St Helena : St Helena EXCO REPORT 46 – 20th April 2010
Submitted by Saint Helena Herald (Public Relations Information Office) 22.04.2010 (Article Archived on 06.05.2010)
We have had some lengthy EXCOs over the past few months and this one was no exception. However it has meant that I was unable to get my report out on the day, for which I apologise.
EXCO REPORT 46 – 20th April 2010
We have had some lengthy EXCOs over the past few months and this one was no exception. However it has meant that I was unable to get my report out on the day, for which I apologise.
At Tuesday’s EXCO Cllr.Isaac and Cllr.Cranfield once again stood in for Cllrs.Tara Thomas and Mervyn Yon who are both away on government business. I understand that Cllr.Yon will be returning when the RMS arrives from Cape Town but that Cllr.Thomas is obviously having problems getting flights to Cape Town from the UK, so could well be delayed.
The first agenda item was to do with releasing some small parcels of land from the National Forest for house building. There was a discussion about the fairness of the current land disposal system and an assurance was given by the Attorney General that this matter is currently being considered. The excision of the proposed land was agreed in principle and that recommendation will now be gazetted.
The next item was a memorandum on the regulation of the media and attached was a draft ordinance setting up a Media Commission that would monitor and enforce agreed standards. The Commission would consist of a Justice of the Peace, a Member of the Legislative Council (but not of the Executive Council) and a member of the public. There would be two of each available, but the body would sit as a tribunal thus only one of each category would hear a particular complaint.
The need for such a safeguard has been brought about by the growing awareness that although all our media has signed up to various Codes of Practice, we have no way of actually ensuring compliance. That is clearly not a satisfactory situation when we are striving to make sure that our media maintain a high standard of creativity allied with responsibility. Members were content to refer this Bill to the Home & International Committee for the management of a consultation process. That process will be an interesting one for all of us as the arguments will doubtless range from opposition to what may be seen as a form of censorship, to a desire to have a balance of truth, decency and objectivity throughout media.
There was then a technical item regarding the financing of the RMS refit during the current year and we moved on to a Paper that is the result of the recent public meeting that I had the honour of chairing on the subject of the RMS. There was broad agreement among Councillors that the process that has been followed in examining the future of the RMS is sound and they were keen to ensure that two additional issues were added to the exiting 14 outlined in the paper. These were that the very strong public vote for 2 UK voyages is taken into account, and that the social implications for the island also warrant particular attention. I undertook to amplify the paper and circulate it widely for the creation of Terms of Reference for the future study as well as any further comments from the public. This will be done today. The RMS is our lifeline and therefore of vital importance to the island. Neither you’re Councillors nor your Governor would wish to take unproven risks with it. I will therefore continue to keep information flowing as freely as I can, and I intend to hold another public meeting to update everyone in late June or early July.
In the closed session there was unanimous agreement with a Paper from the Financial Secretary that outlined the form of budget and basis of accounting that would be used for the 2011-12 budget. This was of particular interest to Members as they had all been elected part way through the normal budgeting process for the current year and so, although called upon in LEGCO to approve the budget, it had not been a product of their scrutiny throughout its creation.
The form of accounting recommended in the Paper heralds a change from cash accounting to accrual accounting. Technical though that may sound, in fact it is fundamental to a proper understanding and control of what is actually happening. For instance, it was shown later in this meeting that our draft accounts for the past year, done on a cash basis, reveal a small surplus of over £300,000. However if the accounts were done on an accrual basis the Financial Secretary advised that they would show something like a £2 million loss. This is because the accrual system would take account of pension liabilities and asset depreciation. Our cash accounting simply does not include such items. Accrual accounts would also include a balance sheet that would reveal our assets and liabilities and that too would be extremely useful information for all decision makers and legislators. A Councillor commented that this is “An essential reform that is much needed by the island.” There was unanimous agreement.
Our final agenda item was to do with the future of government-subsidised media. The Paper concluded that the present situation where the Herald and Radio St.Helena operate under an ordinance is not really flexible enough to deal with the changing times in which we live. The proposal for a new structure was therefore referred back to the Home & International Committee for the decision on what form consultation should take and the management of that process.
There was quite a bit of Any Other Business. The first item would normally have been on the substantive agenda, as it was the financial report. However as the end of March is in fact the end of the financial year it would normally have taken well into May before such a report would be placed in front of Councillors. What the Financial Secretary distributed was therefore a draft only, but nevertheless most welcome as such speed of reporting will lead to far more effective control of public finances. The actual result for the year may be described as satisfactory. However as I mentioned earlier the small cash surplus would be reported as an actual loss under accrual accounting conventions and so although we have succeeded in controlling our finances well, the overall situation could best be described as “steady”.
We then discussed the situation with regard to fishing. The reaction of certain fishermen to the recent tax changes, as well as the meeting of the Fisheries Task Force that I attended, were both considered.
There has been significant and understandable concern surrounding the quarry at Horse Pasture. I am sure that most of you know that Nigel George has suffered a great deal of frustration and so have local residents. For quite a while now we have been seeking a sensible compromise that will enable Nigel to operate and yet will protect the environment in an appropriate way throughout the life of the quarry. Some very helpful work was done by Rebecca Cairns-Wicks last year and the proposal that was now approved included work on her recommendations.
As part of the large PSMP (Public Sector Modernisation Programme) we are in the middle of introducing a new Pay & Grading structure throughout the Civil Service. This is actually quite a big change and has caused understandably some concern among many civil servants who currently operate within a structure that hasn’t seen any modernisation for very many years. As part of that we are entering the realm of “Performance Management”. Therefore it will come as little surprise to you that in future all civil servants will be judged on their performance rather than on merely surviving in the job. The reasoning behind it is that we want to be confident that public money, in essence your money, is being spent wisely.
One of the most obvious steps towards that much tighter monitoring is the personal appraisal mechanism which will centre on a 1 to 1 interview between all civil servants and their line managers. That procedure will begin officially in September, but in order to limber up for that I have asked that every individual has an interview with their line managers between now and when I hope to return (God, the RMS and volcanoes permitting), on 3rd June. These interviews will be no more than chats about the job that is being done, how it may be improved, where there are problems, what are individual ambitions and so on. I am not seeking that any records are kept – that will come later. I have asked that the Chief Secretary arranges for these meetings to take place.
I also asked the Chief Secretary, under the guise of Any Other Business, to make sure that the promised regular report on consultants and advisers is published regularly and that means that there will be one soon. There is so much misunderstanding about the function of many consultants and advisers that I believe we have a duty to at least inform people why such visitors are here and what their work is likely to achieve for us.
The Chief Secretary provided for the Members a lengthy schedule of the work that has been done on our behalf by Keene in London. Keene are our public relations advisers and have spent a great deal of effort in working with and through Members of Parliament as well as assisting on tourism issues. I was asked at the RMS public meeting why we didn’t obtain more coverage on UK television of the demonstration in London over the lack of an airport decision. The answer of course is that it is very difficult indeed to get TV coverage, however important issues might be to us, they are in reality viewed as being fairly insignificant in the UK. However one way of influencing that is to have advisers such as Keene and schedule revealed that a great deal is going on behind the scenes.
Our final discussion was over the “Bailey” bridge. In view of the surge of enthusiasm for a breakwater that would increase and improve our ability for people to land from ship’s tenders – amplified by the RMS debate, the ongoing airport situation and the success of the QM2 visit we agreed that we should have a strategic review of the passenger to land capability of the Jamestown harbour before making a final decision to go ahead on the bridge. We certainly need to do something that is effective and affordable, and as ever we must pick wisely.
On a personal note, I confirmed to members that I will be absent from the island from when the RMS takes me to Ascension, whenever it next can do so, returning on 3rd June. I hope to bring Jean back with me who is currently recovering well from an operation. I have many meetings planned in London as well as Cape Town, and Andrew Wells will be Acting Governor in my absence.
This was a long meeting and therefore generates a long report, for which I make no apology. I am sure you will see that a great deal of work is being done by politicians and officers alike. The meeting closed at 2.40 p.m.
Andrew Gurr
Governor 21st April 2010
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