FINN(COM) DAILY RECORD: WEDNESDAY, 06 APRIL 2005

 

 

 

UK PRESS COVERAGE EXHIBITION AT STANDARD CHARTERED BANK

 

6 April 2005

 

From 7 April -25 April an exhibition of UK media coverage of the Falkland Islands will be on display at Standard Chartered Bank in Stanley.  The publicity has been generated by Keene, the public relations consultancy for the Falkland Islands Government.

 

Over the past twelve months, a potential audience of over 15 million people has discovered the modern Falkland Islands through the UK media.  The coverage exhibition illustrates the wide range of features on the Islands that have appeared in national and regional newspapers, consumer magazines and leading trade publications including The Independent, The Guardian, Aberdeen Press and Journal, Essex Magazine and The Local Government Chronicle. 

 

A variety of lifestyle features have profiled people who have chosen to live and work in the Islands and the stunning photography accompanying the articles has shown the Falklands at its best.   As new generations grow up lacking awareness of the Islands, it has been increasingly important to inform younger people about the Falklands.  Animals and You featured a fun wildlife competition before Christmas; The Times - Gap Year Supplement included an article on the value of spending a gap year in the Islands; and The Chichester Observer covered the Islands' participation in the Commonwealth Youth Games.  The Falklands' close historical ties to the UK have been highlighted in features in Country Life and Museums and Heritage on the successful restoration of Cartmell Cottage.

 

Sukey Cameron, Falkland Islands Government Representative in the UK, said: “It is important to work with the UK media to convey the reality of the modern Falklands to the wider British public.  This exhibition demonstrates how we bring the Islands to life through different medium in order to raise and build on people's awareness of the Falklands."

 

Tony Richards, Managing Director of Keene, said: "Once again we owe a debt of gratitude to all those in the Islands who have worked with us to produce such a fantastic range of coverage.  By sharing your experiences of life in the Falklands you enable us to provide journalists with an accurate and interesting view of life in today's Falkland Islands.  I should also like to thank the Standard Chartered Bank for hosting this exhibition.”

 

FIGO and Keene welcome suggestions for future story ideas.  These can be emailed to: [email protected]

 

For further information please contact Abby Smith or Iona-Jane McGilchrist on 020 7287 0652 or email [email protected]

 

 

BUSINESS NEWS FROM ST. HELENA (04/06/05)

 

These Items Can Be Found in St. Helena Herald this Friday

 

 

Cruise Ships for April 2005

 

 

The Professor Multanovskiy brought 52 passengers and 20 crew to the Island at the beginning of April on its exploration cruise. The vessel stayed in James Bay for two and a half days. However this will be the smallest cruise ship for this month as three larger vessels will be dropping anchor in James Bay.

 

Rhapsody - 11 to 12 April

 

The Rhapsody is due to arrive on 11 April at 10am and depart the following day at 5pm. 450 passengers are on board, out of which 170 are on a special Napoleonic Cruise which is being arranged by Michel Martineau. In addition, the vessel is able to carry 344 crew members. The Rhapsody will travel to St Helena from Walvis Bay.

 

Saga Rose - 13 April

 

The Saga Rose has visited St Helena in the past and will call at the Island on 13 April from 1pm to 6pm. At the moment the Saga Rose has 350 passengers on board but this figure could change once she arrives at Cape Town. This will be confirmed later. She has a crew capacity of 350 and will be travelling from Walvis Bay.

 

MS Prinsendam - 19 April

 

The MS Prinsendam will also travel from Walvis Bay, and in addition to calling at St Helena, the vessel will call at Ascension. Following this year’s visit, the MS Prinsendam is planned to call at St Helena during the latter part of next year. The MS Prinsendam will visit the Island from 10am until 6pm and whilst details of the numbers travelling to St Helena have not yet been confirmed the vessel has a capacity to carry 794 passengers and 443 crew.

 

The cruise season usually ends in April each year as we move into our winter months.

 

Staff from the Tourist Office will greet visitors at the Wharf, and a marquee will be set up for persons wishing to sell arts, crafts and souvenirs. The Post Office will have a philatelic stall at the Wharf, and Postmistress Beverley Francis said they have also offered to go on board all vessels to sell stamps, first day covers and other philatelic products.

 

Public Relations/Information Office; Office of the Chief Secretary, 6 April 2005

 

 

FCO awards Funds to St Helena

 

 

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has just awarded St Helena Good Government Funding to the value of £28,000. The funding has been awarded to the St Helena Dive Club, the Police Force, and the Legal Lands and Planning Department.

 

A fair portion of the money will go towards replacing sea rescue diving equipment.  The St Helena Dive Club is contracted to the Fire and Sea Rescue Section of the St Helena Police Force to assist with operations as and when required. For this, dive equipment is needed and it is important that this is always in pristine state so that the dive team can just pick it up and carry it out to the sea rescue. This is because time does not allow for them to be carrying out equipment checks before carrying out the rescue operation. Therefore, the Dive Club always want to have equipment that is in first class condition. As well as having the sub aqua safety equipment replaced, funding will also allow for the purchase of a flotation stretcher, VHF radios with waterproof cases, and life jackets. This contributes to the Strategic Objective Develop a Healthy Community in a Safe Environment. In commenting on the approval of the funds, Larry Thomas, Chairman of the St Helena Dive Club said: “The Dive Club cannot afford the equipment. We are really happy that the funds have been approved as the equipment we have now is starting to deteriorate a bit and it is essential to have.”

 

For Legal, Lands and Planning, two pieces of equipment will be purchased. The first will be a transcribing machine for use in court proceedings as the current machine is more than ten years old and needs to be replaced. The second will be a speakerphone, as this will allow the Supreme Court to make use of telephone conferencing. Speaking on behalf of the Department, Legal Officer Judy Lawrence said: “We are very pleased to have been granted the funds to purchase the equipment. It will enable us to do our work more effectively.” The equipment will contribute to St Helena’s Strategic Objective Continue to Develop and Establish the Democratic and Human Rights and Self-Determination of the People of St Helena.

 

The Police Department has had money approved so that they can purchase equipment and make some changes at the Prison.

 

 Chief of Police Derek Thomas is pleased with the approval of the funds and said “ The specialist equipment will allow the police to be equipped with personal protective equipment, in support of the safe handling and treatment of persons dealt with by the police” while “protecting and complying with their basic human rights.” Equipment will include speed cuffs, protective batons, and high visibility jackets. Derek added “The funding for the prison will develop and improve the prison service by allowing essential security issues to be addressed within the prison.”

 

With their funding the Police Department will contribute to the Island’s strategic objectives Develop a Healthy Community in a Safe Environment, and the objective Continue to Develop and Establish the Democratic and Human Rights and Self-Determination of the people of St Helena.

 

Public Relations/Information Office; Office of the Chief Secretary, 6 April 2005

 

Public Service Association

 

Heads of Department met at the Teacher Education Centre at 4pm yesterday afternoon to finalise the draft Constitution for the proposed Public Service Association and to discuss next steps.

 

Following a few minor amendments it was agreed that the Constitution should be formally adopted at the next Heads of Department meeting which is due to take place on Friday, 15 April.

 

At this Heads of Department meeting, ideas will also be presented on how the Association should be launched.

 

Heads of Department have been discussing the introduction of a Public Service Association for many months and SHG employees have been involved and invited to submit comments. The Constitution was drafted by Senior Legal Officer, Alan Nicholls, and in speaking about the results of yesterdays meeting he said “It has taken a long time to get to this stage, however it is very pleasing to know that the whole question of the Constitution has now been finalised. I hope that every employee of the public service will see fit to become a member of the Association in due course”.

 

The Association will be similar to a workers’ union and will be the first of its kind to serve members of the public service, which would effectively be SHG employees. While no one will be compelled to join, all SHG employees will be given the opportunity to do so.

 

The Association will operate independently of Government and will be funded by annual subscription fees of £5 per person, which may be paid by weekly or monthly deductions from wages.

 

Alan is now in the process of preparing a reader friendly leaflet which will explain the Constitution to SHG employees and highlight the benefits of becoming a full member.

 

Public Relations/Information Office; Office of the Chief Secretary, 6 April 2005

 

FIBS NEWS DIRECT: 06 APRIL 2005

 

COURT NEWS:

 

A trial date has now been set for an MPA man, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of a threat to kill and common assault.  The trial of Barry Charles Yon will start on Thursday, 28 April. 

 

UNUSUAL FOOD POISONING:

 

There has recently been a case of unusual food poisoning here - ecoli0157 - normally associated with cooked meats.  Dr. Roger Diggle told the Health and Medical Services Committee that a three year old had come down with the illness in the middle of last month.  This is the first known case of the sickness in the Falklands.  When searching through the food history of the child, the only thing they came across was frozen chicken.  Samples have been taken from the same consignment of chicken, which was tested in the Public Health Lab at the KEMH using standard food testing protocols, which came back clear.  The child has fully recovered and the child’s parents did not contract the illness.  Dr. Diggle says that he presumes that this is an isolated incident and suspects it was imported from overseas but cannot prove that.  Diagnosis of the disease takes four days from the consultation.

 

NORMAL RETIREMENT AGE INCREASES:

 

Following approval from Executive Council earlier this year, rules on the normal retirement age of 64 are to be relaxed.  Subject to satisfactory performance and a certificate of medical fitness, Government employees will now be able to continue to work if desired.  The management code currently permits voluntary retirement from the age of 50 but states that Officers would normally be required to retire on reaching the age of 64.  Following the approval, extensions of service will be permitted beyond the retirement age of 64 on the basis of annual contracts of employment.  In a letter to civil servants, Chief Executive, Chris Simpkins, said that relaxing the extension of service provides mutual benefits as FIG has the opportunity to gain from the knowledge and skills of the older Officers, with greater potential to achieve better value for money and a longer pay-back period for training.  The employee will be able to add to pension contributions and work in a familiar job.

 

BOARD OF EDUCATION REPORT:

 

People who are abusing the education system could be stopped if plans for a new way of looking at student loans and grants go ahead.  Cllr. Jan Cheek, who chairs the Education Board, says that following an informal chat with her colleagues, the general feeling was that loans could be written off year by year if students return here after qualifying, saying this is thought to be more acceptable than straight loan repayments and that there would have to be a degree of flexibility written in as depending on what qualification was gained with the level of qualification the student would have to attain before moving back here to work.  Cllr. Richard Cockwell, who was also at yesterday’s meeting, says that job availability here needs to be considered, with the Director of Education agreeing.  Sylvia Cole feels it wouldn’t be fair to penalise students who want to come back to work but can’t get a job in their chosen field.  Barry Elsby, though, pointed out that the chosen field would have to be relevant, saying that, for example, there would be no work here for someone qualifying as a Neurosurgeon.  The matter is up for debate and has been put on the agenda for the next meeting.

 

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