St Helena : February St. Helena Business News
Submitted by Saint Helena Herald (Juanita Brock) 06.03.2005 (Article Archived on 20.03.2005)

SHG is pleased to welcome the Shelco team who arrive on the Island on the afternoon of Sunday 20 February. Gasrron Yon tells us more.

Photo (c) Gavin Yon - Students from St. Helena.

NEWS FROM ST. HELENA

Compiled by Garron Yon

Students from St. Helena

Student Review Weekend

A number of St Helena’s scholarship students met up for a weekend in Worcester. This allowed them to review their training and to focus on matters of importance to them as students.

In attendance were students Mario Caswell, Gemma George, Martin Henry, Nicole Peters, Sherrilee Philips, Giselle Richards, Kerry Stevens, Lemarc Thomas, Jason Yon, and student-to-be Stacey Yon. UK Placements Coordinator, Ray Mace, SHG UK Representative, Kedell Worboys, Education Officer for Primary, Lilla Yon, and Head Teacher for Prince Andrew School, Derek Henry, were also present. Student Tina Dillon was unable to attend.

Some discussion took place on procedures when students return to the Island and Ray Mace explained that individual career profiles are being developed and will be distributed to prospective employers on the Island, allowing them to see what areas individual students have been trained in.  This will have the advantage of giving employers time to plan and prepare for the arrival of their new employees. For others, it assists students and potential employers to find suitable student roles at the end of the study period.

Concern was expressed over the rising cost of accommodation and the cost of purchasing books. Student stipends are paid in line with recommended British Council rates and any recommended increase in the near future will be taken on board by the Education Department.

While nothing has been finalised, students were informed that study rates may be reduced in the future, as St Helena is currently paying international fees that are far higher than those paid by UK and EU resident students.  While this would not affect existing students, it would be of great benefit to future students as the Education Department would then possibly be able to send more persons to study. This will depend on the rate of reduction.

New students reviewed last years induction week, and in general they considered this to have been a success. In addition to finding it enjoyable they found that it helped to build their confidence. The induction week included a trip to London.

Students did put forward suggestions for improving procedures for identifying courses and placements and one other suggestion was that current students be involved in the ‘new student’ induction programme.  The Education Department is considering all suggestions and these will prove particularly useful to this year’s scholarship contestants.

A number of students met with Ray Mace on a one to one basis to discuss their training programme, and on a more relaxing front, all went to the pantomime Cinderella, and during the performance they were welcomed by the star of the show.

In all, the weekend proved to be a success and it is possible that students under different training programmes could be involved in future gatherings. The gathering revealed that all of the new students have now settled in and one student commented that the get together was a “reality check” on their commitment to the Island, and a reminder of how fortunate they were to have secured a scholarship.

Chief Education Officer, Pamela Lawrence, said “All spoke positively about the event and we too have got the impression that the event does bring everyone “back to base” as well as being a good boost for the students to continue doing well.”

Public Relations/Information Office, Office of the Chief Secretary, 16 February 2005

Visit of Potential Inward Investor

SHG is pleased to welcome the Shelco team who arrive on the Island on the afternoon of Sunday 20 February.

Shelco have expressed an interest in investing on St Helena for some time and SHG will discuss their proposals for a flagship tourism development.

The team consists of Sir Nigel Thompson, KCMG CBE, Chairman; Alasdair Thomson, Chief Executive; Peter Allport, Chartered Surveyor; who will be arriving on Sunday 20 February and Joe Terry, Shelco’s Representative on St Helena.

Meetings will be commercially sensitive and will be held in private. However, if understandings are reached, then a joint press release (SHG/Shelco) will be made.

Public Relations/Information Office, Office of the Chief Secretary, 18 February 2005

OVERSEAS TERRITORIES CONSULTATIVE CONFERENCE 2004: FOLLOW UP ON A POINT RAISED   When Councillors Hopkins and Drabble attended the Overseas Territories Consultative Council last September one of the matters raised was the ‘Route to Independence’ that some Territories (not St Helena) might currently be interested in.  The Councillors recall that one of the questions was how the expressed wish of the people of the territory concerned about independence would be assessed.   One argument was that it should be a sufficient test if a party or grouping including independence in its manifesto gained a majority of seats at a General Election.  Others felt that there needed to be a specific test of public opinion.  The FCO Minister, Mr Bill Rammell said that he would take away the issue for further consideration.  He has recently written to Overseas Territories to clarify the UK Government’s position.  This is set out in the following extract from his letter:-   “As the grant of independence by the UK requires the prior approval of Parliament, the UK Government need to be satisfied that if a territory moves to independence, it does so on the basis of the clearly and constitutionally expressed wish of its people.  The move to independence is a fundamental step.  Increasingly in the UK, major constitutional issues of this kind are being put to a referendum.  At this time, the presumption of the UK Government is that a referendum would be the way of testing opinion in those territories where independence is an option.  But a final decision on whether to go the referendum route and what form the referendum might take, would need to be determined by the UK on a case by case basis, reflecting the uniqueness and individual characteristics of each territory.”   The question of ‘Route to Independence’ is, of course, of academic interest to St Helena.  The focus here continues to be on constitutional development as an Overseas Territory.  As agreed by St Helena and UK Government the test of the voice of the people on the proposed constitution will be through a consultative poll to be held on 25 May.   Public Relations/Information Office Office of the Chief Secretary 17 February 2005

 

Arrival of Magistrates Trainers

Tuesday saw the arrival of Magistrates Trainers District Judge Katherine Marshall and William Miles.

The trainers will remain on Island until 21 February, during which time they will be holding sessions with the Islands’ Justices of the Peace. Some of the sessions will also be attended by the Public Solicitor, Lay Advocates, and personnel from the Legal Lands and Planning Department, the Social Works Division, and the Police Force; as well as persons nominated for appointment as Justices of the Peace. Training is taking place at the Consulate Hotel.

A number of areas will be covered including the St Helena Magistrates’ Court which will look at jurisdiction, procedure and the work of the Court; evidence which will look at rules applicable to trials, the changes to the common law position introduced by the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the use of video link equipment, the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and its application to St Helena, and the Police and Criminal Evidence Ordinance. The training will also include case studies.

Judy Lawrence, Legal Officer said that about 24 people will attend the training programme which is being funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The St Helena Government is extremely grateful to the FCO for awarding the funds, as this will help the Island achieve its Strategic Objective “Continue to Develop and Establish the Democratic and Human Rights and Self-Determination of the People of St Helena” as well as the objective “Promote and Develop a Sustainable Workforce.”

Public Relations/Information Office, Office of the Chief Secretary, 17 February 2005

PUBLIC CONSULTATION PROCESS ON PROPOSED LAND DEVELOPMENT CONTROL PLAN DRAWS TO A CLOSE

You will be aware by now, from previous publicity on the subject that the St. Helena Government is currently embarking on the formulation of a Land Development Control Plan for the Island. The basic purpose of the Plan is to control what, and where development should take place on the island within the next ten years. In general terms, this means where houses, hotels, industrial premises etc can be built and what areas of the island should be conserved.

Public consultation on the substance of the Plan commenced on the 6^th December 2004 and very shortly, on the 28 February 2005, this consultation period will come to an end. The importance of the Plan for St. Helena cannot be overemphasised, therefore if you haven’t seen the proposals set out in the draft plan or offered any comments on its substance, then you are strongly advised to do so as quickly as possible as the initial public consultation process will end on Monday 28 February.

Copies of the draft plan may be viewed at the Legal, Lands and Planning Department, Essex House; the Public Library; or in the hallway of the Finance Department, The Castle. If you have any comments or representations to make, they should be made in writing to the Planning Officer, Gavin George, at Essex House on or before the 28 February.

Please remember that if you lose this opportunity to comment or make representations regarding the draft Land Development Control Plan, you will more than likely have to wait another ten years before you will have that opportunity. So please act now!

Public Relations/Information Office, Office of the Chief Secretary, 21 February 2005

Marketing St Helena

St Helena Tourism has been exploring various avenues to market the Island as a holiday destination.

The Island just enjoyed TV coverage on M-nets Studio 53 and on the m-net website which describes the island as a “peaceful paradise”. Studio 53 has focused on St Helena’s food, flora, and arts and crafts. As a result of other journalists’ visits, the Island has also been promoted in newspapers and magazines. In December 2004, a two-page colour article appeared in “Flamingo” Air Namibia’s in-flight magazine. St Helena Tourism marketing budget limits the amount of advertising in overseas travel magazines, but full page adverts will be placed in the St Helena Herald, to target its international readers. Director of Tourism, Pamela Young, said this suggestion was raised at a taxi drivers’ workshop.

St Helena Tourism also engaged the services of a marketing company, Barneys, to generate ideas on how to best market the Island. A number of proposals were put to the Tourist Office and these are being explored. Barney’s proposals included ideas for package tours such as historical, eco, and reality, and they also suggested having additional literature on St Helena designed and written, and extending the Tourist Office Website. Already tour operators have been approached to see if they will advertise and sell St Helena as a holiday destination. Although there was some interest, no commitments have been made so far, but Pamela said “we are still hopeful.”  She added that the exercise highlighted the fact that St Helena is facing very fierce competition internationally and the size budget some destinations have makes our task even harder.

The Tourist Office is able to provide tour operators with information on what the Island has to offer, and the type of tours available along with costs. This will allow tour operators to structure package tours to the Island. This is the case with the Island Holidays tour operator.

The Island also benefits from events, which generate their own publicity like the Governor’s Cup Yacht Race which attracted 70 people who stayed on the Island for three weeks. St Helena got a lot of publicity overseas through the Governor’s Cup Website and newspapers and Pamela feels that this will also happen with the Festival of Running later this year.

The Tourist Office will be releasing a promotional video of St Helena in the next few months, which will be distributed to tour operators and cruise companies. This year, a new Tourist Guide on St Helena will be produced along with other publicity material.

To raise local awareness, St Helena will be celebrating World Tourism Day on 27 September this year. Pamela said: “The programme for this has not been decided but we will be looking to include as many people as possible including tour operators, eating places, and craft makers, to name but a few!”

Public Relations/Information Office, Office of the Chief Secretary, 16 February 2005

Review of the Return to Work Scheme

As a result of the Return to Work Scheme, five previously unemployed persons have found full time jobs. This was revealed at a recent informal meeting of Legislative Council.

Cynthia Bennett, Interviewing Officer from the Employment and Social Security Department told Councillors and Heads of Department that eight people have completed their training, and five are now in full time employment. Over the past year only 19 people have signed up for unemployment benefits compared to an average of 55 persons the previous year, 16 of which found their own jobs, whereas the year before, only five people did this. The majority of them have taken up employment on Island, with a few leaving for offshore. At the moment, 16 people are being trained. The figures are a clear indication to the Department that the scheme is working.

The Return to Work Scheme has two main aims. The first is to help unemployed citizens into full time employment, through training and re-training if necessary, and the second is to reduce the number of clients coming onto the Community Work Scheme by abolishing the attractiveness of the old scheme.

Sessions with the unemployed revealed that the main reason why they had not secured full time employment was lack of training and experience. “Training is our number one priority,” said Cynthia. The department will continue to promote the Training and Work Experience Scheme, and more focus will be put on adult education with any advice and guidance from the Education Department within the range of expertise available.

A workshop for training is currently being prepared at Ladder Hill and the department is hoping to engage the services of a local trainer.

So far the main setback with the scheme has been a lack of training places within Government Departments and the Private Sector, and it is felt that this is largely due to a lack of funds.

The unemployed are keen to be trained and 29 have asked for training in basic numeracy and literacy, 16 in masonry, 14 in Information Technology,  eight in carpentry, five in mechanics and three in Clerical, while two would like to obtain their GCSE’s.  There is also some interest in developing small businesses, and for this reason SHDA has been involved in giving talks on how they can help.

Councillors raised a number of questions on how well the scheme was working, and generally speaking Cynthia said: “In my opinion it certainly has worked very well.”

Public Relations/Information Office, Office of the Chief Secretary, 16 February 2005

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