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The Islander - Thursday 8th August 2002

News From St. Mary's:

PARISH CHURCH OF ST MARY THE VIRGIN.  ASCENSION ISLAND (Diocese of St. Helena) Church Warden: Mervyn Isaacs Church Warden: Cheryl Anthony

Dear All,

did you watch much of the sports then? Did you see the St. Helenian athletes? No one seems to know how they have got on, do you? The Service on Sunday went well, we welcomed three young men under 5 foot, Alex, Oliver and Andrew, wonderful to see you all there. We also welcomed Andew's parents, Phil and Mary up from the Falkland Islands. Mervyn was spotted at the back with a new hair cut, Elma was seen in the choir stalls and Grandpa made a welcome return, we welcome you all home and thank the Lord for keeping you safe while you have been away.

We had to say goodbye to Audrey, we have really enjoyed having her with us on the Island over the last two years; She had chosen a hymn that we sang after the communion, it was one that I chose to have during my licensing so we had great fun, in fact we did it twice!! Even though we were not having a family service, because the guides were not with us, I shared with everyone the pictures of my new nephew William, he is the first son of my 41 year old sister, we prayed that William would sleep and that Ruth and Peter will enjoy the changes in their lives. Talking of the guides, on Sunday they were traveling through Birmingham to London. We prayed that they would get to their destination in one piece with all of their luggage!! We had held a memorial service for Desmond Stevens on Thursday afternoon, St. Marys' was full to bursting; Mr Cyril Leo told us something of the kindness, generosity and humour that was the man that so many people loved and will miss dreadfully. We pray that Justin and his family will only find love and support amongst the family here on Ascension. Our prayers joined with those said on St. Helena and in England.

In our readings this week we heard from Isaiah, Paul and Matthew; What did they say I hear you cry? We heard of free milk and wine, to which no-one is excluded, a blessing that Paul was ready to be cast out so that his family would enjoy it and that it is Jesus who is able to supply our every physical and spiritual need in an abundance that is truly amazing. For us today, the words of scripture are our free wine and milk that are available to all and is very satisfying and nourishing. If you have any doubts as to the wisdom of these words, start with the Gospel of Mark, if you get stuck give me a call.

May God keep you safe and well,

Yours in Christ

Jane

LETTERS

Further to the fundraising on Ascension to purchase wheelchairs for the Haven in St Helena, I can now inform the community that suitable wheelchairs were identified and 10 were ordered through Cape Sourcing & Supply (Mr. Chris Armstrong). 7 Wheelchairs have already arrived in St Helena and the other 3 are expected on the next ship from Capetown. Mr Armstrong offered free shipping and the SHG Health Dept arranged free customs. The total costs were £2240. Please can I take this opportunity to thank the people of Ascension, on behalf of the staff and residents of the Haven, for your generous contributions. C Leo

The Met Office Weather Report

Statistics for the week ending Monday 5th August 2002

	Max (deg C)	Min (deg C)	Rainfall (mm)
AIRHEAD	28.4	21.6	Trace
TRAVELLERS	26.8	19.5	2.9
RESIDENCY	24.9	15.2	5.6
GEORGETOWN	-	-	-
ST. HELENA	18.7	13.9	23.2
FALKLANDS	6.5	-1.8	15.3
UK	29.0 Suffolk 30th	7.0 Bournemouth 1st	85.9 Leeming 31st

ASCENSION ISLAND:The usual mix of Ascension weather but with two or three particularly nice days.

UK: You've probably heard or read about it by now. Some particularly spectacular thunderstorms around early last week with some torrential rain resulting in flash floods and, unfortunately, weather related deaths. There were more spells of rain and heavy showers through the rest of the week, particularly across Northern England and Border regions, again with flooding.Cooling down after a hot start but staying reasonably warm away from those places with persistent cloud and rain.

FALKLANDS: Cold with some snow early in the week then turning milder and mainly dry.

“METCHAT” ************************ “METCHAT” ************************ “METCHAT” ************************“METCHAT”

I didn't know you cared. I honestly thought that nobody would notice the absence of Metchat last week. I'm deeply touched…but I expect you've gathered that by now anyway.

So what's been going on? Well, our Health & Safety officer (Dangerous Dave to you) is still healthily and safely catching sharks, in that he still hasn't - yet! (at the time of writing that is). Although that might change now that he is armed with the biggest hook attached to the chunkiest wire trace that's available on the Island. We look forward with interest to see exactly what he's going to do when he has eight or more feet of rather pissed off shark attached to it! I hope the hospital has a good supply of Elastoplasts.

Yes, we all know we're supposed to, and I know we don't always do it. What am I talking about you ask? - Ensuring everything that is supposed to be is turned off before we leave the premises is what I mean. It's a good job Taff was able to get to a phone to summons help in letting him out, or he'd have spent the night in the MT compound, where he'd been industriously cleaning the Medic's Astra, when it was locked up for the day. Mind you it would have been particularly clean and shiny by next morning.

So it looks as though the new Station Commander is likely to suggest a relaxation in the Mess dress code. If we take as a standard, black jeans (OK, they were tarted up a bit with cummerbund, dress shirt and bow-tie) for a 'Mess Dining In/Out' night, and interpolate downwards to Sunday breakfast, which is traditionally the most relaxed meal as far as dress code is concerned, we may just see members (or hopefully not!!) turning up in swimming cossies or, God forbid, - in puris naturalibus! (would that be more acceptable to you Davey?).

And what of Boggey? Well Boggey is nursing a VERY sore little toe. Ah, - Bless!! And what caused it? - I hear you ask Well it's another of life's (well Boggey's) little mysteries, but from what I gather it is yet another of those nocturnal injuries. I'm reliably informed it happened at night whilst in bed!?! Something to do with getting it caught in a crease in the sheets!! Oh, - come ON!!

Finally, - Just a reminder. Ratty's charity quiz night at the MVC this Friday 9th at 7.30 prompt.
Look forward to seeing you there.

Meanwhile, down by the riverbank….

'I must say it was a nice change to have a week off Ratty. Although I did miss not having a piece of Granny's cake with my tea.' 'Never mind Mole. Just have a double helping of her delicious lemon sponge this week eh? By the way, how's the sore toe? I think you might just have a touch of gout there. - Better keep of the port for a bit perhaps.'

More ramblings soon.

INTERVIEW WITH NEIL WILSHERE OF SOLOMONS Neil Wilshere is the Finance Director of Solomons, He first came to St Helena in May 2000 on a one-month training visit, and returned last year to a full time position of Financial Advisor. On the 1st of May this year he took up the appointment as Finance Director of Solomons, and reports directly to the Board of Directors. Prior to coming to the South Atlantic he was in the Cape (SA) in various financial positions, and prior to that he worked in Henley on Thames in the UK. He was born in S.Africa, and grew up in Zambia and Rhodesia. ……………………………………………………………………….Interview with Stephen Fowler

ISLANDER Describe the purpose and the duration of your visit.

NW I am here for just over a month, and the reason for my coming is in fact to fulfil an original purpose, which was to come at the time when Solomon's took over the shop. Due to various circumstances it was not possible for me to come then, so I am really carrying out a trip that had been previously planned. It so happened that, during the period from Solomon's taking over to my arrival now, we had a management change which took place with Tony Jenkins leaving and Nicola Dillon arriving as replacement manager, so in a sense the trip was coincidental with the change of management, and I am glad that it was possible to come at this stage because it tied in quite well with the problems that we've been experiencing in the shop.

ISLANDER Can you describe those problems, as you perceive them?

NW I think there are probably a number of problems, but I think that the main problem stems from having an unexpected change of management in a period of time which did not facilitate any transitional handover, and obviously that has resulted in a shortage of goods in the shop.

ISLANDER So the shortage of goods in the shop; would that be attributed to the fact that none were ordered?

NW Absolutely; if goods are ordered then they will be in the shop; if there are no goods in the shop then that means that they were not ordered. But I suppose that is not a strictly true statement because the shop was never completely empty, so there was re-ordering that took place, but not in sufficient quantities and not across the full range of stock.

ISLANDER I notice that there has been a change in terms of provenance of goods; there was a lot of Tescos stuff in there, do you still deal with them?

NW Tescos, to the best of my knowledge, advised not only the operation here in Ascension, but Thorpes and C&M's in St Helena that they would be terminating their export arrangements with those customers over a period of a year, and what has happened is that, given the change of ownership of the shop here in Ascension, Tescos immediately terminated their supply arrangement, and likewise with the C&M operation in St Helena, the moment that the change of ownership took place, Tescos terminated that arrangement. To my knowledge they will terminate their supply arrangement with Thorpe's at some time in the near future. So the Tescos products that are in the shop will in fact be the end of the Tescos range. The point to make is that, the movement away from Tescos products is not one of our choosing or our making; it is a situation that is precipitated by Tescos themselves, but we will still be able to supply a wide range of products from alternative suppliers.

ISLANDER What sort of alternative suppliers are you going to use.

NW We are busy researching that; certainly in St Helena the Solomon's operation has never dealt with Tescos, so we use a procurement agent in the UK as well as in South Africa, and also direct suppliers. I expect that we will, where possible use those same supply arrangements for Ascension. One thing that we will need to do, from our perspective as new managers is to ensure that we satisfy the demands of the customer base here on Ascension which I don't take to be identical to the customers that we have on St Helena. But to expand on that, clearly we as a business on Ascension do not wish to discriminate in the market place between different kinds of customer based on any criteria other than the fact that people have different tastes.

ISLANDER Do you think that people on Ascension have more money?

NW I don't know that money is a discriminating factor - it is taste that differs.

ISLANDER Do you think that you have a moral obligation to run a decent service here given that it is the only shop on the island?

NW On the one hand I would say that we don't have a moral obligation to anybody; we are running a business, and if we run a successful business then I think that the moralities should be looked after. On the other hand, I think that we do recognise that there is a monopoly situation here, and that probably comes with a number of obligations. At the end of the day, our aim is run a proper operation and we will do what ever we can to achieve that.

ISLANDER Do you accept that you have lost customer confidence recently?

NW I don't think that there is any doubt that customer confidence has been shaken. There is also no doubt that our staff and our new management understands that, and I am certainly making it clear to them that it is a priority to all of us that we need to recover that ground. We are not complacent about that at all.

ISLANDER So outline to me how you intend to win back customer confidence.

NW Well there are a few things that we are doing; firstly it was necessary to appoint a new manager, and I think that was part of the commitment of Solomons to move into the future. To expand on the management issue for a moment - we were quite happy to continue with the former manager, so that change was not of our choosing.

ISLANDER Were you obliged to keep all staff on for a year under the conditions of sale?

NW No. We were not. We agreed that at the time we were negotiating that it was in our interests to continue with the structure as it was for a year.

ISLANDER So you didn't have to keep any of the staff if you chose.

NW But we did make that choice; the future of the staff was never in doubt. We had already agreed as part of the bid process that we would continue with the management and all staff. So, having had that situation arise, I think that contributed to the loss of confidence in the shop; suddenly being without a manager, obviously we then recruited someone else, so that was the first step that we took to recover the situation. The second step was obviously to recover a range of goods in the shop which was missing. Unfortunately because of the schedules of the ships we were limited in our ability to bring goods in, but I think in the circumstances, we did everything that could have been expected of us. I think our supply operation did a pretty good job. Obviously we will continue to source products both from S. Africa and from the UK, in order to recover a full range of products to the shop, and I think that process will take place over the next several ships. Another issue that we want to address is getting direct input from customers, and to take note of the kind of changes that they would like to see, both in the product range and in the shop operation. In fact we have already discussed setting up a consumer group; I think that once we have the operation stabilised to a point where we could start to look forward in a real way, then that is certainly something that we would like to implement. Also, I think it would need to be a wide group, not necessarily restricted to the employer companies on Ascension.

ISLANDER Some of the goods on your shelves are not priced, and we don't find out what the prices are until we get to the till - Why?

NW The way in which the system is set up is such that every item is on the data base, and there are something like 4000 items in the entire system. Every item is priced, and there ought to be a shelf label displayed. The flaw in the system comes when a new item appears, and there is pressure to get it on to the shelves as quickly as possible, and in that process the shelf label is not printed. So it's not something that we can't do, it's something that we have not been doing which we will also address.

ISLANDER Let's talk about queues - It seems that there is no such thing as popping in to the shop at lunch time any more; this is a working island where people are limited in the time they have in the lunch hour. Surely it is essential that you have two staff on the tills at lunch time. I have queried this in the past, and been told that it's because staff are at lunch! Now this tells me that the business is staff focused as opposed to customer focused which surely is wrong in any industry.

NW We will be looking at the shop opening hours with a purpose of slightly reducing them so that we can achieve the maximum number of staff in the shop at busy periods, and I think that will address that problem, so that we will have two tills manned at all times.

ISLANDER Certainly your new bar coding system has created queues as well, hasn't it?

NW We have moved on to a bar coding system specifically to be able to control and manage the stock more effectively than was the case before. Without going into all the details, the previous system could not give us a history on the number of items of a particular product that had been sold over time, and obviously as new managers we felt it important that we had that kind of standard information, so that was why we went on to the bar code system. If an item is bar coded, and if the system works, then there is no doubt in my mind that you will be processed through the till quicker. I accept that if the bar code does not work for whatever reason, then there is a delay in finding that or an alternative code. So it is up to the management to ensure that all items have been tested through the scanner before being put on the shelf. That is part of the normal procedures and routines, so as time goes by this problem will be resolved.

ISLANDER So we will see an improvement in that as time goes by.

NW You should do. Another thing that we will look at seriously is installing a third till; in fact it was always our plan, except that the layout of the shop does not lend itself easily to putting in a third till.

ISLANDER If I were to say to you that I thought that the operation was over-staffed, what would you say?

NW Well, on the one hand we are being criticised for not having enough people on the tills at lunch, and then on the other we are being criticised for being over-staffed! I don't believe that we are over-staffed at the moment, and certainly we have no plans to cut staff. I believe that we could do with an extra person working as a stores assistant.

ISLANDER You have a cumbersome free credit system which is going to tie up staff to operate it. Surely it would be easier for everyone to pay in cash, or do you intend to continue the credit system?

NW Our initial standpoint on that is to continue operating it. I think we see it as a service to those people who don't necessarily carry cash with them all the time. The credit system actually works quite well, and I can't say that we have had any specific criticism of that. I don't believe it is staff intensive to operate - we don't have a particularly large number of credit accounts, and we don't have a credit problem, so to that extent it functions quite smoothly.

ISLANDER The Two Boats Shop came as part of the package when you bought the shop; You don't really intend to do anything with it do you? I imagine that you are glad to have it just to prevent a potential competitor opening up and providing a better service.

NW That was not the purpose of our acquiring the Two Boats Shop - It came, as you say, as part of the package. It was not something that we included in order to keep out competition. It was always part of our plan to look at re-opening it as a convenience store.

ISLANDER So what sort of time scale would you be looking at for re-opening?

NW That is still on the planning board. While I am here, I think that we will make a decision on exactly when that will happen.

ISLANDER Will you get back to The Islander as soon as you decide?

NW Yes.

ISLANDER There is always a distinct lack of fresh fruit and vegetables in the shop - In fact most people on the island hardly see this kind of produce. One of the solutions that has been looked at in the past, is buying in stuff from the Falkland Islands, as the plane is virtually empty on the way North; indeed the Growers Association there has expressed interest in co-operating. Do you think that we could get some kind of deal with them to supply our needs?

NW This was looked when Tony was still here, and the response that we had was that the RAF would not fly those products in for us without the charging of a considerable surcharge which rendered the price of those goods almost prohibitive. I have not investigated that personally any further, but I think that we will try and look at that again. It is something that I will look at myself.

ISLANDER Can you blame people for looking for alternative ways of obtaining supplies like Thorpes, Richard James in the UK and so on, given the lack of fundamental goods in the shop, and the erosion of customer confidence?

NW Our first objective is to make sure that we get continuity of supply, and a range of goods that is acceptable to our customers. I think that if we achieve that then we will recover the confidence of our customers, and that at the same time, customers will not perceive there to be a need to go elsewhere. So the need for people to get together to make their own arrangements will fall away, because I think that people would rather shop at the shop on a convenience basis than have to go and source goods by alternative means.

ISLANDER Provided that your prices are not too high.

NW The price should be governed by two things; firstly, what is a commercial return for us as a shop operator, and secondly the price that people are prepared to pay as if we were in competition with a shop around the corner.

ISLANDER What is your attitude to people who import their own goods from St Helena?

NW I don't see any problem with people doing that, provided that they do it on the same basis that we as shopkeepers do. That should mean that when those goods travel on the RMS you pay freight. The issue is that goods are arriving on the leg between St Helena and Ascension freight free by being put into baggage containers, because the policy of the St Helena Shipping Line has not been implemented. But that is going to change with effect from the next voyage, so that problem will fall away.

ISLANDER It seems a shame that you would seek to hobble other solutions to protect your own interests, rather than sort your own act out.

NW We are not in a position to hobble other peoples solutions - We use the RMS from St Helena, and we pay for that service. There has been a loophole which has allowed goods to move freight free, and that is not a fair commercial situation. But I stress that it is not Solomons that are closing this loophole - we are not hobbling anyone. We did not approach the St Helena Line; it's not a policy that has been driven by us, it is their own decision.

ISLANDER Why is the meat of a low quality in the shop, especially the chicken. We have no problem getting good quality stuff from S.Africa through our own sources, so why can't you manage it as professional retailers?

NW My answer to that is that we will look at that situation and seek to improve the choices that are available.

ISLANDER You bought C&M's in St Helena, and the Tescos goods in that shop. These goods had already been marked up for freight, and then it would seem that you transported the goods here and marked them up for freight again to Ascension. So now we have tins of beans on the shelf at 90p which cannot be justified.

NW The goods that came from C&M's had costing which was applicable to St Helena. Because of the need to get goods here quickly, we simply decided to ship those goods here. Of course we are not in the freight free business, those were costs which the customer has paid - I accept that.

ISLANDER I know you had to get rid of this stuff from C&M's

NW No - We didn't need to ship those goods here in order to get rid of them; the reason they came here was only because the supply situation in the shop was critical, and it was an emergency supply - not a dumping of goods from C&M's into Ascension.

ISLANDER This is one of the reasons that people are starting to look at alternative means to supply themselves; families are now getting together and ordering large amounts of produce. You may notice that your turnover decreases!

NW We are still confident that once we have the shop re-supplied the way we and our customers want to see it, the customers will find that we are a preferable solution. We aim to supply the right product at the right price, and at the end of the day the customer will judge us on that.

ISLANDER What's your view to out of date products on the shelf?

NW It's a double-edged sword; provided one brings in the range in the right quantity, you will not have out of date stock. The problem comes when you bring in a range for a few people, and you don't have enough people buying those marginal products, so eventually they will go out of date. It's a tough one.

ISLANDER Tell us about your solution to the bread situation.

NW I think that is another example of how the transition from the old shop to Solomons has been fraught with a number of factors. The Americans have now agreed to bake fresh bread for another 2 months at 50% of the levels previously provided, and the difference is being baked and shipped frozen from St Helena. We felt that we had a moral obligation to the customer to try and maintain the supplies of bread.

ISLANDER Everybody's buying bread machines.

NW That's fine - We'll supply the bread flour . But there is a possibility that we will still look at setting up a bakery on Ascension. It has been looked at before, and the initial costings that we had were dreadful, but we may have found a supplier that could be feasible.

---

1st ASCENSION GIRL GUIDES UPDATE FROM THE GUIDES

Hi All

What a week ! girls are fine.Enjoyed Unity 2002 camp along with 282 children & adults, which made total of 1,300.Made loads of friends enjoyed all the activities & had 2 discos at the camp. Open ceremony on Saturday 27th July, Kirsty,Dayna & Teri hoisted the union jack in front of everyone. Kirsty said the promise over a microphone along with Mexico, Japan, Kenya & Russia all in their language on the same day.
We have had sunshine but at camp we had thunder & lightning, mud & sticky feet !!

Have visited North Wales (Llandudno) while at camp the heavens opened & it rained all day. Toured Lord Lichfield's mansion (the Queen's second cousin.) Camp closing ceremony last night was brilliant. Natasha, Mashay & Carly were honoured to be able to lower the union jack in front of everyone.

Tears welled our eyes at such a well organised team of work. Fireworks covered the sky & a disco to end the evening. Packed camp today (3rd Aug) & back at Kinver. Thunder & lightning welcomed us girls showered & I'm to iron all their clothes ready for London tomorrow.

Everyone sends their regards.

Cheryl

DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT STATEMENT
BY ACTING ADMINISTRATOR

The vote on the form of elected body for Ascension will take place over two days - 22 and 23 August 2002.

Two options are being put to the vote -

Option 1 - Island Council
Option 2 - Inter-Island Council plus Island Council

The Governor outlined the content of Option 1 at the Public Meeting held on Monday 2 August but at that time it was subject to final confirmation - this has now been received. A meeting was held on Monday 5 August with a representative group drawn from the membership of the former Steering Committee and the Administrator's Forum for the purpose of considering the Options prior to publication in today's Islander.

Also published is an outline of the arrangements being made for the Vote.

This vote is an important milestone in the history of Ascension and I hope that all those eligible to vote will do so.

During the period 14 August to 3 September Adam Henshaw will be the Acting Administrator.

Matt Young
Acting Administrator

OPTION 1

ISLAND COUNCIL (IC)

COMPOSITION

The Governor or in his absence the Administrator will preside

7 Elected members, with the Governor having power to appoint up to 2 additional members Director of Financial Services Attorney General

Note: the Appointed Members would either be from the business community or would possess particular skills that would usefully assist the Island Council in its deliberations.

VOTING and DECISION MAKING

With the exception of the Attorney General, all members elected and unelected will have a vote. Advice to the Governor will be on the basis of majority voting. The Governor shall normally act in accordance with the advice given to him by the IC unless the Governor decides otherwise in accordance with the principles laid down in Sections 11 and 12 of the Constitution of St Helena. Section 11 sets out the principles which (other than sub section 2(e) referring to the dependencies) would provide the basis for consultation between the Governor and the Island Council. Section 12 sets out the Governor's special responsibilities which, for Ascension Island, will comprise: the Public Service, Defence, External Affairs, Internal Security including the Police and the Administration of Justice. The Governor will also retain responsibility for ensuring the overall good governance for Ascension Island.

LEGISLATION

The IC will consider and provide inputs to draft legislation but Legislative powers will remain with the Governor.

SCOPE/POWERS/RESPONSIBILITY OF IC (separate sections for Legislation and Finance)

Advise and inform the Administrator and assist with the development of the Strategic Plan for Ascension Island.

Receive regular reports from the Administrator and monitor progress on the achievement of the objectives in the Strategic Plan.

Receive reports from the Governor on matters covered by his special responsibilities, as appropriate.

To be consulted as appropriate by the Administrator on MOD and US Forces plans likely to impact on the Island.

Consider proposals submitted through the Administrator from private sector organisations likely to impact on the Island.

FINANCE

A Finance Committee of the IC, chaired by the Director of Financial Services or in his absence, by the Administrator and with 4 elected members and the appointed members (if any) will consider the draft estimates submitted by the Director of Financial Services. The Committee will submit recommendations on the estimates to the IC. After the IC has considered all the issues, the Administrator will submit the final draft estimates to the Governor for approval in accordance with the financial legislation.

The Finance Committee and Island Council's deliberations will be conducted within a controlled environment including but not limited to -

Financial Management Ordinance
Maintenance of reserves and balanced budget
Financial and Contract Regulations

JOINT CONSULTATIVE FORUM

It would be in the interests of both Ascension and St Helena to develop joint, practical, arrangements to enable issues/services of common strategic importance (eg economic development and tourism) to be developed and managed. This could take the form of a Joint Consultative Forum which would comprise elected representatives and officials from both governments. Meetings could be held on a scheduled (at least annual) basis alternating between the islands with the results of deliberations feeding into the various AIG and St Helena government bodies. This would be a voluntary arrangement.

OPTION 2

INTER-ISLAND COUNCIL PLUS ISLAND COUNCIL

Under this option, there would also remain an Island Council for Ascension Island. The membership would be the same as indicated under the Island (only) Council in Option 1.

Certain 'strategic' services would be managed by the Inter-Island Council covering both islands. These services would include not only economic development and tourism but also other services such as health and education.

Members of the Inter-Island Council would be drawn from both Ascension Island and St Helena. The Inter-Island Council could be responsible for approving joint business plans and strategies for services across both islands.

Meetings will be held on both Islands and new technology such as video conferencing will be deployed. Members from both islands would be supported by island-based sub-committees which would develop and identify local issues that could be fed into Inter-Island Council discussions.

The Island Council would be responsible for the other services not covered by (a) the special responsibilities of the Governor and (b) the responsibility of the Inter-Island Council. The Island Council would focus on services that can only be properly managed locally such as those carried out by the Ascension Island Works and Services Agency.

DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT

PLEBISCITE - 22 and 23 AUGUST, 2002

1. A Voters List is currently being compiled and will be available for inspection from Friday 9 August to Friday 16 August at both the Administrator's Office and the Finance Office. A copy will also be made available to all employing organisations.

If any entry on the Voters List is incorrect or if you believe that you are entitled to vote and your name does not appear on the list you should complete a form that will be provided for making amendments to the list.

2. Polling cards, together with a copy of the two options, Option 1 - Island Council and Option 2 - Inter-Island Council plus Island Council will be distributed to everyone on the Voters List on Monday 19 August. Polling cards must be presented to the official at the time of voting.

To enable Polling cards to be issued to the correct people, those holding Proxy Voting authority forms should provide the Acting Administrator with a COPY of the forms no later than Friday 16 August. The original should be retained for presentation at the Polling Station.

3. Voting stations and times -

4. Representatives of the public will be invited to witness the count which will Take place in the Saints Club immediately after 8pm on 23 August. Anyone interested in attending the count should contact the Acting Administrator by Wednesday 21 August.

www.the-islander.org.ac

EDITORS : Stephen Fowler
The New Islander Office, Fort Hayes, Georgetown, Ascension Island.
Tel/Fax 00 + 247 6327

E-Mail: editors@the-islander.org.ac

Internet Team: Richard Thomas, Laura & Mark Handley, Richard White and Gavin Yon

Deadline for all contributions is 6.00pm on Monday

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