St Helena : Report on Exco Meeting held on 11th December 2007
Submitted by Saint Helena Herald (Juanita Brock) 17.12.2007 (Article Archived on 31.12.2007)
The Executive Council meeting held on Tuesday 11th December lasted from 9.30 am until 11.30. All Members attended with Cllr. Lines deputising for Cllr. Isaac who as most of you will know, is representing us abroad.
Report on Exco Meeting held on
11th December 2007
The Executive Council meeting held on Tuesday 11th December lasted from 9.30 am until 11.30. All Members attended with Cllr. Lines deputising for Cllr. Isaac who as most of you will know, is representing us abroad.
The meeting began with the Attorney General outlining the Legislative Programme for the next few months. There are 3 bills that are at the consultation stage at present: the one setting up Mutual Organisations, the one dealing with Land Planning, and the Law Reform Bill. I mentioned these as passing through Exco in my last broadcast. The process is that when the period of public consultation is complete, and that may well involve a discussion within an informal Legco, they will be revised if necessary, come back to Exco and then be presented to Legislative Council. Three new Bills will enter this sequence between now and the Christmas break - Exco – public consultation/informal Legco – then Exco again and finally on to Legco.
They are all to do with finance, and there are Bills dealing with Financial Services, Money Laundering, and Bankruptcy. It is likely that these will be considered by the Legislative Council during March. It is also likely that other Bills will enter the system by that time, especially one on Education.
We continued by looking at a paper on the subject of public consultation – part of this whole legislative process just mentioned. We are all concerned that our government should be open in its style and behaviour. We also believe that all the people of the island have the right to be involved in what is actually being decided by the elected members. It is not good enough to simply tell people what is happening. We have a responsibility to explain to those who want to hear, and to react to any useful suggestions. With that in mind a paper had been prepared outlining a process for government officers to explain new legislation at public meetings to be held in both constituencies on a regular basis. Exco recommended that such consultations are held every other month and that they could be followed by Councillors meetings with their electorate. It was felt that it would be helpful not to always hold the meetings in the same place so that a wide range of people get the chance to attend. I was happy to accept this advice.
We then turned to an issue that some people will have strong views about – smoking, and how this society should manage smoking in public places. Most of you will realize that many civilised countries have already banned smoking in public places, and the smokers among you may well consider that to be a denial of freedom of action. However the link between smoking and disease is proven and it must be considered anti-social to inflict one’s own freedom to smoke on another person’s freedom to not inhale smoke. It was recommended that the Tobacco Control Strategy should be endorsed and suitable legislation prepared. The consultation process referred to above will prove to be interesting.
In the closed part of the meeting most of the discussion was under Any Other Business and was wide ranging. I indicated that in future the government would be publishing a summary of committee attendance by Councillors as well as their expenses. This is to help everyone’s understanding that they are the leaders of the community, not employees of government.
There was also satisfaction that the circulating of Exco papers to all eleven Councillors who had taken the oath of confidentiality had worked well, and in my view this signals the beginning of a time when those elected will work together in a closer harmony than may have been demonstrated during the recent Legco.
The Chief Secretary reported that the treatment of grass on the playing field is now thought to be likely to put it out of use for only 6 weeks and that should take place around May. This is most welcome news to both cricketers and footballers who had feared a far longer period.
There is one more issue I believe I should comment on that I didn’t raise at Exco, but I would like to take this opportunity to tell you about. I know that many have expressed concern over the rise of a committee within government known as the Senior Management Team. It has appeared to some as though this team has been making decisions and there can be little doubt that that would be unconstitutional. Another criticism of it has been that it has consisted almost entirely of ex-pats, with few Saints attending. Whilst I agree entirely with those criticisms, I am well aware that a Governor does need to consult with his senior advisors outside of Executive Council in a manner that is informal. I have thus disbanded the SMT and it has ceased to exist. I propose to use an informal group of advisers that I have named the Governor’s Group and the membership of that Group may well change from time to time, depending on the issue being considered. The GG is purely advisory.
Today I celebrate the fact that Jean and I have been on this beautiful island for one month. It has been a fascinating time, full of new and rich experiences and I am certain that I am still very much in the learning mode. I would like to thank all those who have been so much help to me, from Councillors who advise to those who show their friendship by waving cheerily. The experience of that one month tells me that it is good to be here.
A.M.G
11th December 2007
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