Ascension : REPORT FROM GOVERNOR IN THE UK – 4th September 2009
Submitted by The Islander (Ascension Island Government) 17.09.2009 (Article Archived on 01.10.2009)
The climate in the UK both meteorologically and politically is pretty grim.
REPORT FROM GOVERNOR IN THE UK – 4th September 2009
The climate in the UK both meteorologically and politically is pretty grim. Our holiday in Scotland enabled us to survive the worst and most consistently wet weather we have ever experienced, and the government is roughed up by the media with increasing pressure with every day that passes. Most commentators, and indeed civil servants, have an eye on next year’s election and that is bound to make the whole atmosphere far from positive. Although the stock market has rallied from the depths of a few months ago, it is still hard to find optimists almost anywhere.
All that is not good news for our airport consultation process, and although there will obviously be no official news before the announcement that is still promised before the end of the year, the economic gloom is not at all helpful. However over the past two weeks I have been involved in discussions concerning the airport and there is a momentum for the belief that it will be built eventually. If that isn’t as soon as we would like, most believe that it will not be so far in the future that it is an irrelevance to those alive now. That is my personal interpretation of the situation and as you all know, I have been disappointed quite a few times on this issue. I am sorry to be so cryptic, but there are commercial issues involved and I must share my thoughts with Executive Council and Senior Officers first.
During the past week two areas of concern have been clarified in my mind and they are of relevance to all of us – the first is fishing. I have met with Ian Thompson the Argos Chairman and with MRAG, who are probably the most knowledgeable of all the relevant consultants. Both Dick Beales, who is retained as an SHG Adviser, and Anna Balance of DfID were present at the meetings. From discussions it does seem that offshore fishing can at least be started without huge expenditure on a patrol vessel and that Argos is likely to remain committed to running our cold store and associated marketing beyond the approaching deadline of ten years from the start of that arrangement.
On the offshore question, MRAG will be reporting on the prospects in detail in a major report that they are working on currently. The inshore question remains the same as ever - how can we increase our catch? Argos point out that some of our fishermen are consistently successful and they believe that their example should be studied and that others should build on that which has proved itself. I appreciate that fishing is both art and science and that they are not always around to be caught; but when they are, we need to find ways of increasing our catch.
The second encouraging meeting I had was with Tom Swales who is the Managing Director of Stanley Services. That company has exclusivity on the supply of fuel on the Falklands and has always maintained an interest in the supply of fuel to both St.Helena and Ascension. Indeed Robertsons, who are a shareholder in Stanley Services, were responsible for the construction of our existing fuel farm. Stanley Services retail diesel and petrol in the Falklands at far lower prices that we are able to, and it is interesting to learn from Tom why that is possible. The major reason seems to be the size of the fuel farm. The issue is not simply that a larger facility means a lower unit cost of the fuel itself, it is that the transport of a small quantity costs virtually as much as that of a large quantity. It has been one of my main objectives on this visit to make sure that we do not miss out on having that larger storage simply because the airport has been delayed. After all the price of fuel is not just about transport costs, it impacts directly on the price of electricity, and that affects every household. Tom made some very helpful suggestions that I shall be raising with DfID and discussing on my return.
I had a useful meeting with Alan Savary, the Regulator of the Bank of St.Helena. It is very clear that the bank’s policy of being risk averse has been absolutely right during the present global financial crisis, and all those concerned should be congratulated on that. There is much to be proud of in our bank and Alan provides a most helpful dimension which aids our own decision makers.
Much of yesterday was taken up with Ascension Island matters. Most of you are well aware of some of the problems facing Ascension. The intense pressure on public sector finance in the UK has created a strong desire to make Ascension as efficient as it can be. Obviously the MOD is leading that charge, but it is the responsibility of the Ascension Island Government and the FCO to respond in a manner that takes full account of the substantial problems. My proposed brief stay on Ascension next week will of course include a meeting of Councillors when we will be discussing this very point.
The financial pressure is now influencing all kinds of decisions that at one time might have been considered too small and too insignificant to bother about. Whitehall Departments are being forced to operate at below budget during the current year. It is not just a desire to make savings in the year ahead – it is imperative to cut back now. That reflects the downbeat comments I made at the beginning.
You will all know that I am the very first in the queue to be pushing hard for commitment to an airport, and I believe that earnings levels in our Islands are disgraceful and unacceptable, but there is considerable hardship being faced now by many citizens of affluent nations and I know that DfID have been far more generous with us than others in a parallel situation.
I promised that while in the UK I would raise the issue of the difference between travelling on an Overseas Territory passport, and using a UK one. I did so and have received a number of explanations. This matter will be of considerable importance to us in the future as passports become more sophisticated as well as more expensive. This is an issue that I need to discuss with Councillors before any statement is made and so comment will have to be delayed.
I realise of course that we are shortly entering an election period and I look forward very much to this testing of our democratic system. I will be paying due tribute to the outgoing Councillors on my return; they have served well during a particularly difficult period. Government doesn’t stop just before an election and there is much to be done over the coming weeks.
Both Jean and I are genuinely looking forward to being back among you next Friday.
Andrew Gurr
Governor 4th September 2009
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