St Helena : St Helena - ExCo Report No. 52 – 24th August 2010
Submitted by Saint Helena Herald (Public Relations Information Office) 30.08.2010 (Article Archived on 13.09.2010)
This was my first meeting of ExCo since returning to Island nearly two weeks ago and having the honour to be sworn in as Acting Governor.
ExCo Report No. 52 – 24th August 2010
This was my first meeting of ExCo since returning to Island nearly two weeks ago and having the honour to be sworn in as Acting Governor. I was able to welcome to the meeting Mr. Frank Wastell, who will be acting Attorney General during Mr. Ken Baddon’s imminent absence from Island, and Mr. Derek Henry, who was in attendance for the first time in his new capacity as Manager of Central Administration in OCS. Mrs. Gillian Francis was again present as Acting Chief Secretary.
Having confirmed the minutes of the last two meetings, a good deal of time was as usual taken up dealing with matters arising from previous meetings. With the help of the new Tracker Document, a lot of routine but important matters were covered. These included fuel pricing, outsourcing, the Overseas Territories Consultative Council meeting in November, hospital standards, water quality, Councillors’ accommodation, complaints procedures and tourism.
On water quality, we agreed that the relevant Council Committees and officers should work urgently to resolve the problem of polluted water at Sandy Bay. More generally, I believe that the public need reassurance about the overall quality control of water on the Island, and I asked the Acting Chief Secretary to provide an assessment for the next meeting.
On tourism, Members noted that the new Tourism Sales and Marketing Executive, Miss Janet Shankland, was now completing her first and successful familiarization trip to the Island, and that Mr. Michael Dean had also arrived to begin a two year contract on Island as Tourism Development Executive. The work of these two professionals would be critical to raising standards both of marketing and product development in this crucial economic sector.
Also under matters arising, there was a general discussion of progress being made in meetings between Elected Members and officers in fleshing out the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding for the new airport in such important areas as tax reform, inward investment, land policy and immigration. I was impressed by Members’ determination to grasp the opportunity offered by the Secretary of State’s announcement and to work together to open up the Island’s economy in a way that would most benefit the Saints.
The first item on the substantive agenda was presented by the Chairman of the Health and Social Welfare Committee. This concerned a Bill seeking to amend the Public Health Ordinance, largely to update outdated provisions and to allow the Committee to delegate various operational functions. It was agreed that the Bill should be published for public consultation, and that further publicity would be managed by the Committee concerned.
The next paper was a proposal from the Attorney General to make Regulations under the Immigration Control Ordinance to provide for exemptions to be made in certain cases by the Governor-in-Council from the current controls on the holding of land by immigrants. The immediate background to the paper was the need to facilitate the disposal by the Crown of the property at Wranghams, but the Regulations will in general enable more effective disposal of land by auction or tender. Members agreed to the proposal, which represents a modest but significant step to the more open approach to inward investment that will form a key part of any agreement on air access.
Members also agreed a proposal, put forward by the Financial Secretary, to increase wharfage rates for goods not cleared from the wharf within 14 days, subject to exceptions in certain cases such as in the event of road closures. The purpose of the measure, which had received the support of the Economy and Finance Committee, was not to raise additional revenue, but rather to cover at least part of the cost to the Customs service of goods remaining on the wharf for protracted periods, and to facilitate the improvement works to the Wharf which are soon to begin.
Members then turned to a paper dealing with landing and mooring dues for participants in this year’s Governor’s Cup Yacht Race. Exemptions from these dues have been routinely sought and granted in the past, in line with the Government’s objective of improving the Island’s attractiveness to this type of event. Members agreed that an exemption should again be given for this year’s race and, further, that the authority to exempt participants in future international yacht races which have St Helena as a destination be delegated to the Financial Secretary.
Under Any Other Business, I mentioned that I had asked the Chief Human Resources Officer, in conjunction with other concerned parties, to prepare a briefing note on the recent pay and grading exercise. Whilst there were clearly lessons to be learnt for the future, I considered it important that the benefits as well as the costs of this exercise be holistically assessed. Finally, Members noted the current fact-finding visit to Island of a representative of a potential inward investor in the fisheries sector. It is certainly encouraging that recent weeks have seen an increase in outside expressions of interest in our Island’s economy. At the same time, I noted the importance of treating any firm proposal which might emerge in a way that preserved a level playing field for all.
This business-like meeting ended at 12.30 pm. Subsequent engagements have unfortunately delayed my broadcast until today, for which I apologize.
Andrew R Wells
Acting Governor
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