St Helena : St helena Measures Sustainable Development Plan Success
Submitted by Saint Helena Herald (Juanita Brock) 26.10.2008 (Article Archived on 09.11.2008)
SHG departments are continuing to make good progress in delivering against the objectives set out in the Sustainable Development Plan with progress being monitored through quarterly reports to the Chief Secretary.
MEASURING OUR SUCCESS THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PLAN
SHG departments are continuing to make good progress in delivering against the objectives set out in the Sustainable Development Plan with progress being monitored through quarterly reports to the Chief Secretary.
In Education, the baseline has been established for Vocationally Related Qualifications (VQR); 5 Students have achieved VQRs in Vehicle Maintenance and, the Scheme of Service for teachers has been approved and implemented with effect from April this year.
Public Health and Social Services Department now has four additional UK registered nurses which will help to improve the situation regarding adequate numbers of trained nurses in the system. A remuneration package for trained nurses was implemented in July this year.
The Agriculture and Natural Resources Department is in the process of handing over the management of the Sawmill to a private contractor and three other private sector contractors have been set up as private support operators providing support for key forestry and conservation field programmes.
In Public Works and Services Department, work has started on the erection of additional wind turbines at Deadwood and all materials have been procured. The recruitment of 4 engineers for this department is progressing well.
The cliff stabilisation works above the wharf have been successfully completed and the sennebogen 6180 crane has been commissioned. The Development and Economic Planning Department has also procured the reach stacker which will arrive next week when the RMS returns from the UK. In addition, a prioritised list of projects relating to Infrastructure Development has been endorsed by Executive Council and accepted by DFID.
The new SHG Code of Management has now been published by the Human Resources Department and took effect from September, replacing the Public Service Orders. All overseas recruitment is now being managed by the HR Department.
In the Office of the Chief Secretary, the first phase of the Public Sector Modernisation Programme is well under way and the first draft of a Tourism Destination and Marketing Plan has been received. In addition to outsourcing the Sawmill, four additional activities will be advertised for outsourcing during October and November 2008.
As of end June 2008, the Legal, Lands & Planning Department has reported that 21 residential plots, both Crown and privately owned, have been released into the development arena for future construction and one historic building is currently undergoing restoration work. Seven other planning approvals have also been granted for restoration and/or improvements to listed buildings. Looking specifically at the High Level Indicators contained in Table 11 of the SDP, which monitors progress at the national level and are representative of both the private and public sectors, targets have been exceeded in some cases, whilst in some areas progress has been slow.
I. Economic Growth through Private Sector Development
Targets have been exceeded with regard to the number of local businesses registered (299) and the number of stay-over visitors recorded (1537) by the Tourist Office.
Progress in the fishing industry has not been as anticipated due to there being no offshore fishing and poor yields from inshore fishing. In the building industry, 23 new houses were completed by the end of June 2008.
II. Human and Physical Infrastructure
In Education, the target has been met with regard to the number of Primary schools in use. There are now three fully amalgamated vertically grouped primary schools. The pupil teacher ratios in both the primary and secondary sectors have also been met.
In the wharf development programme, the cliff stabilisation project has been successfully concluded and the new crane has been installed.
There has been less success in the share of renewable energy generated due to the various delays in the wind turbine erection programme. Targets have also been met and exceeded in relation to the number of broadband connections made.
III. Care for the Vulnerable
The number of long-term unemployed has dropped to 28 by the end of June this year. This has been largely due to the re-training programme and other initiatives introduced by the Employment and Social Security Department.
The work on Social Housing has started and is being led by the Social Development Planner. At the beginning of this financial year there were 85 applications for social housing; 65 on island and 20 offshore. Six new single bedroom units were built in the Longwood area. A scoping exercise was conducted of the 84 applicants on the list 9 did not respond, 35 are not interested any longer and 40 are still interested.
IV. Public Sector Modernisation
Increased Cost Recovery for Utilities; Electricity: Target - 70%. Achieved 129% of projected recovery (this figure is high due to debt recovery by the department).
Water: Target - 70% - achieved 79% of projected recovery.
Pay and Redundancy restructuring; A redundancy and redeployment policy has been drafted and this is currently going through a consultation process in SHG.
Overall, progress reports show that we are firmly on the path towards achieving our goals. However, implementing and achieving the key actions and targets of the Sustainable Development Plan will continue to require concerted effort; SHG staff, elected members, the private sector and the general public will all need to work together to ensure the Plan's continued success.
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