Ascension : Right of Abode, why it did not occur during the first Council
Submitted by The Islander (Gavin Yon) 03.11.2005 (Article Archived on 17.11.2005)
I think it is fair to state that three years ago most of Ascension’s Voters expected that right of abode would be made available at some point during the life time of Ascension’s
I think it is fair to state that three years ago most of Ascension’s Voters expected that right of abode would be made available at some point during the life time of Ascension’s first democratically elected Council, I certainly did and I imagine most, if not all, of the Councillors did too. Given that Ascension is soon to elect its second Council I thought it might be useful to write an article explaining what I believe has happened over the last three years in regard to right of abode and to look ahead at what may happen next.
Background
HMG’s 1999 white paper “Britain and the Overseas Territories” (OTs) reviewed Britain’s relationship with its OTs, stating that “the people of the OTs must exercise the greatest possible control over their own lives.” Following up on this HMG produced a consultation document in April 1999 called “Ascension Island into the new millennium”. The document concluded by stating that Ascension and St Helena’s prosperity should be enhanced by
- giving the people of Ascension a greater say in local affairs
- changing the way essential services are supplied and run
- providing greater security for the people of Ascension by offering residence rights to those who qualify
- creating income and jobs by encouraging private enterprise.
Expectations
At the outset in November 2002 the expectations of Ascension’s population and their newly elected Councillors of what the new Council would achieve were extremely high. At the time three of the four concluding points of “Ascension Island into the new millennium” had been achieved; democracy had just flourished; essential services were being run by AIG / AIWSA which were being funded by recently introduced taxation, and a private sector had been created with the sales of the Island’s main shop, its petrol station and the “Guesthouse”.
Consequently it was commonly felt that delivery of the fourth conclusion “… offering residential rights to those who qualify” would occur in the near future.
Right of Abode
The Council established its mission “To create a family island” where “family Island” is a place where people want to live, where they can buy houses and live safely. The Council then embarked on a public consultation concerning who should have right of abode and related topics such as immigration. HMG were supportive of this process and funded two visits by Michael Bradley, a Lawyer based in the Cayman Islands, who produced a draft Immigration Ordinance in 2004. This process raised the population’s and Councillor’s expectations further and right of abode still felt imminent.
Since the drafting of the Immigration Ordinance no further progress has been made. Unfortunately the previous Attorney General resigned and it took a year for a replacement to be appointed, leaving the Council without legal advice for the period. Since the appointment of the new Attorney General it has become apparent that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) have “concerns” about the introduction of right of abode. These concerns were not revealed to the Council until May of this year when Simon Elyn, Head of the South Atlantic Section, of the FCO visited Ascension.
FCO / HMG concerns appear to be that if right of abode is granted then Ascension’s Government will need to ensure that any unemployed or retired persons are not left destitute and that the Government will have to fund both the health care for an aging population and the social services necessitated by the creation of a “family Island”.
The Council acknowledged these consequences of right of abode but felt that the real issue was how these consequences are to be funded. It is my belief that the best way to fund them is to allow the economy of Ascension to develop, which will occur if right of abode is granted. The economy will grow as people invest in their own houses, employing people to build them, etc. and this development will increase the numbers of organisations and people paying tax. Indeed this is already happening, the private sector now contributes Property tax, and it has created new jobs which means that more income tax is also being paid.
The Future
The one thing I think that we can take hart from is the fact that the FCO finally appear to be ready to take part in the process of shaping Ascension’s future. They have produced an “Economic Study of Ascension Island” and intend to hold a conference in the next few months to define the future for the Ascension. It is envisaged that all the major stakeholders will be present together with the new Councillors who will represent the views of Ascension’s population.
Whilst it is a shame this development could not have occurred three years ago at the beginning of Ascension’s first Council, it may mean that the next Island Council could be the most important yet, I just hope I am not writing the same sentence in three years time!
Geoff Jones
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