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Mr Gareth Thomas MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for International Development (DFID) visited Montserrat on 21 and 22 June. A packed programme of activities had been prepared for him and included an overflight of the volcano, visits to the MVO and the former DTEZ, the airport project, Little Bay, the sheltered housing at Lookout and the Montserrat Secondary School. Mr Thomas also presented keys for new housing at Drummonds.During his visit, Mr Thomas met with H.E. the Governor, Mrs Deborah Barnes Jones, the Hon Chief Minister and other Ministers of Government and DFID staff working on the island. The rehabilitation of the former DTEZ was on the agenda for discussion as well as the provision of a new bridge over the Belham Valley. He met with a wide cross section of Montserratians at a cocktail party hosted by the Governor at Government House.
Mr Thomas studied Politics for his first degree at University in Wales before going on to Kings College, London to study for an MA in Imperial & Commonwealth Studies. He then went on to the University of Greenwich for his PGCE. He was first elected to Parliament in 1997 and held several positions before being named Parliamentary Under Secretary Of State.
Photo shows Mr Thomas and Her Excellency the Governor being briefed on the airport project.
The annual National Hurricane Conference was hosted by the Emergency Department at the EOC on 30, June 2004 and was well attended by representatives from Government Departments, the private sector, NGO's, utility companies, District Committees, RMPF and RMDF and the Governor's Office.The Attorney General, Mrs Esco Henry Greer, made a presentation on the disaster legislation in Montserrat and both Her Excellency the Governor and the Hon Chief Minister gave brief remarks to those gathered.
Director of the Emergency Department, Captain Horatio Tuitt led the discussions which included the presentation of disaster plans by the various public bodies. Captain Tuitt pointed out that Hurricane experts in the USA had predicted an above average hurricane season for 2004 with the likelyhood of around eight named storms.
In related news, the Montserrat branch of the British Red Cross later facilitated the attendance of two Montserratians at the Miami based International Hurricane Conference in July. Representing the Red Cross was Joseph Lynch the branch's Disaster Preparedness Co-ordinator and representing the Search & Rescue Department was Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Andre West.
Photo shows HE The Governor speaking at the Conference
From September, Girl Guides in the north east of England will be able to participate in the "Alliouagana Challenge". A challenge pack has been developed and published. The aim of the challenge is for girl guides to find out more about Montserrat in a fun way and at the same time raise funds for the island.The challenge pack is divided into six sections; the environment, history, guiding, food, culture & festivals and fundraising. The English Girl Guides must complete one challenge from each section to gain their Alliouagana Badge. Any monies raised will be sent to Montserrat to the Girl Guides Association here to help build their new headquarters planned for Davy Hill. Two senior Girl Guides from Yorkshire, Rebecca Cook and Sandra Clarke, were in Montserrat in early July to review the challenge material before it went to press. The challenge pack had been written in the UK by a team of six and the ladies took the opportunity to carry out further research on its accuracy. They were jointly hosted in Montserrat by H.E. the Governor, Mrs Deborah Barnes Jones and by Lady Eudora Fergus.
The Alliouagana Challenge will be launched in the UK in the city of York on 11 September 2004 and at the same time local Girl Guides will start major fund raising activities in Montserrat for their new headquarters. The public are urged to support their activities.
Photo shows Rebecca Cook and Sandra Clarke during their Montserrat visit.
In early July Government House announced that Montserrat had been awarded two prestigious Chevening Scholarships for the academic year 2004 / 2005.The scholarship winners are Miss Laverne Rogers of Government's Physical Planning Unit and Mrs Desreen Silcott of the Government's Health Department.
Chevening Scholarships are provided by Britain's Foreign & Commonwealth Office in conjunction with the private sector and British Universities. They are aimed at students with a first degree desirous of completing an higher education.
Miss Rogers will attend the University of Edinburgh in Scotland to study for an MSc in Geographical Information Science and Mrs Silcott will attend the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (University of London) to study for an MSC in Public Health.
Both students will leave Montserrat in September and will spend one academic year abroad.
Photos showing (left) Miss Laverne Rogers and (right) Mrs Desreen Silcott receiving their her Chevening Packs from H.E. the Governor
UNDERSTANDING AND USING THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (CPI)
The Consumer price index (CPI) is a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by consumers for a specific basket of goods and services.
Now this basket of goods and services is not the traditional basket of vegetables and fruits purchased at the market. It is a mix of goods and services that are considered essential in the household budget, such as cooking gas, bread, rent and the like. The CPI therefore captures the average movement in the prices of these items. Given their importance, price changes in any of these items will of course affect the purchasing power of the household.
The purchasing power of the household's dollar is measured by the change in the value to the household of goods and services that a dollar will buy at different periods. Hence if the prices of the specific basket of goods and services incorporated in the measurement of the CPI increase then it means that the purchasing power of the household's dollar declines.
The CPI is the most widely used measure of inflation as it provides information about price changes in the economy. Governments, labour unions, private citizens, businesses and other organizations use this information as a gauge of the current performance of the economy, and as a guide to making economic decisions. For example, the CPI can be used by labour unions in wage negotiations.
The ECCB has been spearheading a drive to compute a harmonized CPI for the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU). This harmonized CPI will allow for computation of price movements across the ECCU thus allowing for the monitoring of the inflation rate at a sub-regional level.
For more information on the CPI contact your local Statistical Unit or visit the ECCB's website at www.eccb-centralbank.org
Some 42 students from Brades and St Augustine Primary Schools graduated from the DARE programme on Friday 25, June. DARE - Drug Abuse Resistance Education has been taught in the island's Primary Schools since the early 1990's. It is a joint project between the community, education authorities and the Royal Montserrat Police Force.A local DARE Committee raises the funds for the programme, schools facilitate it and the teacher is provided by the police. The current DARE officer is Constable S. Kelly who was present at the Graduation Ceremony.
Richard Aspin chaired procedings and there were addresses by Dr Joseph Hawes, Chief Medical Officer of Health and Sgt Atlee Rodney of the Royal Police Force of Antigua & Barbuda - the DARE Co-ordinator for the Caribbean.
Graduating students from both schools read essays, sang the DARE song and there was a special appearance by the Junior Calypso King, Delroy Allen. Mr John Douglas, Commissioner of Police assisted by the reigning Miss Montserrat, Francelis White distributed the certificates and prizes.
DARE is a programme that teaches self esteem, produces role models, stresses the importance of peer pressure and discusses the dangers of drugs, tobacco and alcohol. From September, the programme will be offered in all Primary Schools on the island.
Photo shows the 2004 DARE Students Graduation Ceremony
The two are, Mr E Karney Osborne of Lookout who was awarded the OBE for his dedicated services to the community in a wide range of fields, and Retired Captain Roosevelte Jemmotte of Brades who received the MBE for his many years service to the Royal Montserrat Defence Force.
Both recipients will be invested with their awards later this year. Meantime, Her Excellency the Governor Mrs Deborah Barnes Jones congratulated both during comments at Her Majesty The Queen's Birthday Party at Government House on the evening the awards were announced.
Some 292 Montserratians are in the USA under the TPS programme which commenced in August 1997. Since then the programme had been extended a further six times. However, the USA Federal Register of 6, July 2004 reported that the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS), who have the responsibility for administering the TPS programme, had determined that Montserrat no longer meets the conditions for TPS and thus terminated the programme.
The reasons given included the fact that the island's volcanic eruption could not be considered temporary as it could continue sporadically for decades. Because the volcanic eruptions are unlikely to cease in the foreseeable future, they can no longer be considered temporary as required by Congress.
The notice also states that if returning to Montserrat is not possible or preferable for persons with TPS they might be eligible to apply for another immigration status, such as Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR). However, these are determined individually on a case by case basis and further information can be obtained at the BCIS website at http://uscis.gov or by calling 1 - 800 - 375 -5283.
If TPS holders are not eligible for another immigration status they revert to their original status and will have to leave the USA on or before 27 February 2005.
The US Government has advised that all UK passport holders who are travelling on the Visa Waiver Scheme to the USA must have machine readable passports (MRP) by 26 October 2004. In addition, everyone must have their own passport by the same date (ie not a family passport).
It is very easy to check if your UK passport is machine readable; simply look at the information page (the one with your photograph) and see if there are two rows of horizontal numbers at the bottom of the page. If the numbers are there the passport is machine readable. All passports recently issued in Britain ARE machine readable.
The new regulations, which come into effect on 27 October 2004, will prohibit people without MRP's from boarding flights to the USA and they will be told to apply for a visa (or a MRP).
Mr Covington, alongside Police Commissioner John Douglas, took the opportunity to meet the press to discuss a wide range of police issues and foremost was the whole question of community policing. Commissioner Douglas reported that he was extremely pleased with how well the RMPF was interacting with the community at large and pointed to the fact that the Police Consultative Group was extremely helpful in their suggestions for effective policing. Asked for his thoughts on this matter, Mr Covington said that he was very happy with community policing in Montserrat and thought it one of the best systems in the region.
The RMPF is currently at full strength with the recent return of five young officers from the Police Training Centre in Barbados. One of the new recruits, PC 14 joined the press conference to explain his reasons for joining the force and what he thought of promotional possibilities within the RMPF. Mr Covington explained that the curriculum at the Police Training Centre had been extensively reviewed over recent years and that the focus was now on community policing.
During his visit to Montserrat, Mr Covington visited the Police Firearms Range at Trants, the Exclusion Zone, and the Port facilities at Little Bay. He held discussions with H.E. the Governor, the Commissioner of Police and senior officers, the manager of the port authority to discuss port security and also met with the Police Consultative Group.
As part of the FCO's bid to gain Corporate Accreditation (UK & Overseas), the Governor's Office is working towards meeting the IiP Standard by December 2004. But IiP is not just about getting a certificate or plaque on the wall. It's about having measures in place which ensure the best working environment for all staff, now and in the future.
Following research into what makes an organisation successful, the IiP Standard identifies six key areas: Aims & Objectives, Communication, Learning & Development, Appraisal, Induction and Evaluation - all essential parts of management effectiveness. These areas are broken down into more specific indicators of good practice and an organisation will need to prove it has evidence of meeting all of them. For example, under learning and development, does the organisation have a training plan for all staff? For the assessors, the proof will be in what people tell them. Confidential interviews with randomly selected members of staff will be carried out worldwide. So it's no good just having a training plan if it's hidden away in a desk somewhere and the person being interviewed has never even seen it.
Being part of an Overseas Territory, the Governor's Office differs slightly to other FCO posts. Made up of a team of nine, it not only has staff employed by the FCO (four from the UK Diplomatic Service, and one locally engaged Montserratian) but also four Government of Montserrat civil servants. IiP is not 'FCO only' however and to be successful, the whole team will need to work as closely together on this task as it does all others.
The Governor's Office intends to be a model of best practice and the benefits will be far reaching. Achieving IiP can improve job satisfaction, which in turn leads employees to perform more effectively. With this in mind, the Governor's Office aims to deliver even better results to its most valued customer, Montserrat.
Louise Cox, PA to the Governor, is the IiP Co-ordinator
An initial workshop was held on 21, July at the Vue Pointe Hotel in Old Towne.
The SESA was undertaken by Mrs. Fiona Brown and Mrs. Blondina Howes-Jeffries, both of whom have worked with the local government and DFID in the past. Their field work is expected to last for about two weeks, according to government officials.
The workshop is intended to cover topics such as an explanation of what SESA involves and why it is important to ensure a sustainable approach to tourism development, the provision of basic skills in environmental and social screening of projects and the description of projects to be considered under the tourism strategy.
The study started on Monday 19 July 2004.
Government delayed taking any action on the matter for as long as possible. Regrettably action could not be delayed any further to avoid any disruptions to fuel supplies.
While the current increases will impact the economic and social environment of Montserrat, it has brought to the forefront the need for reform in the way we utilize our natural resources.
It is for this reason that the Government of Montserrat is actively pursuing with investors and developers the exploration and development of geothermal energy sources.
If this is successful, this will reduce the reliance on fossil fuel, where the world prices of that commodity dictates the price within our own market.
The new prices at the pump as of 1, July 2004 will be:
- Gasoline: $7.90 per gallon
- Diesel: $6.70 per gallon
It is hoped that world oil prices will eventually decrease. At that time Government will again review the prices and make any necessary adjustments.
It is important to note that no adjustment in price is contemplated for liquid propane gas (LPG) at this time. Fuel prices in Montserrat still rank amongst the lowest in the region.
During the six months since the Committee last met, Soufriere Hills Volcano has been in a relatively quiet state with no new dome growth. On 3 March 2004 there was a collapse and explosion event that was followed by a period of heightened activity, involving ash production, seismic tremor and gas emission, which then decayed gradually over a period of two months. From May to September 2004 there were only a few visible indications of activity at the surface of the volcano such as the gas plume. However, whilst seismicity and gas emissions over this period were low, there have been clear and convincing indications from the GPS network of deep-seated inflation.
At this meeting we have re-evaluated the criteria concerning our judgement as to whether the eruption has finished or not, based on measurements and observations made by MVO. The criteria introduced at our last meeting concerning the levels of gas emission, seismicity and surface deformation have been retained, but slightly modified for seismicity and deformation, following scientific discussion. Testing the criteria against the measurements made over the last year leads us to conclude that the eruption has not yet stopped. There is a very low likelihood that this interpretation is mistaken.
Risks to people living in the occupied areas, including the former DTEZ, remain low and there are no new specific concerns. The main risks faced by people anywhere in the Exclusion Zone would come from a sudden onset of explosions before they could evacuate. We have evaluated these risks and will present the results in the Main Report which will be available mid October. ENDS
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The vote of thanks at the Lookout School Graduation Ceremony |
The MSS Graduating Class of 2004 |
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The Junior Calypso King performs at the DARE Graduation Ceremony |
H.E. the Governor visits the St John's Health Centre as part of Nurse's Week |
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View of the housing units in Drummonds |
MP Gareth Thomas hands over the keys to one of units to owner Joceyln Meade |