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THREE DAYS LEFT TO AMEND REGISTER

A Bye-Election, to fill the vacant seat on Legislative Council, will take place on Wednesday 23 March 2016.

To vote in the Bye-Election or to stand for Legislative Council your name must be on the Register of Electors. The deadline for applications to add to or amend the Register is 4pm on Wednesday 27 January 2016.

Applications must be made on the prescribed form and sent to the Registration Officer, Gillian Francis, at the Castle.

SHG
25 January 2016

Mark Capes, the Governor of St Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha is pleased to announce the appointment of Sean Burns as the next Administrator of Tristan da Cunha. Sean will replace Alex Mitham at the end of the year.

Sean, currently the Head of the Governor’s Office in St Helena, will be accompanied by his wife, Marina, on what will be his second posting to Tristan – having served as Administrator from 2010 -2013.

Further details will follow in due course.

SHG
25 January 2016

In accordance with Section 15(3) of the Immigration Ordinance 2011, the following persons were granted St Helenian Status, with effect from 5 December 2015:

• Mrs Marian Bernadette Yon, of Jamestown, St Helena

SHG
25 January 2016

The St Helena Badge of Arms (pictured below and attached) – also at times referred to as the ‘Heraldic Badge’ – comprises three elements of the St Helena Coat of Arms.

The flexibility for the use of the Badge of Arms – granted by the College of Arms in 1995 – is much greater than for the heraldic Coat of Arms used by SHG.  The Badge can be used on souvenirs, other products, websites and for promoting St Helena generally.

Since it has become apparent over the years that the image of the Wirebird on the Badge of Arms has become distorted through copying and re-designing, the attached provides a reference version which can be freely used.

The preservation of the correct heraldic symbols is vital in preserving St Helena’s identity.  All those who wish to use the St Helena Badge for promotional or commercial use are encouraged to use the attached version of Arms.

 

SHG

25 January 2016      

St Helena Government is currently pursuing the development of a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with an aeromedical evacuation provider and a provider of secondary and tertiary healthcare in South Africa, to commence this year.

At present, the majority of patients requiring specialist healthcare travel to Cape Town on the RMS St Helena.  Only an extremely limited number of patients are transferred to the UK (usually via Ascension Island), and it is unlikely that this number of patients will change significantly in the foreseeable future.

St Helena is therefore likely to remain mainly reliant on accessing specialist secondary and tertiary medical care, in South Africa.  This means that an aeromedical evacuation service is required from St Helena for clinically unstable patients who require urgent transfer to private healthcare provision in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and possibly other locations, including Namibia and the United Kingdom.

The scope of the Invitation to Tender provides for the provision of both an emergency aeromedical service and specialist healthcare provision in South Africa.  Two of the main points are:

 

 

 Following review of the tenders (due to close in mid-February) and shortlisting, SHG will undertake site visits and interviews to be confident that the specification and service meet St Helena’s needs.  A decision is expected no later than June 2016.

Full tender documentation can be found on the UK Government Website Contracts Finder

https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search reference HSW-00063.

SHG

25 January 2016

The RMS St Helena’s next departure from Cape Town will be delayed – until at least the afternoon of Tuesday 26 January 2016 (she was due to depart on Monday 25 January.  This is due to high winds and deteriorating weather conditions which have delayed the arrival of a connecting UK transhipment vessel. 

The Dal Karoo cargo ship was originally intended to berth earlier in the month, but when she arrived at Cape Town the port was closed and 21 ships were waiting outside to berth.  A decision was therefore taken for the ship to proceed on her onward journey to Port Elizabeth and Durban. The Dal Karoo was, in any case, due back in Cape Town on Sunday 24 January 2016, where she would have offloaded onto the RMS in time for its scheduled departure.  

However, the bad weather means that the Dal Karoo will now not berth in Cape Town until at least the morning of Monday 25 January 2016.  To compound this delay, Cape Town is currently experiencing more high winds and is behind in releasing containers.

The RMS will wait for the Dal Karoo to offload because she is carrying (in 24 containers) amongst other things, refrigerated foodstuffs and medical supplies.  

The RMS will aim to make up at least one day by increasing her speed between St Helena and Ascension (and should be OK for Ascension flight connections). 

Further details will follow in due course.  

SHG

22 January 2016

SHG’s new Adult Social Care team which forms part of the Safeguarding Directorate is now based at the Community Care Complex, Ladder Hill.  This team supports vulnerable adult members of St Helena’s community, aged 18 to 65 years.

The team works across St Helena to help vulnerable people be safe, be supported and have freedom of choice.

Paul Bridgewater, Head of the Adult Social Care Team, said:

“Our team was formed in September 2015 to work with adults who have a range of difficulties – such as those with learning disabilities, physical disabilities or other impairments. Our remit is to try to assess how the difficulties affect a person’s life and then help find the support that is needed. We also work to address adult abuse to vulnerable people.

“Our team works to support some of the most vulnerable people in Saint Helena on a daily basis.”

If you would like to contact the Adult Social Care team

(Mon to Fri, 08.30 to 16.00hrs), even just for a chat, the number is 23172.

The Children’s Services Division of the Safeguarding Directorate has also moved to a new, dedicated building behind Ebony View, near White Wall.

The new building has been designed to better meet the needs of the Children’s Services team, including interview rooms, a conference/day room, offices – and it has access for the disabled. 

Team Manager, Samantha Dunn, said:

“The new building provides a better environment for the children and families who need our services, and gives us the ability to better support the community – including delivery of the incredible Years Parenting programme and Protective Parenting courses.”

The Childrens Service supports children in need and their families and children at risk of harm. It provides a range of services including parenting support, play therapy, keep safe at work advice, community awareness sessions and training to other agencies in child protection.

If you would like to contact the Childrens Service team (Mon to Fri, 08.30 to 16.00hrs), please call 23312

SHG

22 January 2016

 

NEW GOVERNOR ANNOUNCED

 

LISA PHILLIPS TO SUCCEED MARK CAPES IN APRIL 2016 AS GOVERNOR OF ST HELENA, ASCENSION AND TRISTAN DA CUNHA

 

Lisa Phillips

Lisa Phillips

Lisa Phillips has been appointed Governor of St Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha, in succession to Mark Capes. Lisa (photo attached) will take up her appointment in St Helena in late April 2016 after visiting Tristan da Cunha for its bicentenary celebrations.

 

Governor Mark Capes will arrive in St Helena on 30 January 2016, following overseas business and leave, and will depart the Island on Friday 18 March 2016 to carry out official business in Paris and Corsica connected with the Napoleonic bicentenary celebrations.  From 18 March, Head of the Governor’s Office, Sean Burns, will become Acting Governor until Lisa Phillips arrives at St Helena on the RMS on Tuesday 26 April 2016.

 

Lisa is currently Head of Office in Kenya for the Department for International Development (DFID), based in Nairobi. During her career – much of it spent with DFID – she has worked in a wide range of policy areas, overseas posts and in a number of leadership roles. 

 

On her appointment as the 65th Governor of St Helena and the first ever woman appointed to the substantive role, Lisa said:

 

“I am so excited to be taking up the role of Governor of St Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha and cannot wait to be on the Islands and to get going. 

 

“With the opening of the Airport, 2016 will be a year of change for St Helena.  I am looking forward to working in partnership with the Island and her people to get the most benefit out of that change, while preserving the very special place that is St Helena”.

 

Reflecting on his four years on the Island, Governor Capes added:

 

“Tamara and I will leave St Helena shortly after over four tremendously busy and satisfying years.  Much has been achieved during those years on so many fronts and I am hugely grateful to Councillors and colleagues in St Helena Government for their support and for their commitment to moving the Island forward. 

 

“It has been both a pleasure and a privilege to work with such a talented and enthusiastic team.  Even now it still amazes me how such a small community, with limited resources, has coped so well with the diverse and challenging demands placed on it in recent years as we have prepared to meet the changes ahead.”

 

“Knowing the Island and her people as well as I do now, I have no doubt, as I hand over to my successor, that St Helena is on course for a bright and prosperous future.”

 

Councillor Lawson Henry, on behalf of Executive Council, concluded:

 

“I very much welcome the appointment of Lisa Phillips as our first Lady Governor –    I am sure she will be given a special St Helena welcome when she takes up her post in April.  As the first Lady Governor she will no doubt go down in the history books, but I hope too that she will also be written about for what she brings to the Island and what she is able to help us achieve at such a crucial time in our history.  So welcome Lisa – we all look forward to meeting you.

 

“I would also like to pay sincere tribute to Governor Mark Capes for the time he has served as our Governor on St Helena and for all he has done in taking the Island forward, especially for his four years of work on the Airport project. 

 

“I would like to take this opportunity of wishing Mark and Tamara all the very best in their future, wherever that might be.”

 

 

SHG

22 January 2016

 

On 10 December last year St Helena Government welcomed publication of the Wass Inquiry Report, accepted the report’s recommendations and committed to quickly implement them. This work commenced in December, with some recommendations already implemented and many others already well in hand.

There is a wide range of recommendations in the Wass Inquiry Report, covering Safeguarding, Governance, the Police, Healthcare, Recruitment, HR practices, Training and Education.

Today, SHG publishes its Action Plan for the Wass Recommendations – which can be viewed at https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/publications/ detailing the actions and timeframe against each individual recommendation.  This action plan will be updated regularly online with, at least, quarterly press releases on progress.

The progress already made across a number of the recommendations is balanced by SHG’s acknowledgement that there remains much work to be done – both within and outside the scope of the Wass Inquiry. This will be delivered by officials and Elected Members, working in partnership with Ginny Ferson of FCO and all other partners, including our main funder DFID.

All the issues raised in the Inquiry will be comprehensively addressed and we will regularly review our systems to make sure we are protecting the most vulnerable people in our community.

SHG and the UK Government will continue to take any allegations of abuse extremely seriously and are committed to ensuring that children and the vulnerable are heard and protected on St Helena.  We will strive for further safeguarding improvements on the Island, bringing prosecutions where appropriate.

The Wass Inquiry Report itself can be viewed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/484129/51735_Wass_Inquiry_Web_Accessible_PDF   Hard copies can also be viewed at the Public Library, the Human Rights Office and the Public Solicitor’s Office.

SHG

22 January 2016

In a Proclamation issued today, 19 January 2016, Acting Governor Sean Burns has announced that a Bye-election to fill a seat on Legislative Council – vacated by Mr Leslie Baldwin – will take place on Wednesday 23 March 2016.

The public is reminded that to vote in the Bye-election or to stand for election to Legislative Council, your name must be on the Register of Electors, printed in the Extraordinary Gazette Notice, dated 1 July 2015. 

There will however be a short window of opportunity to get your name on the Register and, in this regard, applications to amend the Register should be made on the prescribed form and returned to the Registration Officer, Gillian Francis, at the Castle, no later than 4pm on Wednesday 27 January 2016.  Applicants must be at least 18 years old and have St Helenian status – or be the spouse or life partner of such a person – and be ordinarily resident on the Island.

Forms can be obtained from the Registration Officer, Gillian Francis, at the Castle, from the Customer Service Centre, or from the following Assistant Registration Officers:

 

And for Specific Areas:

 

 

 

You can check with these persons to see if your name is already on the Register.

 

Further information on the Bye-election will be issued in due course.

SHG

19 January 2016