St Helena : St Helena ExCo report 49 – 1st June 2010
Submitted by Saint Helena Herald (Public Relations Information Office) 08.06.2010 (Article Archived on 22.06.2010)
This was the third ExCo meeting in less than one month, and the last which I will have the honour of convening during my current appointment as Acting Governor, as H.E. Governor Gurr will return to Island on Friday. I thanked Members for their hard work and courteous support over the past several weeks.
ExCo report 49 – 1st June 2010
This was the third ExCo meeting in less than one month, and the last which I will have the honour of convening during my current appointment as Acting Governor, as H.E. Governor Gurr will return to Island on Friday. I thanked Members for their hard work and courteous support over the past several weeks.
Before the formal beginning of the meeting, we looked briefly, as we did last week, at the current problems and cut-backs being faced in the UK and, more positively, at the issues likely to come before Info Leg-Co in the coming fortnight. These include a presentation by the Child Protection Advisor, Mr. Viv Neary, proposals for enhancing Councillors’ office accommodation, a report from the Head of Energy in the PW&SD, a survey carried out by the Financial Secretary on Saints working overseas, and a report on the latest position in the “FLITS” – the annual performance targets set by the Department for International Development (DfID) as a condition of the release of much of our key infrastructure funding.
The first substantive item on the agenda was the new, three year Tourism Development Plan, or TDP for short. We all felt that this was not the right moment for Council to endorse the details of a plan, since more work will need to be done by the Civil Society, Leisure and Tourism Committee (CSLTC), supported by the new Provisional Tourism Commission. Members noted that a Concept Note, setting out the key elements of the TDP, had already been agreed by the CSTLC and the DfID. These elements include support for cruise ship visits, improved facilities for yachts, upgrading of the Tourism Office, marketing (a very important element) and enhancement of tourism attractions. It was decided to task the CSTLC with developing these basic components further, so that a formal Project Memorandum could be signed with DfID this summer. This in turn will mean that DfID will be able to release the first tranche of the £1,200,000 negotiated during the DAPM visit – a very positive step forward, bearing in mind the stringent economic situation that continues in the UK.
Some helpful ideas were also put forward about the institutional arrangements for developing the TDP, for example the role of the Tourism Office. I advised Members that working out a streamlined, long term organizational framework, clearly defining the role of different stakeholders, would be a key task for the new Tourism Development Executive post, now being advertised. This, together with a part time Sales and Marketing Executive, to be based in London, will be crucial to bringing together all parties involved in the TDP and raising St Helena’s profile in the international tourism market. It is encouraging that we expect to be able to fund these positions without dipping in to the TDP project grant. I shall be taking part in the selection process for these posts during my forthcoming visit to the UK.
Members then turned to a proposal from the Financial Secretary to raise the current fees for vehicle inspections. This item had been held over from a meeting in February at which various concerns raised by Members had been referred to the Access and Transport Committee. In the light of consultation with concerned parties, Members agreed to increase ordinary vehicle inspection fees by £3; and the cost of inspection to £75 and £200 for cranes of and exceeding twenty tonnes lifting capacity respectively. These increases will take effect from 4th June.
In reaching this decision, Members expressed concern that only one person on the Island was currently suitably qualified to carry out the crane inspection role. We agreed that it would be sensible to have at least a second such person available, and that the Access and Transport Committee should be asked to consider how the training of such an individual could be funded, bearing in mind also that qualifications of this sort would require periodic updating.
Turning to the closed agenda, Members decided to deal with the one substantive item first, before turning to the usual “matters arising” and “any other business”.
This was an important item, namely, the introduction of a standard, transparent and efficient method for setting the price of fuel supplied from the Bulk Fuel Installation (BFI). The problem hitherto has been that oil prices worldwide have fluctuated rapidly, and there have been significant delays in passing on these changes to consumers. As a result, when the landed cost of fuel has gone up, the BFI has had to shoulder the loss (at the ultimate expense of the tax payer) until an adjustment could be made at the pump, and that adjustment has often been higher as a result of the delay. Conversely, when the landed cost of fuel has gone down, consumers have not benefited from lower prices as quickly as they should. Each consignment of fuel has required a new decision by the Executive Council.
In future, Members agreed that fuel prices would be set automatically by the market. When a shipment is received, consumers, notably the power station and Solomon’s, will pay the landed cost per litre plus a contribution to the operational cost of the BFI and the BFI’s Asset Replacement Fund. An exception will continue to be made for the St Helena Fisheries Corporation, which will pay landed cost only. The result will be more rapid adjustment, both upwards and downwards, of the cost of petrol and diesel, with the cost of running the BFI being spread more equitably between both.
The first application of the new methodology will come into effect later this week, taking into account the last two shipments of fuel received. It would be wrong to speculate now on the actual changes to pump prices that will result. However, Members wished to reassure the public that any increases, whether now or later in the year, would not in themselves create the need to raise electricity tariffs. The Financial Secretary will be making broadcasts on both radio stations at the end of this week, explaining the rationale for and implications of this change.
Further, I have subsequently asked the Access and Infrastructure Programme Manager to ensure that, as far as possible, unloading operations are tightened up to avoid delays in bringing fuel into the BFI before sale.
Under matters arising, Members noted that public consultation had now begun both on the media standards legislation and the possible corporatization of News Media Services. You may wish to tune in to what promises to be a lively debate hosted by Saint FM tomorrow evening (Thursday) at 7.15 pm, in which the Hon Tara Thomas, the Hon Derek Thomas (both on the Home and International Committee) and the Attorney General will take part. On another media related matter, Members also noted that a Service Level Agreement with Saint FM, as agreed by the Home and International Committee, was now in place.
There was also some discussion of the way forward with the Bailey Bridge, on which a full paper will be presented at a future meeting, and of the provision under the tourism budget of public facilities at Napoleon’s tomb. I acknowledged the concern over water supply difficulties faced by residents in the Alarm Forest area, and gave two assurances in this regard: first, that the installation of toilets at the site would be carried out in such a way as not materially to affect residents’ water supply; and second, that interim measures to improve that supply would be reviewed, pending the permanent upgrading of the water supply there under the Infrastructure Plan.
Other matters raised included the good news that the agenda for the pre-OTCC meeting in Bermuda this week will include the item suggested by the Hon Cyril Gunnell, namely the latest position of HMG on the 1999 White Paper on the Overseas Territories. Separately, I advised that further explanatory briefings would be given in the near future to InfoLegCo and to the media on the current state of play with the Pay and Grading review within SHG, whilst the Attorney General undertook, now that Supreme Court business was approaching conclusion, to expedite a paper for Council on appointments to the Highways, Water and Electricity Authorities.
Members also discussed further the issue of the taxation of certain reimbursable expenses and allowances for contract staff, as the Financial Secretary had been absent from the previous discussion. There was strong agreement that the provisions of the new income tax law should be enforced consistently across the board, and it was noted that officers who had been over or under charged tax would need their cases to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. The Financial Secretary undertook to bring back a report to Members on the outcome of this exercise which was, however, likely to take some time, so as to minimize the likelihood of inconsistencies or legal challenges.
Finally, the Acting Chief Secretary gave an update on the position on the recruitment to Island of VSO posts. Posts in the pipeline include a helper for the operation of SHAPE, civil society support officer, an occupational therapist and a wound care nurse. All of these represent a cost-effective and practical way of bringing much needed expertise to the Island.
This was a long meeting, ending at around 2.30 pm, which is why this broadcast has been later than usual, but it was able as a result to cover a wide range of issues in a workmanlike manner.
Andrew Wells
Acting Governor
2 June 2010
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