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The following Bills have been approved by Executive Council for presentation as Government business at the next formal meeting of Legislative Council, commencing Friday, 26 March 2020:

These Bills can be found on the Bills for an Ordinance page on the St Helena Government website: https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/government/legislative-council/bills-for-an-ordinance/.

Notes to Editors

Second Supplementary Appropriation (2020/21) Bill, 2021

To increase the amounts provided for the services of the financial year 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021.

Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2021

To amend the Income Tax Ordinance, 2012, to make provision for the taxation of certain allowances and for connected and incidental purposes.

#StHelena #BillsforOrdinances #LegislativeCouncil

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SHG
24 March 2021

The Incident Executive Group (IEG) has agreed and approved the introduction of a ‘travel corridor’ between Ascension and St Helena, whereby passengers travelling to St Helena from Ascension, and vice versa, will be free from the mandatory quarantine requirements on both Islands.  The Travel Corridor will take effect from the flight scheduled for May 2021.  Ascension Island Government will release separate communications on the requirements for travel to Ascension Island and anyone travelling to Ascension will be informed of these during the booking process.   

On 16 March 2021, the IEG met in order to discuss the terms and conditions of approving a travel corridor between St Helena and Ascension. A travel corridor is an arrangement in which two countries agree that people can travel directly between them, with specific exemptions from the rules and controls that affect travellers from other countries. Travel corridors have been widely introduced since the COVID-19 pandemic in an attempt to allow safe travel whilst still preventing wider communal spread between countries. 

Travel Corridor Approved

A travel corridor is possible in this case as both St Helena and Ascension are COVID-19 free i.e. there are no cases of COVID-19 within the community. Both Islands are, therefore ‘Gold Standard’ countries i.e. countries of which there have been no reported cases of COVID-19 in the last 14 days.

Ascension Island has also implemented stringent measures as part of its COVID-19 response, this includes a testing and quarantine regime for any arrivals to the Island. Alongside these comprehensive measures, Ascension is also, like St Helena, in the process of vaccinating the entire eligible population.

On this basis, the introduction of the travel corridor was agreed by IEG, subject to conditions. 

Conditions of Travel Corridor

The following conditions need to be met for anyone travelling to St Helena from Ascension to take advantage of the travel corridor:

In extenuating circumstances only, passengers that may be arriving from Ascension that have not been on Ascension for what is the full quarantine period, would be subject to the following additional procedures:

The travel corridor itself, and the conditions applied, will commence with the arrival of the flight from Ascension in May.

SHG
22 March 2021   

On Tuesday, 9 March 2021, the Incident Executive Group (IEG) met to discuss and review SHG’s Coronavirus Strategy, which was developed and implemented in 2020 to guide the Island’s planning and response to COVID-19. Members reviewed the strategic objectives and agreed that, whilst the priority objective is to minimise the risk of COVID-19 reaching the general populous of St Helena, it was important that resources are now also allocated to developing plans to minimise the impact of the pandemic on the Island’s economy and to plan for the future. In light of this, IEG agreed that the priority order for the strategic objectives should reflect this shift.

Prioritisation of Strategic Objectives

Therefore, at this present time, the Strategic Objectives (delivered through effective preparedness and response plans), ratified by IEG, are as follows in priority order:

  1. To be prepared to respond in a practical way to minimise the risk of COVID-19 reaching the general populous of St Helena
  2. To minimise the effects of COVID-19 on the Island economy, assess long-term effects, sustainability of resources available, and plan for future
  3. To maintain clear communication with the organisations and people who provide key public services, those who use them, and the wider general society
  4. To minimise the risk of exposure and transmission of the virus to key workers and the wider community
  5. To minimise the risk of serious illness or death caused by COVID-19.

In order to deliver these objectives there is action planning around four phases:

Moving and Planning for the Future

Robust plans and operating procedures are in place for the first three phases, and SHG is now focussing on planning for how the Island will gradually return to normal as the Island vaccine programme is implemented, and as other countries start to open their borders to international travel.

This will start with the current immigration restrictions on air and sea travel being lifted as of 1 April 2021. The restrictions that were implemented in January 2021, mean that only St Helenians and their dependants, individuals in the service of the Crown in the right of the Government of St Helena and their dependants, individuals with long term entry permits, and transit passengers solely for the purpose of entering or leaving Ascension have been able to enter St Helena.   

Lifting these restrictions will now mean anyone who meets the immigration conditions for entry to St Helena, including those arriving on Yachts, will be able to enter the Island provided they comply with the mandatory quarantine requirements. COVID-19 preventative measures will remain in place, these include testing on arrival to St Helena, mandatory 14-day quarantine and a negative test result before being allowed to finish a quarantine period.

March Flight

The process for prioritisation of passengers for the flight scheduled for the end of March 2021 will be implemented as usual.

The flight arrangements to St Helena thereafter will continue with a maximum capacity of 96 passengers. The total of 96 passengers is to align with the Island’s COVID-19 testing and quarantine security system capacity and will therefore continue to be applied.  

With the UK still in a national lockdown and with stringent travel restrictions in place, it is anticipated that there will not be a significant increase in numbers entering St Helena immediately. 

The decision to partially open St Helena’s borders will allow Islanders and visitors to make travel plans to the Island once more, albeit with additional requirements due to the continuance of COVID-19 preventative measures in place.   

SHG
22 March 2021   

Executive Council have endorsed updates to the Investment Policy and Investment Strategy. These updates were focused on clarifying the changes to the Investment process after Enterprise St Helena (ESH) ceases operation after 31 March 2021, and includes:

The Investment Policy and Investment Strategy were previously endorsed in June 2018 and April 2019 respectively. These documents set out how SHG approach investment, and outlined the following incentives:

  1. A reduction in Income Tax for companies and self-employed persons who generate income in certain sectors which are promoted within the Sustainable Economic Development Plan as export or import substitution sectors. This is automatically applied to companies.
  2. All businesses can carry losses forward to offset against profit in any future financial years.
  3. A reduction or exemption from Import Duty on specific capital items for Approved Investments which meet certain scoring criteria relating to economic, social and environmental sustainability. These include providing employment, social cohesion improvements, and using renewable energy. Approved Investment Status is awarded to enterprises through an application process.

These incentives will all continue to be available as per the updated Investment Strategy.

Five businesses have received Approved Investor Status since the incentive was made available in 2019. These include a project which increases salad production; a Fun Park project; a campsite project; an eco-friendly tour accommodation and payment system project; and a coffee farm. Most of these projects are in the start-up stage at present.

It should be noted that Approved Investor Status awards import duty exemption; but any request for land, planning or immigration services would require Investors to go through the usual land, planning and immigration processes.   

If you run a business which would benefit from import duty concessions to help start or expand and provide a new product or service, you can apply for Approved Investor Status. More information is available within the Investment Strategy which can be found on the SHG website at https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/st-helena/invest-in-st-helena/.

For more information, you can contact SHG’s Chief Economist, Nicole Shamier, via email to: nicole.shamier@sainthelena.gov.sh or tel: 22470.

#StHelena #InvestInStHelena #InvestmentPolicy #InvestmentStrategy

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SHG
22 March 2021

The Health Directorate are aware of concerns within the community regarding the International news coverage of European countries having paused their vaccine rollouts, due to investigations on whether the AstraZeneca Vaccine is related to cases of vaccinated person’s developing blood clots.  

Due to the varying cases occurring within various countries across Europe, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has had to investigate the cases as a matter of protocol. Investigating any reported observation is a common process in monitoring the safety of any new medical product. This is not limited to vaccines, and involves all medicines. The St Helena Health Directorate are also required to report to the UK any observations made after delivery of COVID-19 vaccinations, or any findings, that are not listed as known side effects, observed during clinical trials.  

EMA has stated “while its investigation is ongoing, EMA currently remains of the view that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing COVID-19, with its associated risk of hospitalisation and death, outweigh the risks of side effects”. The EMA will issue a recommendation, after reviewing the data presented around blood clots, by the end of this week.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has also stated that there is no evidence linking the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine to blood clots, and has urged countries not to pause COVID vaccinations. WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told BBC news:

“As of today (16 March), there is no evidence that the incidents are caused by the vaccine and it is important that vaccination campaigns continue so that we can save lives and stem severe disease from the virus.”

Blood clots can occur naturally and are not uncommon. The number of blood clots that have been reported in Europe are not above the numbers that would be expected to occur ordinarily, regardless of whether someone has been vaccinated.  AstraZeneca has stated “about 17 million people in the EU and the UK have received a dose of the vaccine, with fewer than 40 cases of blood clots reported as of last week”.

The Health Directorate will continue to monitor the situation closely, but our priority to vaccinate as high a proportion of the population as possible remains, and therefore our Vaccination Programme will continue.  

So far 3,300 people have received the first dose of the vaccine on St Helena.  A small proportion of these have experienced known side-effects from the vaccine.  Symptoms have generally been mild and have lasted 24-48 hours.  

Protect yourself to protect St Helena.

SHG
18 March 2021

St Helena went to the Polls yesterday, Wednesday 17 March 2021, to find out whether the public wanted to see a change to the Current System of Governance and, if so, whether a Revised Committee System or a Ministerial System of Governance would be preferred.

Following the closing of the Polling Stations at 7pm, a count was held at the St Helena Community College.

The results portray that the majority of those who voted wanted a change to the Current System of Governance. Of those who voted, more voted for a Ministerial System of Governance than a Revised Committee System.

The votes were broken down as follows:

Total Number of Ballots: 372 (17.3% of eligible voters on the Register of Electors and Supplemental List of Individuals for this Poll)
Spoilt Ballots: 1
Valid Ballots: 371

Total Responses to Q1: 361 (97.3% of Valid Ballots)

Q1: Do you want the current system of governance to be changed?
Yes286Representing 79.2% of responses to Q1
No75Representing 20.8% of responses to Q1

Total Responses to Q2: 336 (90.6% of Valid Ballots)

Q2: If the public will is for a change to the current system of governance, should the governance system be changed to:
a) Revised Committee System151Representing 44.9% of responses to Q2
b) Ministerial System185Representing 55.1% of responses to Q2
Votes Cast by District
Jamestown7018.8% of total ballots cast
St Paul’s9926.6% of total ballots cast
Half Tree Hollow7018.8% of total ballots cast
Alarm Forest5214.0% of total ballots cast
Levelwood41.1% of total ballots cast
Sandy Bay143.8% of total ballots cast
Blue Hill174.6% of total ballots cast
Longwood4612.4% of total ballots cast

Thanks are extended to all who took the time to cast their vote in this important Poll for St Helena.

#StHelena #GovernanceReform #ConsultativePoll #TheResults

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SHG
18 March 2021

The Modular Cable Landing Station (MCLS), which forms a major part of St Helena’s Fibre Optic Cable Project, arrived to St Helena via the MV Helena on Tuesday, 16 March 2021.

The MCLS, and associated components, was designed and fabricated in the United States by American Manufactured Structures and Services (AMSS).

The MCLS was offloaded, transported, and carefully positioned at the site in Rupert’s, with installation works soon to commence.

Director of MCLS from AMSS, Bob Pohlman, commented:

“I am extremely pleased on how well AMSS and SHG were able to work together with the issues presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, handling all planning and coordination via emails and conference calls. Once the modules arrived on the MV Helena, all teams worked together effortlessly – as if they had been working together for a long time. We can now proceed in making the building weather tight and reinstalling all the crossovers, as we work toward connecting power. It has been my pleasure to meet some great folks and hopefully we are providing them a link to a prosperous future.”

SHG’s Equiano Project Manager, Jeremy Roberts, added:

“The arrival of the MCLS, which will accommodate the landing of the Equiano Cable System, is one of the major cornerstones of this exciting and strategically important project for St Helena. It is also important to stress that the transportation, offloading, and positioning of the CLS units could not have been accomplished without the support and commitment of several major stakeholders.”

  • Modular Cable Landing Station being offloaded from the MV Helena
  • Modular Cable Landing Station ready for transportation
  • Modular Cable Landing Station being positioned

#StHelena #ModularCableLandingStation #CableProject #GoogleEquianoCable

SHG
18 March 2021

The Health Directorate has administered a further 1,966 first doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca Vaccine between 8 -13 March 2021. This brings an Island-wide total of 3,107 doses administered thus far. 

These preliminary figures show that approximately 80% of the Island’s eligible population have received their first dose. The remaining 20% of the eligible population are strongly encouraged to make arrangements to receive their first dose during this week, if they haven’t already done so.  

The mobile clinics, being held at various community centres, as well as the Flu Pod at the General Hospital, will continue to be open for the rest of the week, 15-20 March as follows: 

DateVenueTime
Monday, 15 MarchHalf Tree Hollow Community Centre8am – 6pm
Tuesday, 16 MarchHarford Community Centre8am – 6pm
Wednesday, 17 MarchKingshurst Community Centre8am – 6pm
Thursday, 18 MarchHalf Tree Hollow Community Centre8am – 6pm
Friday, 19 MarchHarford Community Centre8am – 6pm
Saturday, 20 MarchKingshurst Community Centre8am – 6pm
15-20 March (inclusive)The General Hospital8am – 4pm

Those who have not yet received the first dose are still able to make appointments via telephone number 22998, or are welcome to simply walk in at any of the mobile clinics near them or at the Flu Pod in Jamestown.

The vaccines have a very limited shelf life therefore the Health Directorate strongly advises those who are eligible to receive their first dose, to please come forward and do so within the time frame offered to them.  

Protect yourself to help protect St Helena.

SHG
15 March 2021

St Helena will go to the poll on Wednesday, 17 March 2021, after Legislative Council unanimously agreed that a Consultative Poll on Governance Reform be held on St Helena.

The Poll will ask the public if the current Governance System should be changed, and if so, whether it should be changed to a Revised Committee System or a Ministerial System.

Polling Stations

Polling Stations will open from 10am until 7pm and will be located as follows:

Polling StationPresiding OfficerAsst Presiding Officer
Alarm Forest (St Mary’s Church)Brenda ThomasDeborah Knipe
Blue Hill Community CentreDiana WilliamsBelinda Piek
Half Tree Hollow Community CentreKaren YonMerlin George
Jamestown Community CentreOlive WilliamsJoan Yon
Levelwood ClinicBrenda StevensAngela Francis
Longwood (Harford Community Centre)Cecily BatemanPriscilla Isaac
Sandy Bay Community CentrePhyllis ColemanDelphia Stevens
St Paul’s (Kingshurst Community Centre)Jackie MoycePatrick Young

Voters must vote in the Electoral District in which they are registered, unless they have had an application approved by the Registration Officer to vote in a different Electoral District to which they are registered.

Upon arrival to a Polling Station, the voter should proceed to the Assistant Presiding Officer’s desk who will ask for their name and address. Voters will then be asked by the Presiding Officer if they know how to cast their vote and will explain the process if necessary. The Presiding Officer will issue the Ballot Paper to the voter who can then cast their vote in secret.

How to Vote

There are two questions included on the Ballot Paper.

Question One will ask whether or not the Current System of Governance should be changed. Voters will need to indicate ‘yes’ or ‘no’ by placing an ‘X’ in the relevant box. If a voter places an ‘X’ in both the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ boxes, the votes will be invalid and not counted.

Question Two will ask, if the public will is for change, whether voters’ preference is for a Revised Committee System or a Ministerial System of Governance. Voters will need to place an ‘X’ against either box a) Revised Committee System or box b) Ministerial System. If a voter places an ‘X’ in both box a) and b) the votes will be invalid and not counted.

It is important to note that even if a voter votes for no change in Question One, they can still cast a vote in Question Two. This is to ensure that their view is still counted if the majority of voters vote for a change of system, despite the individual themselves voting for no change. 

If a voter places a mark on a Ballot Paper by which he/she can be afterwards identified, the Ballot Paper will be void and will not be counted.

If a voter is blind, incapacitated or illiterate, and is therefore unable to mark the Ballot Paper his/herself, the Presiding Officer will mark it for him/her if requested to do so by the voter.

Counting the Votes

The counting of the votes and subsequent announcement of the result will take place at the St Helena Community College following collection of Ballot Boxes from the Polling Stations.

The count and announcement of the result will be broadcast live via both local radio stations.

#StHelena #GovernanceReform #ConsultativePoll #PollingDay

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SHG
15 March 2021

St Helena will go to the poll this week on Wednesday, 17 March 2021, after Legislative Council unanimously agreed that a Consultative Poll on Governance Reform be held on St Helena.

The Poll will ask the public if the current Governance System should be changed, and if so, whether it should be changed to a Revised Committee System or a Ministerial System.

Register of Electors and Supplemental List

To be able to vote in the Poll on Polling Day, persons MUST be included within the Register of Electors which came into effect on 1 July 2020, or have since applied to have their name included on it, or be included on the Supplemental List of Individuals compiled for the purposes for this Poll only.

The deadline has now closed for inclusion on both these lists for the Poll.

The Register of Electors, July 2020, is here. Though it does not contain the names of those who have since applied to be included on it, notification of persons who have applied to amend the 2020 register by including their name or other change of details, have already been made public via various Extraordinary Government Gazettes. The Supplemental List of Individuals, to be used only for this Poll, is here.

Information to Help Aid Your Decision

With Polling Day just days away, this is now your last chance to assess all of the information that has been given on the three systems of Governance.

There will be radio discussions today, Monday 15 March, on both local stations where Elected Members will discuss the current and proposed systems of Governance, as well as give out information on the arrangements for Polling Day and how to cast your vote.

You are also encouraged to check out information released in the lead up to the Poll to help make your decision on how you will vote on Polling Day. These include:

Furthermore, you are also encouraged to chat and engage with members of Legislative Council.

This is an important Poll for St Helena and we hope that as many voters as possible turn out on Polling Day to have their say on St Helena’s future system of Governance – whether that be to keep the Current System or implement a Revised Committee or Ministerial System.

#StHelena #GovernanceReform #ConsultativePoll #PollingDayThisWeek

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SHG
15 March 2021