SUMMARY OF COUNCIL MEETING – 2 September 2016

Following the General Election on 1 September, the newly elected members of the Island Council met for their first formal meeting on Friday, 2 September.

The meeting began with swearing of oaths by the following members: Samantha Arms-Lawrence, Marie-Anne Dennis, Jacqui Ellick MBE and Kitty George. Nicholas John is currently on overseas leave and will take the oath on his return.

The Governor took the opportunity to congratulate members on being elected to Council, a few councillors had been re-elected and in addition there was a new Councillor, Marie-Anne Dennis. Governor Phillips said she looked forward to working with the Council. She told Councillors that they were her eyes and ears and she reiterated her statement made during her recent visit, whichwas that she wanted to put an effort into improving the relationship between the Government and people.

Picking up on the Governor’s final point the Administratorasked Councillors to commenton the low turnout of 23%, (2013: 35% turnout) and the reasons for it. Councillors expressed their disappointment at the poor turnout, which they felt was attributed to various factors including uncertainty with air access between the islands, and concerns surrounding the future of Ascension and employment. Councillors hoped to address these concerns by holding regular meetings with constituents and to schedule meetings at times when the public were able to attend.

The Administrator circulated a paper to members outlining an indicative Council agenda for the next threeyears. One of the top priorities was to continue to work on the airlink, though the action for now lay with SHG/DFID. Another priority would be the review of the 1926 Workman’s Protection Ordinance. The Administrator highlighted the intention to consult the Council on thereviews of the Pier Head and other critical infrastructure, which would take place before the end of the year. The Council would continue its work to establish a sustainable Fisheries Management Regime by introducing policies for licensing in-shore and off-shore fisheries.

The list was not exhaustive and other priorities were to protect against threats from introduced species through the development of a bio-security policy; developing a waste management strategy; to seek further taxchanges and review the business levy which would expire in 2018; raising child safeguarding standards; modernising the entry control procedures; and, implementing an island-wide crisis management system, among other things.

Under AOB, Cllr Kitty George raised concerns about voting anonymity during the recent general election. This would be looked at and if necessary the law and resulting procedures would be amended. She asked whether the recent VIP visitor had adhered to the fish export permit law. Yes he had, he and his entourage had bought sufficient permits to export his trophy fish. The Governor confirmed she would look into the question of eligibility for universityscholarships for St Helena pupils returning just for A Levels. There was concern among residents about visitors and residents feeding donkeys, a notice would be placed in the Islander and efforts would be made to ensure that visitors were discouraged from feeding the donkeys. The recent sharksightings at the Pier Head were discussed; bins would be located at the Pier Head for fishermen to dump their fish carcasses in an attempt to discourage the sharks from coming in-shore to look for food. There were complaints received about the state of the Boat Yardand cars dumped illegally in China Town. AIG would be looking into this; the tidy up of the Boat Yard and the duping of disused cars were part of a wider island-wide issue, which would be addressed. Finally, Cllr George reported public concern about the overzealousness of local police, including the military police. Members of the public felt that the attitude of the police was making it seem that it was ‘an offence for people to go out to enjoy themselves’. Arrangements would be made for Council to meet with the Police Inspector at the next Informal Council to communicate concerns.

Ascension Island Council,

3 September 2016