGE

During routine inspections of the hillsides above Side Path Road, Rock Guards have noticed on several occasions visible motorcycle tyre tracks on the hill ridge, suggesting that motorcycles have been driven along there.

In the interest of public safety, motorcycles or any other vehicles should not be driven along this ridge. 

Should members of the community see any motorcycles on the ridge they should immediately report their observations to the St Helena Police on tel: 22626.

The St Helena Police Service will be monitoring this area and those who disregard this advice are liable to further police action.

SHG

26 January 2017

A planned rock removal operation took place yesterday, Wednesday 25 January 2017, at 1.30pm to remove loose rocks on the hillside above Side Path Road.

Residents and workers in the area were evacuated and the roads below Side Path were closed to vehicles and pedestrians.

Police Inspector Jonathan Thomas said:

“Yesterday’s operation went well with no complications. Work was completed at around 2.15pm – ahead of schedule.”

St Helena Emergency Services and the Rock Guards would like to take this opportunity to thank residents and workers in the area for their cooperation and also to the Salvation Army for their continuing support.

SHG

26 January 2017

Councillor Lawson Henry will depart St Helena on Tuesday, 31 January 2017, to attend a special meeting of the Joint Ministerial Conference (Overseas Territories – EU Negotiations (JMC (OT-EN)) to be held in London on Tuesday, 7 February 2017.   This follows on from the JMC held in November last year, when it was agreed that the JMC (OT-EN) will be the primary forum for dialogue on the UK’s exit from the EU.

The meeting will be attended by Overseas Territories Government Leaders and chaired by Mr Robin Walker MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Exiting the European Union, and The Rt Hon Baroness Anelay, Minister for the Overseas Territories in the Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

The objective of the meeting will be to facilitate political engagement and collaboration between the UK Government and the governments of the Overseas Territories (OT), to ensure that Overseas Territories’ requirements are taken into account in the UK’s preparations for the process of exiting the European Union (EU).

The UK will give an overview of action to date, including a summary of engagement with constituent parts of the UK Realm and preparations ahead of Article 50. Overseas Territories’ Leaders will then have the opportunity to outline the OT priorities for EU negotiations, including overarching issues, institutional status and future relationship.

There will then be four thematic discussions:

The meeting will conclude with a discussion on future engagement and an update on the UK Government’s plans for the Great Repeal Bill and impact on the territories.

Councillor Henry said:

“This meeting to be held on 7 February is a follow-up to discussions held at JMC in November last year. It is important for St Helena to be represented and to raise issues that will impact on us here on the Island when Britain will no longer be part of the EU.

 “By taking part in the meeting, we are able to make HMG aware of our concerns and seek ways to overcome these that will have the least impact on St Helena.  One of the main issues for us on-Island is the potential loss of EU funding. St Helena has received significant funding from the EU over many years through Britain’s membership of the EU.”

 While Councillor Henry is off-Island he will also attend the 15th EU-OCT forum, to be held in Aruba from Tuesday, 21 February to Friday, 24 February.

The week will include the OCTA Ministerial Council where discussions will take place on the OCT-EU Partnership post 2020, ongoing Programmes including BEST 2:0, TSI and Thematic, the EDF 11th Thematic – Sustainable Energy and Climate Change and the OCTA Secretariat.

The Political Resolutions will also be approved for presentation to the Forum. There will be a tripartite meeting with representatives from the European Commission and the UK to discuss the progress of the 10th EDF programming, and the preparation of the programming documents for the 11th EDF.

The Forum will include statements from the European Commission, representatives from the four Member States, and the OCTA Chair. This will be followed by two Roundtables on Sustainable Energy and Climate Change.

Councillor Henry will return to St Helena on Friday, 10 March  2017.

SHG                                                                                                                                    

25 January 2017

 

 

 

 

The Community Nurses continue to hold Nurse-led Clinics throughout the districts on the Island.  Nurses offer support, advice and treatment, covering a variety of services such as specialist ‘booked appointments only’ clinics to ‘one stop’ or ‘drop in’ clinics, where no appointment is necessary.

The Community Nurses work closely with Doctors and other allied healthcare professionals in running their established clinics, enabling the general public to easily access healthcare across the Island.

At present, for the short-term there is a reduced ability to provide Doctor-led clinics, however it is expected that the service will be fully reinstated across the Island before the end of February.

The Community Nurses are pleased to announce that from 1 February the Nurse-led Diabetic Clinic will increase its operating hours from one day a week to five days a week – to be held at a variety of clinics across the Island on an ‘appointment only basis’. Diabetic patients will be invited to attend an appointment for diabetic screening and review with the Diabetic Nurse over the coming weeks.  Once screening has been completed, patients will be offered a follow-up on an ‘appointment only basis’ with a new Endocrinologist Specialist Doctor arriving on-Island in late February.

The following services are available from the Community Nurses:

All of these services can be accessed through the Community Nurses in either a ‘one stop’ or ‘drop in’ clinic at Half Tree Hollow, Longwood and Levelwood, or from the Out-patients department and St John’s Villa in Jamestown.

Chronic Disease, Hypertension, Asthma and Diabetes management services are available on an ‘appointment only basis’.

Housebound patients requiring home visits can contact the Community Nurses at the Half Tree Hollow Clinic on tel: 23563 for support and advice.

District Clinic opening times are as follows:

Half Tree Hollow Nurse-led Clinics

Monday, Tuesday, Friday 9am-12.30pm

Longwood Nurse-led Clinics

Monday 9.30am-11am, Wednesday 9.30am-1pm

Levelwood Nurse-led Clinics

Thursday 9.30am-1pm

Jamestown Outpatients Nurse-led Clinics

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

Morning Clinic: 8.30am -1pm  Afternoon Clinic: 2pm-4pm

St John’s Villa 

Monday, Wednesday Thursday, Friday between 8.30am- 9.30am

Tuesday 8.30am-4pm

Any enquiries can be made to the Community Nurses on tel: 23563 or to Community Nursing Officer, Christine Laskey, on tel: 25189.

SHG

25 January 2017

 

 

 

HOW TO STAY SAFE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Week three in the St Helena Safeguarding Children’s Board Campaign, which raises awareness among parents and children of the dangers of the internet, focuses on How to Stay Safe on Social Media. 

This week we provide tips on how to keep safe while using the wide range of social networking sites available online.  

Governor Lisa Phillips, who recently had a fake Facebook account set up in her name, said:

“I am a big fan of social media, but it brings with it responsibilities.  I am aware that what I say, and how I say it, is judged by my 3000 followers, so I am always factual in my posts and also respectful of the positions of others when they comment. 

“I am also careful about who I accept ‘friend requests’ from. In fact, I get ‘friend requests’ from many people around the world but I reject them all unless they have St Helenian ‘mutual friends’, because I cannot trust that they are who they say they are.    

“Someone also cloned my account recently but I was quickly alerted by some of my followers because they knew it was odd behaviour. So the important thing is to be aware, think about how you want the world to perceive you, pause before posting, and follow your instincts. If it feels odd, it probably is.”

Various radio interviews will continue on local stations and posters will be published in both newspapers and issued to schools and youth groups on the Island.

Telecommunications company Sure SA Ltd is supporting the campaign, and local business, Gigabyte IT Solutions, will be providing useful advice on its weekly tech show on Saint FM.

A poster on Staying Safe on Social Media is attached to this release.  

 

 SHG

25 January 2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

REMINDER

The consultation and information meetings led by the Social & Community Development Committee will also include consultation on the following points that are relevant to the Elections Legislation:

As a reminder, in addition to the above, the following pieces of draft legislation will also form part of the agenda:

For Consultation:

  1. Employment Rights (Amendment) Bill on:
  1. Gender Equality (Amendment) Bill on:

For Information

  1. Sexual Offences Act, 2003 (Application) (Amendment) Order, 2017:

All meetings will start at 7.30pm. The public is encouraged to attend these meetings to discuss these matters and to provide feedback. Below is a revised schedule for the upcoming meetings:

 

Venue Date Councillors
Kingshurst Community Centre Thursday, 26 January Hon Derek Thomas & Hon Gavin Ellick
HTH Community Centre Tuesday, 31 January Hon Mike Olsson & Hon Tony Duncan
Sandy Bay Community Centre Wednesday, 1 February Hon Derek Thomas & Hon Gavin Ellick
St Mary’s Church,

The Briars

 Wednesday, 1 February Hon Brian Isaac & Hon Tony Duncan
Blue Hill Community Centre Thursday, 2 February Hon Derek Thomas & Hon Gavin Ellick
St Michael’s Church, Rupert’s Monday, 6 February Hon Brian Isaac & Hon Tony Duncan

Written comments can be sent to the Chairperson, Brian Isaac, Social & Community Development Committee, The Castle, or via e-mail: brian.isaac@helanta.co.sh by no later than Tuesday, 7 February 2017.

The draft legislation has been uploaded to the SHG Website and will shortly be made available in hard copy at the Public Library.

 Social & Community Development Committee

24 January 2017

 

SUBMISSION DEADLINE EXTENDED TO 6 FEBRUARY

Potential bidders for the Air Services tender have been advised that the closing date for tender submissions has been extended to 12.00hrs GMT on Monday 6 February 2017. This is to allow bidders additional time to complete the proposals and reflect the latest information available.

We hope to be able to maintain the contracting date as set out in the original programme and will endeavour to recover the time lost in the timetable.

Full tender documentation can be found on the St Helena Government Website Publications page at:

http: www.sainthelena.gov.sh/publications/

Any questions regarding the above should be addressed to Marc Lockley, Corporate Procurement Executive, via E-mail: marc.lockley2@sainthelena.gov.sh

SHG

24 January 2017

On today’s ExCo Open Agenda, Council considered the Undertakings and Resolutions made at Formal Meetings of Legislative Council held on 9, 12, and 13 December 2016.  It was agreed that ExCo would be presented with an update on progress made against each of the Undertakings and Resolutions, at a future meeting.

Council then considered the Labour Regulating Authority (Amendment) Regulations 2017, which amend the application form to make a complaint to the Labour Regulatory Authority.  The main amendment is introducing unequal remuneration of women as grounds for complaint.  This change to the form implements the provisions of the Employment Rights Ordinance 2010.   Council approved the Regulations as drafted.

Council then considered the Sexual Offences 2003 (Application)(Amendment) Order 2017.  The Order introduces a mechanism for review of the reporting requirements for sex offenders which used to be for an indefinite period in every case.  The new mechanism strikes a balance between the right of former offenders and the safety of the community and under this mechanism there is recourse to the courts for review. Council approved the Order.

The General Amendment (Gender Equality) Bill 2017 related to the extension of the [UN] Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) to St Helena, with the intention of making the laws of St Helena compliant with the Convention. In essence, this means that the language used in the laws of St Helena should be gender neutral.  Council approved the Bill, with some amendments for consultation.

The Employment Rights (Amendment) Bill 2017, as previously reported, has two objectives:

This Bill was approved for consultation.

The meeting closed at 12.30pm.

ExCo

24 January 2017

 

 

In accordance with Section 15(3) of the Immigration Ordinance, 2011, the following person has been granted St Helenian Status with effect from 21 November 2016:

SHG

24 January 2017