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Persons departing on the scheduled Titan Airways flight in June, who have planned onward travel from the UK/Accra which requires you to have a pre-departure COVID-19 test result, are advised that a testing clinic will be set up in the flu pod at the General Hospital in Jamestown on Tuesday, 22 June, at 9am.  

If you require a test, bookings should be made with the, COVID-19 Coordinator, Grace Richards via grace.richards@sainthelena.gov.sh or on tel. 22500.

A pre-departure COVID-19 test will cost £75.00. 

Persons are required to make payment at the Pharmacy, prior to being tested, and will be asked to provide their receipt of payment at the Flu Pod testing clinic.    

Failing to produce a receipt of payment will result in not receiving a test. 

Test results will be available at check-in at St Helena Airport on Wednesday, 23 June, 2021.

SHG

8 June 2021

The Tourist Office at the Canister, Jamestown, has reopened to offer visitor information services. The service is overseen by Matt Joshua, who is assisted by Jane Roberts.  Matt comes from a hospitality, marketing and tourism management background from both the public and private sectors. Jane has been a customer services tourism officer for over ten years.

Speaking about the services offered Matt said,

“The aim is to create a professional, public-facing service that meets the needs of a variety of clients: tourists, visiting friends and relatives, media organisations, local service providers, international tour operators, investors, and more. Ultimately, the provision of visitor information services is the first step in providing a quality and value-for-money visitor experience. Through a variety of platforms (walk-ins, email, websites, social media, video, printed material, etc.), ensuring these align with the branding and marketing of the Island, visitor information services should strive to ensure a wide awareness of St Helena, globally, with particular focus on target market segments.

What tourism will look like when the Island starts to open up again will very  much depend on what will be available from the Island’s service providers: accommodation, transport, eating places, tours and activities, and the Destination Management Companies (DMCs) packaging these services. There is already much interest from tour operators, travel media and individuals who are keen to find out about the Island and our plans to open up again. I would encourage all those in the tourism and hospitality sectors – or those thinking of entering the sectors – to please get in touch if they have updated information”

If you’re on St Helena and require information, please pop into the Tourist Office, call 22158 or send an email to the addresses below.

Any enquiries regarding travel arrangements and COVID-19 will be directed to the responsible websites or organisations to ensure critical information is accessed or obtained from the source.

Tourist Office opening times: Monday to Friday 10am to 4pm.

Opening hours will extend with an increase in arrivals and resumption of a regular flight service.

Email: visit@sainthelena.gov.sh  matthew.joshua@sainthelena.gov.sh

jane.roberts@sainthelena.gov.sh

Website: www.sthelenatourism.com

Telephone: +290 22158

SHG
07 June 2021

International Day for the Fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing took place on Saturday, 5 June.

5 June reflects the day that the Port State Measures Agreement came into force. The Port State Measures Agreement is a binding international agreement that prevents vessels engaged in IUU fishing accessing ports and landing their catches.

Although resources are limited, St Helena is dedicated to do all it can to help in the fight against IUU fishing.

Transparency

As a condition of an offshore licence, vessels are required to have a functioning Automatic Identification System (AIS).   AIS is a satellite tracking system that allows the monitoring of vessels’ movements at all times when at sea. The data produced by an AIS system is publicly available, this level of transparency assists fisheries regulators across the world in the battle against IUU fishing.

Information Sharing

St Helena is a member of the Blue Belt Surveillance and Intelligence Hub (BBSIH) and regularly receive reports on vessel movement in our 200nm Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The Hub uses other surveillance techniques and additional satellite imagery in addition to AIS.  By being a member of the Surveillance and Intelligence Hub the Island’s IUU intelligence is shared with all other UK Overseas Territories, this allows the UK Overseas Territories to better coordinate their response to IUU fishing.

To learn more, please go to:   https:facebook.com/ukgovBlueBelt/videos/3844694148918915

Remote Electronic Monitoring

Through the BBSIH St Helena feeds into a system that monitors the waters of seven UK Overseas Territories. This allows the BBSIH to more effectively deploy assets such as AIS analysis and satellite surveillance to detect and prevent IUU fishing. St Helena is also preparing to start its own Remote Electronic Monitoring trail. As part of this trail cameras and monitoring equipment will be fitted on locally flagged fishing vessels. This equipment will assist in monitoring these vessels but will also help further technological advancement in the Remote Electronic Monitoring sector.

Maintaining a Presence

Although Remote Electronic Monitoring is effective, there is no substitute to having vessels at sea monitoring St Helena waters. Through the development of the Island’s offshore fishery, St Helena’s own fishing vessels will be on the seamounts. These vessels will assist in monitoring St Helena waters reporting any sightings of suspicious vessels.

SHG

7 June 2021

World Environment Day is celebrated on Saturday, 5 June 2021. This year’s theme is ‘Reimagine. Recreate. Restore.’

To mark World Environment Day, we have shared below some of the measures in place on the Island which contribute to St Helena’s national goal of ‘Altogether Greener’.

Organic Waste Composting

At their organic waste processing area, Horse Point Landfill Site (HPLS), Waste Management Services (WMS) are now producing quality compost on a small commercial scale by blending fish waste, piggery effluent and chipped forestry waste that would otherwise be landfilled.

Agronomist, Ed Whitton, said:

“The compost created by WMS is a great step forward for St Helena. Not only is it utilising material that would otherwise be waste but it is also providing a valuable commodity to the Island’s farmers and gardeners. Compost is a great source of nutrients and soil enhancing ‘organic matter’ that is fundamental for sustainable and productive soils (HPLS) has the resources to make compost in significant quantities, and producing quality compost on-Island reduces the need for expensive imported compost.”

During the composting process the blended waste is turned and aerated using the Landfill plant and saturated with rainwater. Rainwater is harvested from the roof of the large building on-site into a reused 54000ltr container, to negate the use of mains water. WMS have also engineered an overflow into a second reused container with 18000ltr capacity nearer to the composting area.

These redundant containers were headed for the Landfill before being reused for the organic waste composting initiative.

Nurseries Officer, Vanessa Thomas-Williams, added:

“The compost is really good. A PH test of the soil read 6.9 and that is good for our plants. I know it is slightly acidic but we do add top soil etc with it. The compost produced is good enough to sell.”

  • 54000ltr rainwater tank at HPLS
  • Windrows of compost at HPLS

Climate Change Mitigation

WMS have expanded their services and incorporated the maintenance of the picnic areas along the Access Road (developed by WMS in 2019 through the Governor’s Enabling Fund) and grass and weed cutting around public toilets, bus shelters and communal bins into normal operations.

These operations are delivered using much quieter STIHL cordless power systems, replacing petrol models, in line with the SHG Climate Change Policy objective: ‘Identify and prioritise measures to reduce and minimise Greenhouse Gas emissions’, and Goal 4 of the Waste Management Implementation Plan: ‘Design and develop environmentally sustainable waste management projects that improve the quality of Island life’.

  • Staff member with STIHL cordless power systems

Glutton Electric Urban Street Vacuum Coming Soon to St Helena

100% electric powered, it vacuums up any waste that will pass through a 12.5cm tube; paper, cardboard, cigarette packets and butts, cans and glass, plastic bottles, dead leaves etc. With near si-lent operation it can be used anywhere and at any time of the day, without causing noise pollution and with zero CO2 emissions. With its 24m2 anti-dust filter and no dust ejected into the atmosphere, it is also environmentally friendly.

Environmental Risk Manager, Mike Durnford, commented:

“The Glutton will modernise how we maintain public areas in Jamestown and will benefit residents, businesses and ultimately the environment.”

  • Glutton used in Salisbury, UK (August 2020)
  • Glutton being used

Green for Green – World Environment day Infographic

#StHelena #WorldEnvironmentDay #AltogetherGreener

SHG

4 June 2021

An open-door Healthcare recruitment event was held at the General Hospital on Wednesday, 2 June 2021, between 10am and 3pm.

This event allowed persons interested in becoming Staff Nurses or Health Care Assistants to talk with nursing staff and to learn more about working in healthcare. Interviews for Health Care Assistants took place on the day.

Hospital Nursing Officer, Daniella Marlow, explained:

“The purpose of this event was to attract interested persons to work in the Health Services Directorate. It was successful and we interviewed six people on the day for Health Care Assistant roles. We will be in touch with those people over the next few days.

“We are looking forward to having some new faces around the Hospital. We are working with people overseas currently to try and develop a course on-Island with UK counterparts to try and train nurses on the Island in the near future. Watch this space.

“We would still love to hear from people who were unable to make it on Wednesday but thank you to all those who came and were involved.”

  • Senior Staff Nurse, Tracey, and Staff Nurse, Louisa, with dummy
  • Senior Staff Nurse, Tracey, and Staff Nurse, Louisa, with dummy in simulated ICU environment

#StHelena #AltogetherHealthier

SHG

4 June 2021

A formal meeting of Legislative Council will take place tomorrow, Friday 4 June 2021, at 10am in the Council Chamber. This is the first sitting of the twenty-fourth meeting of Legislative Council and will be broadcast live via SAMS Radio 1. The meeting is also open to members of the public who wish to attend.

The Order Paper includes three Sessional Papers and one Motion relating to the St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Constitution (Amendment) Order 2021.

The meeting will conclude with the customary Adjournment Debate, giving each Elected Member the opportunity to raise various Island issues.

A copy of the Order Paper is available on the SHG Website at: https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/st-helena/government/legislative-council/order-papers/.

#StHelena #LegislativeCouncil #FormalLegCo #OrderPaper

SHG

3 June 2021

Click below to see, Information Poster appealing for Volunteers to assist with COVID-19 testing.

Poster Volunteers for Testing – SHG

St Helena Police are currently conducting an education and awareness programme for the local community. Each week a different topic will be aired on local radio stations, issued via information releases and posted on Social Media.

This week’s topic is Theft:   

The Theft Act 1968 Section 1 states ‘a person is guilty of theft if they dishonestly appropriate property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it’.

The dishonest taking of property owned by another person with the intention of keeping the property for your own or another’s use is an offence for which you can be arrested. You could be charged to court and depending on the circumstances you could face a hearing at Magistrates Court or the Supreme Court. The maximum sentence for a theft related crime is seven years.

We all know it is wrong to steal, for example to take goods from a shop without paying for it or to take a wallet or a purse that has been left on a table. But, there are more subtle offences that we sometimes regard as good fortune than theft.

If for example you pay for goods at a shop and you pay with a five pound note but you are given change as if you have paid with a 10 pound note,  leaving without saying anything to the cashier means that you have in fact committed a theft.

If you find a 10 pound note on the floor in the Bar whilst on a night out, you know the 10 pound note is not yours yet you proceed to buy your drinks with that 10 pound note you have just committed the act of theft, unless you have taken reasonable steps to ascertain who the owner is.

A lot of thefts that occur are not planned, they are often crimes of opportunity. For example you enter the supermarket and leave your shopping bag at the front of the store which has your wallet or purse sticking out of the top, a person walks in and notices the opportunity and seizes the chance of extra money. You leave a mobile phone on a chair or table to use the public facilities leaving it unguarded, someone wanting a newer phone might seize this opportunity.

The thefts dealt with by St Helena Police are generally avoidable – mobile phone taken from a bag left unattended, valuable metal chain left unattended on the quayside for a period of a few weeks – but some thefts are also planned, such as clothing stolen from a store. If you are out with someone who commits a theft and you are aware of what they are doing you could find yourself arrested and interviewed for theft and may end up with a day in court. Also if you buy items which you know or believe to be stolen you commit an offence of receiving stolen goods. Even if someone leaves items at your house which you know to be stolen you could be guilty of handling stolen goods.

So please keep your valuables secure and do not offer someone the temptation, yes St Helena has a low crime rate but do not give people the opportunity to take property that is yours. If you witness a theft or are offered property you believe to be stolen please stand up for your community and call the Police so we can investigate and deal with the matter.

#StHelena #StHelenaPolice #Theft

SHG
1 June 2021

Executive Council will meet tomorrow, Tuesday 1 June 2021, at 10am, in the Council Chamber, to discuss the following items on the Open Agenda:

These papers (ExCo Memos) are available online at the following link: http://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/councils/executive-council/.  

Members of the public who would like to view hard copies of ExCo Memos should contact Clerk of Councils, Connie Johnson, at the Castle on tel: 22470 or via email: connie.johnson@sainthelena.gov.sh.  

Elected Members serving on Executive Council are Councillors Anthony Green, Lawson Henry, Clint Beard, Derek Thomas and Cruyff Buckley. Non-voting members of ExCo are Chief Secretary, Susan O’Bey, Financial Secretary, Dax Richards, and Attorney General, Allen Cansick.

#StHelena #ExCoMeeting

SHG

31 May 2021

For the week Monday, 24, to Sunday, 30May 2021, Police dealt with a total of 45 reports resulting in two arrests.

One person was arrested for being in possession of an offensive weapon – they have been charged to appear before the Magistrates Court.

One person was arrested for child abduction – they were released on Police Bail pending further investigations.

Reports of burglary, theft and road traffic collisions were also received, which are currently being investigated.

Reports for concern of safety were made and the appropriate services were called to assist. Police Officers carried out community engagement, issued summons and court letters.

St Helena Police would like to thank the community and partnering agencies for their continued support and assistance in keeping St Helena safe.

#StHelena #PoliceReport #AltogetherSafer

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

SHG

31 May 2021