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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

 

 

The St Helena Media Review team (Sub-committee) had its first meeting on Wednesday 16 December 2015, and determined the following early actions:

 

Members of the public are welcome to contact the Sub-committee at e-mail media.review@helanta.co.sh or by contacting the group’s Secretary, Anita Legg, on tel: 22590.

The Sub-committee’s membership comprises Councillor Pamela Ward Pearce (Chair), Joan Peters, Ethel Yon OBE, Roy Burke and Paul McGinnety (temporarily in place of Thomas Holvey, who is currently off Island). The groups Terms of Reference can be found at: https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/documents/Media-Review-Terms-of-Reference-Jan-2016

SHG

19 January 2016

Executive Council met today, Tuesday 19 January 2016, with one item on the agenda. Council supported the First Supplementary Appropriation Bill 2015/16 and agreed that it be introduced as Government Business at the forthcoming meeting of Legislative Council on Friday 12 February 2016. A Supplementary Appropriation Bill is required under the Constitution to provide for Government expenditure not previously authorised in the Appropriation Ordinance for the Financial Year in question.

Executive Council, on behalf of Legislative Council, would also like to pay tribute to everyone involved in the safe and efficient evacuation of medevac patients over the weekend – a true example of the excellent teamwork and spirit on St Helena.

SHG
19 January 2016

The RMS St Helena arrived to the Island on Saturday 16 January around 23.00hrs – much earlier than scheduled – to achieve embarkation at 06.00hrs on Sunday 17 January so as to transport patients off St Helena for emergency medical treatment.

The RMS has now diverted to Walvis Bay, Namibia, to connect with a specialist ambulance flight to Cape Town. She will arrive in Walvis Bay around 20.00hrs on Wednesday evening and will remain in anchorage until Thursday morning, 21 January 2016. This will allow the medical flight to depart during daylight hours early on Thursday. The RMS will then continue as normal to Cape Town and arrive on schedule on Saturday 23 January.

SHG would like to sincerely thank all of those connected with this efficient and smooth operation. In difficult and emergency circumstances, the Island’s people came together to ensure the safe disembarkation and re-embarkation of all passengers and the safe evacuation of the medevac patients. SHG acknowledges the contribution of a great many people on St Helena, in the UK, in South Africa, and on board the RMS. Many individuals gave their time freely to ensure that those in need of emergency treatment were able to travel.

Acting Governor, Sean Burns said:

“This weekend’s events, focused on an emergency medical evacuation on the RMS, show yet again how this community pulls together.

From Hospital staff, to the RMS crew, passengers themselves, the Solomons team, SHG officials, Immigration & Customs staff, to the boat operators and others too many to mention – all can take pride in combining their efforts and bringing about a remarkable turnaround for the RMS when the circumstances demanded it.”

SHG
18 December 2016

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

With effect from Tuesday 10 November 2015:

 

 

With effect from Tuesday 15 December 2015:

 

 

SHG

18 January 2016

Corporate Support would like to extend sincere thanks to all who supported last year’s fundraising in aid of the Poppy Appeal Fund and to those who attended the Remembrance Service on 8 November 2015.

Special thanks are extended to Mike Durnford for his continued voluntary support to the Poppy Appeal and to his team of volunteers, consisting of Girl Guides and Brownies, Ex Servicemen Barry Stroud and Marco Yon, Salvationist Phyllis Yon and Councillors – who all assisted in raising public awareness and promoting Remembrance Sunday; and, to HMS Lancaster, Sure South Atlantic Ltd, and the RMS St Helena who contributed generously to the Poppy Appeal Fund.

A big ‘thank you’ also to those who laid wreaths at the Cenotaph and to those who assisted with the arrangements including Gilbert Young and team, Connect Saint Helena Ltd, Johnny Dillon, Anthony Leo, Saint FM, Printech, and to all the local shops and pubs who helped with the Poppy Appeal.

The sum of £2,272.61 was raised this year and will be sent on behalf of St Helena Island to The Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal in the UK.

We look forward to your continued support to the Poppy Appeal Fund in 2016.

Corporate Support
SHG
19 January 2016