GOVERNOR ANSWERS FURTHER QUESTIONS ON AQUIRING BRITISH PASSPORTS


His Excellency the Governor, Mr Anthony Longrigg spoke to the nation on ZJB Radio on Friday 26, April 2002 about the implementation of the Overseas Territories Act and the aquiring of British Passports. Radio journalists asked him a number of questions about the issuing of passports and these questions and answers are reproduced below.


1. When will I be able to apply for my new British passport?

The commencement date for applications will be 21, May 2002 or possibly a few days earlier. However there is no rush as you can apply for your British Passport whenever you want and keep using your current passport in the meantime if you wish.

2. How will I apply for my British passport?

An application form will be available at the Department of Administration at Government HQ. The form should be filled in and returned to the Department of Administration with the relevant documents and payment in cash. You will be issued with a receipt.

3. What documentation is required when applying for my British Passport?

With your completed application form you will need to submit your original birth certificate (which will be returned with your new passport) and your Montserrat passport along with two high definition passport size photographs.

4. How much will my new British passport cost?

The UK Government will charge approx EC$ 200 for the new British passport for adults with a reduced fee for those aged under 16. In addition, the Government of Montserrat will make an additional small handling charge. These fees will be paid to the Department of Administration in cash. It should be noted that a British Passport would be valid for
ten (10) years.

5. What happens to my application next?

All completed applications and payments will be passed over to the Governor's Office, who will then forward them to the U.K. Passport Agency in Liverpool by Diplomatic Bag. Once issued, the passports will be returned via the Diplomatic Bag and delivered back to the Department of Administration from where they will be collected on presentation of the original receipt.

6. How long will the process take?

It is envisaged that the entire process, from application to receipt of passport will take from 6 to 8 weeks.

7. What happens if I want to travel whilst my application is being processed?

Everyone is requested to apply for their new passport at least two months prior to their date of travel.
In the event of an emergency, temporary travel documents can be issued in a similar manner to that which pertains at present.
Frequent travellers may, in extreme circumstances, will be permitted to submit photocopies of the identity page of their passport in lieu of the passport itself when applying for their British passport provided that the photocopy is certified by a member of the FCO staff at the Governor's Office in Olveston.

8. Will I be able to continue to hold a Montserrat passport?

You will not be able to hold a Montserrat passport and a British one at the same time. This means that you will surrender your old Montserrat passport as you apply for your British one. However, Montserrat will continue to issue an Overseas Territories Passport, similar to the Montserrat passport currently in use for those persons who wish to continue to use this type of passport.

9. What will the new British passport look like?

The passport will be in the European Union (EU) format and will allow holders the same freedom of movement with the EU as afforded to any British Citizen. Further details of what this involves are set out in the Montserrat Newsletter and can be found on line at
www.montserrat-newsletter.com

10. How do I clear customs and immigration in Britain with my new passport?

Holders of the new British passports are able to use the EU Immigration Channel at their port of entry in Britain. They will then proceed to customs in the normal manner.

NEW FIRESTATION OPENS



Montserrat's new purpose built firestation was officially opened on Monday 15, April. The EC$1.8 million facility was funded by DFID and built by TK Construction.

The elaborate opening ceremony and firefighting demonstration was well attended and saw remarks from
H.E. the Governor, the Hon. Chief Minister, and the Hon. Minister of Communications and Works. The Rev Rosalind Morgan blessed the building and there was a musical presentation from several fire officers led by Sylvina Malone.

The ribbon cutting ceremony was by Mrs Catherine Daley, the long time cook to the fire brigade. She was introduced by the Commissioner of Police, Mr John Douglas whose portfolio the fire service comes under.

Chief Fire Officer, Mr Lesley Sweeney who has been a fire officer for almost 20 years, reviewed the recent history of the fire brigade and said that the new firestation is a firm committment to the future development of Montserrat
and will enhance the fire service's capabilities to achieve success in Montserrat's fire prevention and safety programme.

The new fire station will have a staff of 22 persons who will provide a 24 hour service using five fire trucks. At the end of the ceremony, the smartly dressed fire officers gave a firefighting demonstration in adjacent fields at Brades as well as offering guided tours of the new building.

SECURE FACILITY AT THE HOSPITAL OPENS

A new secure facilty for psychiatric patients at the St John's Hospital is now in use.

It was opened on Friday 19, April and handed over at a brief ceremony to health officials by H.E. the Governor.
The EC$35,000 project, funded by the Good Government Fund, was built by Lenjoy Construction Ltd and came in within budget and ahead of time.

The facility caters for the need of psychiatric patients on island in a secure environment. Speakers at the ceremony, including H.E. the Governor, the Hon Minister of Health, Mrs Idabelle Meade, The Permanent Secretary Health, Mr Eugene Skerritt and Principal Nursing officer, Sister Valerie Lewis all welcomed the new facility as providing a safe and secure environment to enhance the care of the mentally chellenged.

Up until recently, because of a lack of hospital facilities, mentally challenged patients have sometimes been restrained at the prison - this should now be a thing of the past.

Mrs Beverly Mendes, Senior Secondary Care Officer at the St John's Hospital summed up delight with the new facility in her vote of thanks. She said that the concern of health officials has always been for the safety of the patients and for the protection of furniture and equipment and that the facilty will go a long way to achieving this.

OT's ATTORNEYS GENERAL MEET IN MONTSERRAT

The 11th Annual Conference of Attorneys General of the United Kingdom Overseas Territories was held in Montserrat in mid April.

All of the United Kingdom Overseas Territories were represented and these, in alphabetical order, are Anguilla, Bermuda, British Antartic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, St Helena, South Georgia and the Sandwhich Islands, and Turks & Caicos Islands. The UK's Attorney General, Rt Hon Lord Goldsmith QC attended and observors came from Canada and the USA.

The conference opened on Tuesday 16, April with a ceremony at the Vue Pointe Hotel. Chairing the procedures was Mr Kenneth Allen QC the Chairman of the local Bar Association. Speakers included H.E. the Governor, the Hon Chief Minister and Lord Goldsmith QC.

Lord Goldsmith said " I am impressed by the amount of work that has been done in Montserrat to redevelop the island in the aftermath of the volcanic crisis. Of course there is still much to do, but given what is being achieved in a relatively short space of time I am very happy to share the optimism about the future. I hope that this conference will send a clear signal for others that Montserrat has the local expertise and facilities to support a thriving small island economy and that Montserrat is open for business".

The Attorneys General conference concluded on 19, April and whilst here delegates took the opportunity to visit some sites on the island and attended several social functions.

CONDOLENCES FROM MONTSERRAT


Following the death of HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother on Saturday 30, March the Chief Minister's Office sent a message of condolence from the Government & People of Montserrat to Buckingham Palace.

In addition, a condolence book was opened at the Governor's Office in Olveston for a period of one week and the messages recorded there have also been forwarded.

The Queen Mother died peacefully in her sleep at the Royal Lodge in Windsor at the age of 101. Her body was carried in ceremonial procession to Westminster Hall where hundreds of thousands of mourners filed past her coffin.

The funeral took place at Westminster Abbey in London on Tuesday 9, April and Montserrat was represented by Mrs Janice Panton, the Government's representative in London.

Following the funeral service, the coffin was taken to St George's Chapel in Windsor for a private Committal Service and was interred beside her husband King George V1. May she rest in peace.

FRENCH MUSICIAN VISITS ISLAND
In mid April a visiting musician from the National Symphony Orchestra of Montpelier in France thrilled school children on island during a visit to three schools.

Mr Thierry Petit, a double bass player with the prestigious orchestra, spent a week on island. He has played music professionally for almost 20 years and is currently sailing across the Atlantic. He took a one year sabatical from the orchestra in August of last year, raised funds for his trip in Montpelier and set sail on a small yacht 'Octobasse' together with his musical instrument even though he had very little sailing experience.

His mission is to share his music with the children of the world and so far he has worked with children in the Cape Verde Islands, the Canary Islands, Grenada, Martinique,
the Isles de Saintes and Guadeloupe before reaching here. He continues to St Maarten and then on to Bermuda to get ready for his sail back across the Atlantic before the hurricane season starts. He returns to work with his orchestra on 1, September.

Mr Petit also performed at a reception at Government House, worked with the fledgling National Youth Orchestra with Herman Francis, recorded some radio spots, and joined local musicians for a jazz evening which allowed him to meet with members of the local cultural community.

COURT RECORDS NOW COMPUTERISED

H.E. the Governor, Mr Anthony Longrigg officially handed over the Courts Records Computerisation Project at a short ceremony at the Court House in Brades on Wednesday 17, April.

The project costing over EC$232,000 was funded by the Good Government Fund (GGF) and provided computer equipment and furniture to allow for the computerisation of court records in Montserrat from 1990 onwards. This allows for the implementation of the Civil Procedures Rules 2000 and brings Montserrat in line with other countries in the OECS.

Speakers at the ceremony included H.E. the Governor,
the Chairman of the Local Bar Association, Mr Kenneth Allen QC, and the Registrar, Sonia Young.

Court House staff gave visitors a tour of the premises and demonstrated the Judicial Enforcement Management System (JEMS) software which the project provided.

WATSON SCHOLAR VISITS MONTSERRAT

Mr Adam R. Goss from Boston, Mass a 23 year old Watson Scholar is currently visiting Montserrat to carry out research in the social & cultural impact of the Soufriere Hills Volcano eruption.

A geologist by profession, Mr Goss was awarded the prestigious scholarship in March 2001. Since then he has been touring the world looking at volcanoes and the impact on local communities. The title of his work is to be "The Scorned Mother - the active volcano as cultural nurturer and destroyer."

So far Mr Goss has visited Vesuvius, Etna and Stromboli in Italy, Pinatubo, Taal, Mayon in the Phillipines, Poas & Irazu, Arenal in Costa Rica, and Concepcion, Masaya, Cerro Negro, San Cristobal all in Nicaragua. The Soufriere Hills will be the final volcano he visits in the study.

Mr Goss will publish his findings on his return to the USA and then will start work on his PhD at Cornell University.

During his visit to Montserrat he will meet with scientists, emergency department and DfID officials, community leaders, NGO's, the cultural community and the business community. Anyone wishing to chat about their volcano experience is invited to call Mr Goss at 491 9593 during the month of May 2002.

H.E. THE GOVERNOR OVERSEAS

His Excellency the Governor, Mr Anthony Longrigg is currently overseas. From Monday 29, April Mr Longrigg will be attending the Annual Meeting of Governors of Overseas Territories in London and following this he is taking a period of leave.

During Mr Longrigg's absence, Professor Sir Howard Fergus will act as Governor. The substantive Governor will return to the island on Monday 20, May 2002.

JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS AT ADVANCED PLANNING STAGE

The committee in Montserrat that are planning events for HM The Queen's Golden Jubilee Celebrations are putting the final touches to the planning for the programme.

The 15 strong committee is planning a week's activities for the celebration. In Montserrat Monday and Tuesday
3 & 4, June are Public Holidays for the occasion.

The committee have planned exhibitions, a panel discussion, a creative writing competition, a military parade, an Ecumenical Church Service, sports events,
a family Jubilee fete for children and their parents at Government House, and a cultural event to close the week.

In addition, His Excellency the Governor & Mrs Longrigg will host a Reception at Government House which will be by invitation. It is also hoped to have available on island an overseas band to help in the celebrations.

The full programme of events will be published in the next edition of the Montsertrat Newsletter.

Introduction to the oriole project

The Montserrat Oriole has been going it alone on Montserrat for over two million years-it has probably never occurred anywhere else on earth. We will never know how it survived previous crises on this tiny island. What we do know is that this unique bird is now in deep trouble.

Since 1997, the Forestry & Environment, Division, the Montserrat National Trust and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds have been monitoring the impact of the volcanic eruption on the oriole. The destruction of forests in the Soufriere Hills has completely destroyed most of the oriole's habitat. Apart from the tiny captive population in Jersey Zoo, the species is now confined to the Centre Hills. The alarm was raised in early 2000, when monitoring showed that, within the Centre Hills, the population was in rapid decline. The Montserrat Oriole is now one of the rarest and most threatened bird species on earth. Urgent work is needed.
We need firstly to understand why the Centre Hills population has declined-then we can investigate what can be done to conserve the bird. Because of this emergency, the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office has agreed to fund a three-year programme of research and environmental education on the Montserrat Oriole, aimed at ensuring that the national bird survives as a symbol of Montserrat's natural beauty.
Geoff Hilton, RSPB Project Manager

Support from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office was pleased to be able to fund this vital research on the critically endangered Montserrat Oriole through its Environment Fund for the Overseas Territories. We recognise the importance of this species, not just as one which is in danger of extinction, but as one close to the hearts of the people of Montserrat. We sincerely hope that the project will be able to help explain, and in the long term help reverse, the decline in the species. We were excited to note the discovery of an as yet unknown population of Orioles during the summer.

The objectives of the Environment Fund for the Overseas Territories are:
    •   To support the sustainable management of the environment of the overseas territories and to ensure that their rich biodiversity          remains an asset for present and future generations

    •  To increase public participation in and enjoyment of the economic, social and spiritual benefits of a healthy environment with         flourishing variety of natural habitats and species

    •   To extend the participation of the overseas territories in regional and international environmental activities

It is managed by the Environment Policy Department in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Governor's Offices in Overseas Territories also play an important role in identifying projects. We have funded well over 30 projects around the OTs, including several in Montserrat - most recently a project to supply solar-powered pumps for Davy Hill and a workshop for the National Trust. The Montserrat Oriole project is amongst the largest we have funded.
The shared and mutual responsibilities of the UK and Montserrat for the environment were recently expressed formally in the Environment Charter signed by John Osborne and Baroness Amos on 26 September. We hope that this will form the basis for further successful partnership in the future."
Chris Allan, Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

2001 research summary - what do we know now that we didn't know before we started?

    •  The orioles had another bad breeding season. Fortunately, because of the efforts of the team of fieldworkers, this time we have         some idea why.

    •  The main problem was predators-especially rats. Our specially designed micro-cameras revealed the predators in action at night         time, destroying eggs and chicks. We are now trying to work out why there seem to be many more rats now than in the years before         the eruption began.

    •  A second problem seems to have been the drought. The forest became very dry during April-July, and we think many orioles didn't         nest because of this. Orioles nested more often in areas where the drought was less severe-such as in the high altitude areas, or in         the damp bottom of steep valleys.

    •  It seems that this year the food supply for orioles was ok. They prefer large crickets and caterpillars, and they seemed to be         delivering these to their chicks this year without too much difficulty. In 1998 we observed them feeding tiny spiders to the chicks,         which is a very poor food source.

So in summary, we think there is a predator problem, though we don't yet know why. Food supply seems to have been fine this year, but we know that ash falls can have a big effect on the insect population.
Geoff Hilton, RSPB Project Manager.

Project partner descriptions RSPB, The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is Europe's largest wildlife conservation charity, with over a million members. Our international work, as a member of BirdLife International, covers around twenty countries, and several UK Overseas Territories. Http://www.rspb.org.uk Contact: Geoff Hilton, RSPB, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 2DL, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1767 680551; Fax: +44 (0)1767 683211; email: geoff.

News on the Montserrat Orioles at Jersey Zoo

Since their arrival at Jersey Zoo, following their capture in July 1999 by myself, "Big" Lloyd Aymer and Philamon "Pie" Murraine of the forestry department, the original eight Montserrat Orioles have settled down to life in captivity particularly well. The Birds were taken for us to carry out captive husbandry trials, basically to see how well they would cope and see if they would breed.
Life in captivity is not at all bad if you are an Oriole at Jersey Zoo. Each pair of birds has a large aviary to themselves, these are planted with vines, Bromeliads, ferns and Banana plants to resemble the Orioles forest home, some aviaries have natural streams running through them which resemble the Ghauts of the Center Hills. The birds cope very well with our European climate and all have access to warm heated indoor rooms which they can use during cold spells.
They are fed 3 times a day on a diet of insects (mealworms, crickets, locusts and wax moth larvae) and various fruits of which Mango, Papaya and Kiwi fruit are their favourites.
The Orioles obviously liked their new homes, as several of them went on to breed successfully during their first season here, (a world first captive breeding for this species). Nests were built amongst the thick foliage or underneath the Banana leaves as they do in the wild. Six chicks were reared during the first season 2000 and 4 were reared in 2001. From the original 8 wild caught Orioles we have bred 10 chicks and currently we have a total of 18 birds. We are still learning much from these very special birds and hope that the information gathered can assist with their survival at home in Montserrat.
Andrew Owen, Bird Department Supervisor Jersey Zoo.