Falklands : Falkland Islands Chamber of Commerce Elect New Officers
Submitted by Falkland Islands News Network (Juanita Brock) 02.08.2008 (Article Archived on 16.08.2008)
The Annual General Meeting of the Falkland Islands Chamber of Commerce was held at 1830hrs on Wednesday, 30 July 2008.
FALKLAND ISLANDS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ELECT NEW OFFICERS
By J. Brock (FINN)
The Annual General Meeting of the Falkland Islands Chamber of Commerce was held at 1830hrs on Wednesday, 30 July 2008.
Officers of the Chamber for 2008/2009 are:
President – Mr Roger Spink
Vice President – Mr Hamish Wyley
Treasurer – Mrs Pam Budd
New Council Members:
Mrs Cheryl Roberts and Mr Rodney Lee
After the meeting a meal for Chamber Members and invited guests – Tapas – was provided by the Falklands Brasserie.
Presidents Address to The Chamber of Council Annual General Meeting 30th July 2008
I would like to thank Dave Lewis for his contribution to the Chamber and we hope he continues as an active and valued member. We also welcome Cheryl Roberts and Rodney Lee onto the council.
We must thank Keith Biles for continuing as our Company Secretary.
Nikki Buxton as our IT consultant and Website manager.
We must mention all Chamber representatives who sit on Government committees.
Karen Lee-Education Board
Alex Olmedo, Andy Brownlee and Ian Thom- Apprenticeship committee
Jimmy Moffat-PWD Committee
Dave Lewis/Graham France-Historic Dockyards
Mike Forrest- FIDB
Mike Forrest-Possible prohibition of smoking in public places
Alison Ward- FICS Managers
Mario Zuvic-Bulic-Energy Committee
I should also like to thank Pam Budd our Treasurer who has kept our books in order and Alison Ward and her helpers. Alison has also run our DHL operation that funds many of our activities . Problems with theft are being addressed by DHL and we have conveyed to them our concern at the damage such incidents cause to the service.
During the year the Chamber has met with Marriott Lesley from the FCO, visiting MP’s and the Foreign Affairs select committee. We have made various representations on the constitutional review which we believed to be in the interests of our members. Meg Munn, HRH The Earl of Wessex were also overseas visitors who could be shown the vibrant Falklands private sector.
We hope to make progress with FIG on representation in the regulation of the telecommunications monopoly in the Islands and the appeals process for Immigration matters. Making both processes more transparent.
We made some progress during the year on MOD business opportunities but intend to push again this year to develop further the roles the private sector can fill at MPA. We hope many members gain from the Mountain top rebuilds but there is still much to be done to inform and convince the MOD to place more business locally.
Our representations to FIG on Leasehold vs Freehold has so far failed to yield any positive response but we will continue to pursue this matter through the new GM FIDC.
We have made figures available to FIG on the impact of the BAS problem on the economy and hope that by suggesting a joint approach FIG and BAS can obtain a resolution of the problem with ASSI. We can also restore the cordial and beneficial relationship we have with BAS.
We welcome Sonny Jose to the Islands or should I say “sonic” by the raft of projects on his agenda. We look forward to working with Sonny and hope he can assist FIG to set their priorities and ensure that essential medical care to enable someone to live a longer life is prioritised above the many areas of discretionary expenditure we currently have. We hope he is able to create a climate in which the private sector can grow and prosper for the benefit of everyone in the Islands.
The last year has been a busy one for the Chamber. The 5% increase in tax and mention of withholding tax in the 2007/2008 budget was countered by the Chamber council by commissioning the Harte Report. This document has given our representations to FIG added weight and provided much food for thought. During the year we have recommenced regular meetings with the Chief Executive and arranged a meeting with FIG councillors to discuss their budget strategy and the Medium Term Financial plan.
Despite the MTFP setting out what we felt was a sensible approach to the Islands fiscal management SFC managed to produce a budget that failed to achieve the planned savings and created instability by introduction of the penal MSL or Employment tax and increase in Loligo fees. It is unclear from the LEGCO speeches who actually was in favour of MSL and indeed how it was ever put into the budget, but we are pleased that after much lobbying and (in order to ensure we consulted our membership) the participation of you all in our tax survey backed up the Chambers view on the long term harm such a tax could have on our economy. The proposals on MSL we are told have been shelved pending the tax review and we look forward to participating in this.
It is our view that engaging the Government at all levels in constructive debate over the way forward is essential if we are to move the economy forwards and avoid such knee jerk and damaging steps in the future.
The fundamental problem of the relentless rise in the costs of Government has to be addressed and we are concerned at the lack of action in this area. Endless reviews are only worthwhile if they deliver tangible long term results and are not used as an excuse to avoid taking early action. The agreed approach was laid out in the Medium Term Financial plan back in December 2007.
The Chamber can only achieve results in these areas if we and the Government are convinced of the support we have across all sectors of the business community and we encourage all of you as you did with the tax survey to give us your views and feedback on our initiatives.
We are aware that communication with our members is a priority and we hope our weekly newsletters are informative, they do not however give us the opportunity to interact with you all as members and events such as this one together with the many meetings we have during the year we hope give you the opportunity to contribute and take part in forming the Chambers policies. We hope we are and will continue asking the questions the business community needs.
Thank you all for your continued support of the Chamber.
RKS 30/7/2008
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