Common good, subsidarity and solidarity



Though not Catholic I am drawn to Catholic Social Teaching as a model for good governance in politics.  There needs to be a moral element to politics if the ultimate aim is to improve people’s lives and though left and right wing ideologies may differ on how this is to be achieved  the principles of Catholic Social Teaching seem to transcend these ideologies.  I guess with the preferential option for the poor the pendulum is more to the left but then no one could accuse Jesus of hanging out with the rich people!

I know little of this teaching but I am reading a very interesting book called ‘The New Politics’ which is based on a series of lectures given by leading figures in this field. 

These authors suggest:

“that the tenets of Catholic Social Teaching offer clear pointers in a different direction from contemporary society’s continuing emphasis on individual rights at the expense of a sense of social responsibilities”

From the little I have read there are three principles to Catholic Social Teaching.

Common good:  there exist some shared or public values which transcend the rights of individuals

Subsidarity:  that decisions should be taken at the lowest level possible which is compatible with good government

Solidarity: we are all responsible for one another

My feeling is that within the council the concepts of common good and solidarity come naturally as we do have a strong sense that we have a responsibility for the good of the island and its people

Subsidarity is an interesting one because we do not have much control over this.  It rather depends on what you mean by decisions.  Yes Legislative Council pass laws for the island, committees are involved in policy decisions but I have to say as grant in aid and a Territory our ability to influence the island’s future does seem rather limited.

What I am not sure about is whether these limitations are because we are not financially self-sufficient or because we are a territory.  I suspect both. 

Financial self-sufficiency is the goal of airport and increased economic development and our role in that is to promote and facilitate development while ensuring that this development is for the common good. 

The role of Legislative Council within the context of a British Overseas Territory is I think more interesting and challenging.  We are parliament, local council and everything in between.  We are sort of a democracy in that there are free and fair elections but some executive power is held by an unelected Governor.  The Legislative Council has very little independent support; there are no political parties and the Civil Service answers to a number of different masters of which Legislative Council is only one.  There is a constitution but like any legal document it is open to interpretation and Legislative Council does not have access to independent legal advice.  British Overseas Territories are not directly represented in the UK Parliament.  If, as I believe we do, we need to reform the operation of the legislature then I am not sure that there is a template to be taken off the shelf, dusted down and then implemented.

St Helena Government has had a multitude of reviews, changes, restructuring and reorganisations in the last few years.  There appeared to be a number of incarnations of the Public Service Modernisation Programme.  I am not suggesting that the Legislature goes down this torturous route but I do think that an organisation such as the Westminster Foundation for Democracy could be invited to have a look at our democratic framework and see where we can improve particularly in promoting Subsidarity.

Something to explore in the New Year.

Communicating

For reasons I still do not quite understand Mum sent me off to learn to touch type when I was, I think, still in primary school.  During high school I continued to take a typing class and it is one of the most useful skills that I have mastered.

I remember a small portable blue Remington in a plastic case.  My first year at Uni I bought a solid green typewriter on  which I bashed out my essays.  Then it was a series of electric typewriters before buying my first computer an i Mac.  Since then I have lost count of the number of computers I have had and I recently bought an iPad.

I am sure that most people my age would have a similar story to tell.  However the transition from manual typewriters to electric typewriters to computers is a steady progression in making it easier to write stuff down (remember the hassle of having to us correction paper in manual typewriters, electric typewriters had a correction ribbon and now just press 'back space') and store information.  The iPad however, I guess tablet computers generally, seems like a change in direction.

Please forgive me, we do not as yet have mobile phones out here, our internet remains fairly slow and expensive, and I am sure that my home is in a minority in having WiFi. Still the explosion in ways we communicate is astonishing and exciting.  One our St Helenian students in the UK who is studying media just sent through a questionnaire on our use of media during the election campaign.  I am sure we all appear like dinosaurs in not embracing social media but we must.

Blogging is in many respects quite traditional which is probably why I quite enjoy it.  I also enjoy reading other people's blogs. Facebook I have a problem with simply because I not particularly gregarious in the 'real' world so the concept of having friends in the 'virtual' world strikes me as quite bizarre.  There also seems to be a lot of superficial emotionalism with Facebook. I am sure loads of people are weeping in cyberspace over the death of  Mandela, with trite little verses and banal comments.  I would rather not be exposed to them.

Twitter I have not really explored but it does seem to be more suited to making short political statements. Not sure I do enough things in the real world though to maintain a twitter presence.

What is evident is that short bursts of communication are the norm and this probably reinforces our tendency to have shortened attention spans.  While attention spans are probably getting shorter I would also suggest another reason for this and it is due to having to respond to so much information coming at us from all angles

An observation, watching Tobias (who will be nine in two weeks time) master a new Playstation game. Shooting aliens, going to the special area to acquire more weapons, keeping an eye on his energy level and having to plan where he had to move to next.  And he could talk to me and explain what he was doing while doing all this.  I could shoot the aliens but that was all I could cope with. Without the shield and the extra guns I did not last long.

It does rather highlight our changing relationship with information and the need to absorb  so much at the same time.  No wonder we need to keep things short.

Having said all of this in our elected members meeting yesterday there were as a long discussion on communication.  There have been some problems and it has caused a bit of friction.

Why?

Simple really, we forgot to talk to each other about what was going on.

Like everything in life, don't ignore the basics.

Prince Andrew School Awards

Last Thursday I was fortunate to be invited to the PAS awards ceremony.  We all need days like these, positive days, days when we celebrate and acknowledge the achievement of others. It was fantastic and despite the educational resource limitations I was surprised at the range of subjects that the students were studying

I get the feeling that education, like most areas, is becoming more decentralised and with this more opportunities arise.  Students were receiving awards in GCSE, A and AS levels but there were also vocational qualifications and other diplomas and certificates from different education providers through distance learning.

We had a glimpse of St Helena's future seeing the students receiving their awards and I for one am convinced that the future of our island will be in good hands.  What we, as council, must do is to make politics more relevant, more authentic, more questioning so that some of those talented young people will become more engaged.

At the next election we need to be challenged by the twenty somethings, not only holding us to account but also we need some of them standing for election

Like I said we all need days like Thursday, positive life affirming days.

My mate Dottie at the airport

Well it took the construction of a platform to get Dottie's wheelchair the same height as the front seat and managed to borrow the ramp at the post office to get up on to the platform but we managed to help Dottie into Huggy Bear's landrover and take her for a spin around the airport site

That's Huggy Bear walking toward the Landrover, the Dotsta (as Tobias calls her) and Tobias

Great day out

Thoughts on leadership

Just this week finished a Diploma in Strategic Leadership and Executive Management.  Don't let the rather 'management speak' put you off.  It was a fantastic course as the focus was on reflective practice and so it did force you to think about what you were doing and why.

Well I started the course while I was working as the Manager of the Environment Risk Management Section (I know management is mentioned twice in the title) and finished as a Legislative Councillor.  Effectively I started out as a manager and finished as a leader.  Mind you everyone seems to be a manager these days.

Whole PhD theses have been written on the difference between management and leadership. Of course it is possible to be both but what I found was that actually management is not my thing but leadership is.  Does not mean that I am by any means a good leader (whatever that may be) but it became rather obvious that management, executive or otherwise, requires a level of organisation that I struggle to maintain.

Leadership, well for me it is all about establishing, nurturing and celebrating relationships.  It does not mean that you always get on, or agree on everything but it does mean that you must work, and work hard, at genuine interaction with others.

In St Helena while the administration is still largely run on 'command and control' the council is a group of people who are first amongst equals.  OK Executive Council is higher decision making body but it does not have authority over LegCo.  I think that is a good thing. It is a bit messy, it means that there are not always clear lines of reporting or responsibility but it does mean that no one can pull rank and say it must be done because I said so.

There was talk earlier this year before the election of a Chief Councillor and I spoke out against it. At the time I did so because trust in the council was so low that I thought any attempt to impose another layer of authority would be a disaster.  Now on principle I think it is a bad idea.  Sure it is easier with one person in charge but the time has come to start moving away from this.  You can tell I have been studying as this is called 'dispersed leadership'.

It requires greater communication skills, it can take longer and it can be frustrating as everyone has their say.

The danger is that nothing happens, no one takes a decision, but if the relationships are strong and the dialogue genuine then it could be revolutionary.

The Constitution

I vaguely remember when the St Helena Constitution(actually THE CONSTITUTION OF ST. HELENA, ASCENSION AND TRISTAN DA CUNHA) was first published. I think I flicked through put it away on the shelf and did not give it a further thought.

Now if not every day then at least once a week I dip into it. Usually to clarify something or just to become more familiar with it.

I have come across a few odd things:

That you can deprive someone of their liberty:  in the case of a person who is, or is reasonably suspected to be, of unsound mind, addicted to drugs or alcohol, or a vagrant, in order to care for or treat him or her or for the protection of the community.

This goes way beyond any mental health legislation that I know of as in the UK you cannot detain someone for alcohol or drug addiction.  As for detaining 'vagrants' it conjures up images of a dictatorships where before a visit from the dictator all of the homeless people are rounded up to clean the streets before the cavalcade arrives.

Of course the other one is the ridiculous 'secrecy oath'. We still have to get this removed.

I have become quite interested in constitutions generally.  There is a Google sponsored project on constitutions: 

www.constituteproject.org

They are publishing constitutions from countries around the world.  I sent them our one.  The last time I looked it was not on the site but they did say that they would consider publishing constitutions from territories as well.

I find the whole idea of constitutions very interesting. Attempting to write down how a society will function and trying to give an indication of its culture is always going to be difficult.

I am currently reading an introduction to the British Constitution.  To be honest I did not think that the UK had one but it is an 'unwritten' constitution.  A collection of documents, conventions and practices rather than a single document.  It has served the UK well but I would rather that they had a written constitution though it would be a mammoth task. They do not tend to be that long but not easy to write.

Of course any constitution can just be a piece of paper if it is not used and seen to be used.  I would not to emulate the American model where the constitution of the United States is treated with an almost religious reverence.  Change should not occur lightly but changing and reviewing the constitution should be conducted from time to time.  If we don't we will never get to remove the dreaded oath.

Above all the constitution must protect the people from overbearing governments and champion their individual liberties. That is why it is important that we all have some knowledge of its contents.  

We never know when we are going to need it to protect us.

Formal sitting of Legislative Council

It was our first formal Legislative Council today.  Have to say that I really enjoyed it.  A bit like going to church not being sure of the rituals but I hope we did ok and did not disgrace the office.  

Les Baldwin has been elected to ExCo as the new Chairman of the Social and Community Development Committee, a good choice I believe as he has passion and a solid financial background which could be a formidable combination.

Two laws were amended today. One to make all lawyers on St Helena Commissioners for Oaths was straightforward, and a reminder of the sometimes detailed but dull work of legislation. The other ordinance to be amended was the Welfare of Children Ordinance in relation to adoption.  More complex and as I have no knowledge of adoption it is daunting to be asked to make changes.  I am very grateful that through a colleague I was introduced to a UK lawyer and a UK social worker who were very helpful in explaining the adoption process to me.  It underlines the need at times for independent legal advice as I doubt that it will always be possible to draw on the goodwill of others

Questions were asked about roads, houses, economic development and streetlights.  The central issues that affect people's lives.

Motions allowed for a bit more freedom of expression and we discussed principles of open government, the health service, media and housing.  I think we started to get into our stride and it was more of a debate, not shouting and waving order papers as in Westminster but some differing of opinions expressed openly.

And we are back tomorrow. Not quite finished with the motions and still the adjournment debate.  

My response to the debate on open and transparent government is below.

I call it 

OPEN TO OPENNESS

The Ethics Survey that was conducted earlier this year placed Members of Legislative Council as the least trusted professional group on St Helena.

Only 9% trusted councillors, 60% did not trust councillors and 32% did not have an opinion.

These are truly disturbing statistics and though we are a new council from the one that was in office during this survey we would be ill advised to just assume that we are faring any better.

I sincerely hope that if a new survey was conducted today that this figure would rise, it could hardly fall.  I do not know why the figure was so low but from the public meetings prior to elections there were some indications

One of these was a perception of a lack of openness and transparency and a lack of accountability from the council

The local government association is a UK organisation that works with councils to support, promote and improve local government.  One of its programmes the ‘Local Transparency Programme’ specifically sets out an agenda to open up government and public services.

 

I quote from one of their publications:

Open data is not only about supporting local transparency and accountability but is also a driver to engage and empower citizens and communities, foster improvement and efficiencies and drive social and economic growth.

It sounds rather like our sustainable development plan

And it all seems rather obvious, that we should inform the public of what is happening.  By not doing so all we do is foster distrust. Let us take the example of the asphalt machine.

At almost every meeting we held prior to the election the asphalt machine was brought up as an example of incompetence.  Everyone knew that the machine was purchased; they knew that it did not work and if they happened to drive up to Donkey Plain they could watch it slowly rust away. As this was all the public knew they resorted to having to make the rest of it up; how much it cost, what was going to happen to it next and who was responsible for the original mistake.  So as my Honourable friend Lawson Henry so eloquently phrased it: this open wound was allowed to fester.

What was surprising, to those of us who had been told that the administration liked to keep secrets, was that when we asked for the information to be published it was done so.  Now that the information is in the public domain the public do not have to resort to rumour.  Sadly it does not alter the fact that money spent on the plant cannot be recovered and that our roads division have to continue to ‘chip and tar’ to seal our roads

It took too long for the information to be placed in the public domain.  There was a delay due to some legal proceedings but once these were completed the information should have been made public

Not only does openness allow the public to access information it also, as the Local Government Association states, lead to efficiencies and it does support development.  A government that tries to hide information is one that breeds complacency as people will not be held to account.  If you know that even if you make a mistake you are not going to be questioned then you are more likely to make poor decisions.  In the UK they call it the Daily Mail test.  If you would not want to read about what you did in tomorrow’s Daily Mail then don’t do it.  I guess hear we could call it the Sentinel and Independent test.

This is the reason that I am proposing this motion.  To ensure that there is a process by which information is released in a timely manner. 

It is about improving practices and changing the mind set of government, both elected members and the administration. 

We are already achieving some of this

The public relations department of government routinely issue the following information:

·         Press Releases

·         Newsletters  e.g St Helena Ambassador

·         Directorate Training Reports 

·         Statistical News Bulletins

·         Government Gazettes – Ordinary and Extraordinary

·         Exco Reports

·         Order Papers for Legislative Council

·         Public Consultation Documents

·         SHG Performance Reports

·         Job advertisements

·         Governor’s blog

·         Directorate/Services Fees and charges

·         Land Development Control Meeting Minutes

·         Governor’s Speech

·         Ordinances

Exco now operates under a presumption of openness and has agreed a process by which the agenda is decided.  As all items are assumed to be open unless otherwise stated it is incumbent upon Exco to provide an explanation as to why items are closed.  However having an item on the closed agenda does not preclude it from being mentioned in the Exco report.

Committees likewise have a similar agenda structure

So we have made a start but I feel that it is important that we have a public commitment from the council to continue this process.

From my short time in council and previously working in the public service one of the main constraints is the capacity of the public service.  With reduced headcount and the pressures on budgets we must ensure that staff time and money spent on open data represents best value for money.  This is not to provide an excuse to restrict openness but it is an acknowledgement that we must be creative in our approach. 

As councillors it is up to us to lead the way and be proactive.  For those who are unaware there is a councillor’s page on the SHG website where you can find information on individual councillors.  I note that my Honourable Colleague Mr Lawson Henry has already posted a summary of the Economic Development Committee for October the 3^rd.  I must apologise that as the Chair of the Health Committee I have not posted a report but I will do so this week and I encourage other chairs do likewise.  As I am fond of quoting the late US Senator Paul Wellstone “Never separate the life you lead from the words you speak”

In terms of process the public relations department of SHG have agreed to be the point of contact for all queries about SHG that cannot be answered by openly available information. This makes sense as the alternative would be to have a designated person in each directorate but that would place an additional burden on staff and often a query requires information from more than one directorate.  I would also suggest that those elected members who have given a commitment to be ‘open to openness’ would be willing to assist in any way they can.

As stated in the motion it is not the intention that everything is published and certain areas particularly in relation to personal information will not be made publicly available.

Those who have been following this debate closely will have noticed that the motion does not include freedom of information. This is deliberate.  It is not that freedom of information has dropped off the agenda but that in discussions with many people it is generally agreed that we work towards this iteratively.  That is we start with the principle of openness, build policies and procedures around this and then see what is required for freedom of information. 

Far better I would suggest to test the waters and adjust accordingly rather than go straight for legislation. 

From my interactions with those who have expressed interest in this field the one concern is that being more open and transparent, whether or not this includes freedom of information legislation, is fit for purpose and does not impose to onerous a burden on government. 

Already in starting this debate I have been surprised by the lack of opposition despite what I was told before the election.  It may seem that I have modified my stance and in a way I have but what I have not modified is my commitment to  open and transparent government.  

St Francis and LegCo

Yesterday October 4 was the feast day for St Francis of Assisi. OK what does this have to day with the politics of St Helena?

I admit to great affection for St Francis. In fact when I was in my early twenties I thought for a time that I had a vocation to be a poor brother of Francis and I even made contact with a monastery in New Zealand where I was going to test my vocation.  I never did and in fact I ended up losing whatever faith I had.  However I still find St Francis a source of inspiration.

I do find him a very powerful role model for leadership.  It is his humility his commitment to peace and to the poor that I find challenges me to always try to be there for others.  Clearly most of the time I fail, as we all do, but his calling to serve others is one that I often reflect on.

Of course Christians and Catholics in particular  would be right to point out that Francis was a religious and that belief in God was as natural to him as breathing.  He preached and lived out a life based on the commandment to love.  It occurred to me today that this is the fundamental difference of a life of service through politics and a life of service through religion (or at least the Christian religion as I understand it).

Our 'bible' is the Constitution.  Constitutions are concerned with rights and freedoms and ways of organising the political system, and are designed to enable people to live together in an ordered way.  

This is taken from the preamble:

wishing to continue as communities of tolerance, with respect for government and 
the law, Christian and family values and protection of the environment;

committed to government in partnership with the United Kingdom on the basis of 
mutual obligations and responsibilities, to democratic principles and to promotion 
and protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms;

Powerful stuff.

I guess what a constitution does not do is tell you how an individual should behave.  That is a matter of conscience and though not being a person of faith I do find myself turning to those who have faith to be my guide.  

I expect I am a naive in my view that in some odd way politics is a form of a calling, a vocation.  Not a divine call but a call to serve, not just by those who voted for you, but in a broader sense by the community that you represent.  I need time to work this one out or it could sound really sanctimonious but I think it is worth reflecting on this.  

At the very least it must be better than seeing politics as all about power and prestige.  Francis gave up his power and his position and in doing so his life is still an inspiration, even for reluctant atheists such as myself.

Not quite "us and them"

I think that is fair to say that prior to being elected, and particularly during the election campaign the 'administration' (also known as public servants, officials or 'them') came in for a fair amount of criticism.  A number of councillors from the old council made it sound as if there was a power struggle between the public service and LegCo. That the public service was out to thwart the councillors at every twist and turn.

This has not been the case as I have experienced it since joining LegCo as we seem to have a good working relationship with officials. (I don't really like the term but it is the one that is used most often)

Indeed last week when the fiasco of the asphalt plant was put in the public domain I was very clear when asked that there was not any resistance from the public service to publishing this information once we had requested that a press release be issued.

Like most things it is about building relationships and I know from experience how officious councillors can be from my former life as a public servant. I have had several unpleasant experiences where the main purpose, as I saw it, behind being summoned to a committee meeting was to be humiliated. 

So it was interesting to read a report from the Institute for Government, 'Civil Service Accountability to Parliament'. The report is actually about the role of public servants when called to give evidence at select committees.  We do not have select committees or a ministerial form of government but I found the report very informative and there are lessons for us to learn as councillors.

It would seem that the UK has similar issues and some interviewed in the report recognized the need engage with staff

"So if we don’t speak to the front line staff, we don’t get the full picture, all we’re getting is policy, and 

aspiration and things, but we need real people to be telling us what their real experience is…"

We had an experience recently where we had discussion papers and stakeholder reports but despite some of the front line staff being present at the meeting we did not have their views.  One of my colleagues asked the member of staff for their opinion and though this person at first seemed reluctant to speak, with encouragement this staff member was able to talk openly and this had a significant effect on the discussion.  This is as it should be.

Another point made in this report is that the distinction between policy and operations is not always clear cut.  This was something we discussed in public meetings prior to the election as again members of the old council did seem to struggle with this.

I like the following quote from the report as it introduces the concept of 'joint accountability' which is something that I had not considered before

"In practice, however, it may not be particularly straightforward to draw such a clear-cut line 

between a minister’s responsibilities and an official’s responsibilities. One senior official 

explained: ‘I’m not sure you can divorce policy from delivery... I’m not sure that there’s a point 

where you’d say ‘well, that’s down to the minister, and that’s down to the senior civil servant’, I 

think inevitably you’re bound together in your joint accountability"

As stated before we do not have ministers and the system is not as complex as the UK but joint accountability does break down the 'us and them' mentality.  

Ultimately one would hope that we are all working toward the goal of improving the lives of Saints.  We may have different ideas as to how this should be achieved but if we can maintain a relationship built on trust and joint accountability, or perhaps joint responsibility, then I am sure that we will achieve our goals.

Wait for me

I attended a very good workshop yesterday that was organised by Dr Cilla McDaniel, Glen Mohammed and Wendy Henry from the Health and Social Welfare Directorate.  It was in response to the tragedy of people taking their own lives on the island and how we can respond to this.

There was a real cross section of the community present; government staff, church leaders,people who had been directly affected by suicide, legal, police and others

Glen put it in context but of course always difficult to extrapolate data from such a small community but it highlighted the complexity of the issue and the challenge we face.

We do not have sufficient mental health resources and staff and that is something I am going to need to take on board with the Public Health Committee.  Money again.

Not just money though, there is a limit to how much a community of 4000 can do for itself.  Support groups are a fantastic idea but with the lack of anonymity and the small numbers they are generally not sustainable.  Think of any support group of 10 people, they are probably drawn from a population in the tens of thousands.

There are individuals on island quietly doing work with other individuals to support them and we decided that this was a model that could be expanded.  A list was compiled of people who were willing and able to be supportive and this will be publicized so that hopefully someone in distress will know where to turn.

I keep banging on about this, and will continue to do so, that with the focus on economic development we need to recognize that without a healthy community there is no real sustainable development.  We need to keep pressing this so that those who push economic development do not see improving the mental well being of the island as a secondary issue or one that can be addressed once the economy starts to grow and we have a bit more money.  Strengthening community is an investment in our future and one that is every bit as important as the more traditional view of investment as a financial transaction.

I was privileged to be able to give a short talk and for what it is worth I include it here

As some of you will know I first trained to be a psychiatric nurse.  This was a three year course based in a hospital and there was a lot of group work and counselling involved. Toward the end of our third year one of the students in my class, Sandra, began to struggle. I knew that she was suffering from depression and I once took her to an appointment to see her psychiatrist.  Towards the end of the course Sandra took some time out and I remember spending the day with her shortly before I sat my final exam.

As we came out of our exam one of our tutors gathered us all together to tell us that Sandra had killed herself. 

I wanted to share this with you because though we all felt guilty, and that she would have done more, it is hard to know what else we could have done.  Sandra had professional help, many of her friends were training as psychiatric nurses who were equipped to talk to her and she had acknowledged that she was depressed.  Still she took her own life.

There are many reasons that people take their own lives and as Sandra showed sometimes even when help is available it is not enough.

I say this only to highlight the complexity of the issue and to remind ourselves that though today is a start it is really only the first tentative step on what is going to be a long and difficult journey.

It is a journey that we are going to need to take together and it starts by acknowledging that there is a problem.

I asked if I could speak today, not just because I have some experience in this field, but also because we need to face this as a community.  We are all community leaders and the number of people who have taken their lives in the last year in particular but also the last couple of years is a sign that all is not well within our community.

Let’s get it out in the open now.  Our community is suffering:

·         Alcohol dependency

·         Child sexual abuse

·         Sex offences

·         Domestic violence

·         Depression

·         Self-harm and suicide

·         Loneliness and isolation

·         Chronic health problems

·         Poverty

There are more but the purpose of today is to bring these concerns out into the open and look to ways to address them

Some of these need to be addressed by SHG, some will cost money.  But no matter if SHG is involved or there is the need to identify more money what is required first is leadership within the community.

I said before that we are all community leaders and we are.  There are many more leaders out there and it is up to us to harness the power that resides within this community for the future of this community

So what is community?

Is it just a group of people who live in the same place?

Is it just a group of people who share the same beliefs and values?

Is it just a group of people who face the same problems in life?

My answer is that that it is all of these and more.

My concern is that if we keep trying to define community we will create communities that we do not want to know or be associated with.

Let’s keep it simple

It is all of us, rich, poor, sick, well, employed, unemployed, Saint, expat, Longwood, Sandy Bay, town, it is all of us.

That brings me to the notion of the Common Good. 

The common good is about how to live well together. It is the whole network of social

conditions which enable human individuals and groups to flourish and live a full, genuinely

human life. At the heart of the common good, solidarity acknowledges that all are responsible for all, not only as individuals but collectively at every level.

In our small community there are many examples of the common good in action.  People looking out for each other, our civil societies and charities, those who volunteer and a level of friendliness and courtesy that has been lost in many other parts of the world.  So we have a strong foundation but it is one that we must build on.

Our community is changing and changing fast.  The airport, economic development, Saints returning home, a growing expatriate population working both within SHG and the private sector.  Many welcome this change and see in it new opportunities.

Some don’t.  Some are not benefiting from the new developments and may even fear them. 

Our challenge is to ensure that development does not mean a widening gap.  Some of this financial but much of it is also ensuring that we do not get so caught up in chasing these opportunities that we forget those who are unable to take full advantage of these opportunities.

The principle of the common good requires that the essential dignity of every person is upheld.  In a small community where we know, or think we know everyone’s business, it can be as simple as not prejudging someone because we think we know everything there is to know about them.  It is about giving people a second or even third chance.  Many times I have seen this happen on St Helena but sometimes as well  I have seen people written off as lazy, stupid or not deserving support.

We have much to do.  It starts by acknowledging the problems we face, we tackle these problems by adopting the principles of the common good and we succeed because we are a strong community of people whose fulfilment lies in our relationships with each other.

It may not be easy but it is not impossible.  We have come together today because we are distressed by the number of our people who have taken their own lives 

But we cannot imagine that we will fail

And we will not fail

And that is because; to quote Bruce Springsteen

I will wait for you

And should I fall behind, wait for me

Dr Corinda Essex

I was fortunate today to attend the retirement function for Dr Corinda Essex who has spent 42 years working for St Helena Government in a variety of roles.  As well as working full time she also completed a Masters Degree and then a PhD.

It was wonderful to hear the speech from Gilly Francis detailing all of Corinda's achievements, including her time as a councillor, and humbling when you consider her devotion to St Helena.

Two things stand out from today.  These come from Corinda's response to Gilly's speech.  One is that Corinda always made sure that  she was  prepared for whatever challenges she faced which she said was one of the reasons she completed a PhD.  Attention to detail and being prepared is a lesson we all need to take note of.

The second thing and the reason I wanted to post this piece is, and I quote from my memory

'As long as I have the health I will continue to serve St Helena and her people'.

I may not have remembered this word for word but I remember thinking that you don't generally hear people these days saying publicly that they are willing to serve.  It was a very powerful statement.

I will do well as a councillor to remember those whose work we continue. It is easy to be arrogant and think that what we are doing now is new and different and so much better, when in fact we should remember that what we want to achieve now is only possible because of the foundations built by those who came before us.

Corinda is one of those who built strong foundations.  She continues to serve St Helena and I look forward to working with her in the future in her capacity as the president of the Chamber of Commerce.

Reflecting on the future

I think blogging is one of those activities best done at night when one is in a reflective mode.  I am studying for a post-grad diploma in Leadership and Management and a few weeks back I had my first tutorial (one to one via Sype) since being elected. My tutor Prof John Parker asked me what my vision was for the future of the island now that I was elected.  He was not asking me what I wanted to achieve in this term he was asking me what was my strategy for realising my vision.  

This made me think that before developing a strategy I had better have a vision.  I guess I always had one but it would be fair to say that it was the usual off the peg stuff, a fair society, sustainable development a community that cared for the most vulnerable. All very good but rather lacking in substance.

So here goes.

There is no doubt that without economic development the island will decay and the social fabric will deteriorate.  I am concerned though that the cost of economic development could also lead to a different sort of degeneration and one that tears the social fabric apart.

It goes without saying that St Helena will always be a small and isolated place whether it continues as a resilient community is really up to us.  This is why I have some problems with the party line, the 'high value low volume tourists' and resort developments.  There is an argument that we need a flagship hotel as if this will be the mother ship for the tourist industry.  You know what I am beginning to get a bit worried by this. I have never stayed in a fancy resort but my understanding is that people who like to stay in them do not usually worry too much about the locals as long as they are serving the drinks and making the beds.

What about small hotels, B&Bs and perhaps a social enterprise training hotel/restaurant that is owned and operated by the community?  A sort of SHAPE type tourist enterprise.  We are informed that we need to be ready for the airport, well we may need a few more places for people to sleep in and some more places to eat but we do not need to be lined up in our uniforms like some sort of modern version of the Downtown Abbey staff,lined up and waiting on the master to arrive.  

How about a more organic model of development?  A bit here a bit there, no problems with some improvements in customer service but also need to retain some of the eccentricity and individualism that makes this such a wonderful and at times frustrating place to live. 

This is not say that we want to avoid change, the island has always been in a state of flux, I think that Saints do change quite well but we need to be doing it because it is right for us, that way it is genuine.  We don't go in for too much of the fancy and sophisticated stuff and I fear that if we put on airs and graces just for the Hivallowvols then we are selling our soul.

I quite like that, 'Hivallowvols' maybe it will take off and I will have introduced a new Saintenglish word.

So back to the future.  Ok, I have to say a thriving community but by that I mean that we have lots of individuals benefiting. Small shops, homely restaurants, local tour guides, perhaps some interesting businesses who have found a niche that we haven't even thought of. Quite like the idea of an affiliated academic centre; just Googled the Uni of California 'Center for British Studies' which has a focus on the British Empire. Maybe some institute like that could set something up. 

Who knows what the future will bring but let us think small rather than big and grandiose. 



    

Freedom of Information

A very positive meeting was held with councilors, media, members of the public and SHG public relations staff discussing Freedom of Information (FOI).

I am absolutely committed to this as the alternative as someone said at the meeting is that you would be supporting secrecy.  Yes it has to be tailored to suit our resources, it cannot be overly bureaucratic, and we must make sure that personal information and legitimate commercial information remains confidential but we must have openness and transparency.   

There is a lot we can do already and what we will push for first is a policy on open information that clearly sets out what can be published.  To avoid doubt my preference will be to list the kind of documents that will be made available as we need to support public servants in being clear about what they can release.  From my experience from working in government,without clear guidance the default position is to not release anything and then a culture of self-censorship arises.

I know that we talk about the special needs of a small community but I am less sure that this makes us exceptional.  True it is harder to ensure anonymity but lets face it most people know what is going on even when information is not released. I think it is time we be more grown up and just get the information out there.

A great quote from Joseph Pulitzer

There is not a crime, there is not a dodge, there is not a trick, there is not a swindle which does not live by secrecy.  Get these things out in the open,describe them, ridicule them in the press, and sooner or later public opinion will sweep them away

And for those who think that it might not be necessary or that there are other priorities I found a speech from the Health Minister Jeremy Hunt  addressing the shocking failures of some NHS hospitals as a result of lax safety and a culture of secrecy.  

We need to restore faith in our government and our council 

As the island develops and we become more accessible to the outside world the potential for the dodge or swindle increases. 

Let us treat the public with respect and let them know what we are doing

Lost hope

Yesterday we buried another member of our community who had committed suicide. One person taking their own life is one too many but in the last year we have had a number of people commit suicide.  Suicide is a difficult topic to talk about and in a small community it cannot be discussed in the abstract. Though we may not be directly affected we will know someone who is and so we must be especially sensitive.  However we cannot avoid discussing this.

There is no doubt that we are experiencing a time of great change on the island and for many there are more opportunities for work or to establish a business.  For some however the changes are irrelevant or even frightening. I do not wish to try to explain why so many people have taken their own life and I do not wish to say that it is because of all that is happening on St Helena.  What I wish to say is that we must not be blinded by the prospect of economic development and think that everyone is benefiting.  There is so much more than economic development and we must never forget this.

There are serious issues that need addressing head on as we have avoided a public conversation about them. Alcohol abuse, domestic violence, child sexual abuse and social isolation to mention just the most obvious concerns.

A conference/workshop is being held this month to do just this.  It is a first step and it must be the first of many steps.  I know that together we can come up with ideas and practical responses to this crisis.

As Father Fred said at the funeral address; "I appeal to those who may have lost hope to talk to someone".

I just pray that if there is anyone on island feeling this way that they do talk to someone.

Writers and politicians

Niall Griiffiths is on island this week.  He is a published author of fiction, travel writing, in fact he is 'a writer'. By that I mean that the act of creating using words is what he does.  I went to listen to him talk about being a writer last night and he said that writing is what sustains him, be it novels, short stories, poetry, whatever. The form is not important it is the act of writing.

Niall is everything you expect a writer to be. Passionate, words come tumbling out when he speaks, he takes off on tangents, he is a supreme raconteur.  He is almost the stereotype of the kid from a rough estate who survived by finding his passion in writing but I think that would be a grave injustice as he is that but so much more.  There is a genuineness and warmth that you don't get by acting a part.  He is so full of enthusiasm for life in all of its details both mundane and grand that it is infectious

For about an hour and a half last night he spoke about his life, his writing and then he read one of his short stories.  Considering we were just sitting in a room listening to a bloke talking it was exhilarating.

And we have several things in common. We were both born in 1966, both studied English at uni and our families emigrated to Australian.  Niall's only stayed a few years before they returned to England.  He mentioned a travelogue that he had written about driving across Australia revisiting places where he had been as a kid.  I have not read it yet but there are a few sniffy reviews on Amazon.  I get the feeling that these were written by Australians who did not take to his rather negative view of Aus.  Ok I have not read it yet but I think I might like if it takes a pop at the 'lucky country'.  I am very grateful for growing up in Australia but I don't buy the image of the land of freedom particularly when it treats the indigenous population with contempt and now the political parties seem to be falling over themselves to show who can be the toughest on boat people.

Anyway it got me thinking.  Listening to Niall's monologue about the need for him to write to make sense of the world and of himself, could politics be as creative as writing?  The desire to change the world, to improve people's lives is what I mean by politics as a creative endeavour.  Sure there is a lot of political stuff that is tedious and at times compromises have to be made.  That is the same with writing, the publicity tour, talking to 'money men' about film rights etc.  That is what the writer also has to do but it is not the core.

Perhaps this is why we have such a low opinion of politics and politicians.  Because too many concentrate on the deal making and not enough on being creative in working to help people.  Politicians need to be passionate, they need to be driven if they are going to succeed in making a positive contribution.

I once thought I could be a writer but I lacked the need, the hunger, to just write and keep on writing.  But there is something in this being elected to represent people, to want to just keep on trying to make life better for people that is every bit as creative.  I had not really thought about it until last night and now I cannot stop thinking about it.  I may not leave too many words behind but at this pivotal period in our island's history I have to do everything I can to make the community more resilient and strengthen the ties that bind it together

HMS Richmond

Easy to be cynical

Now I guess I am what passes for a local dignitary I was invited on board the HMS Richmond for a function.  I was happy to go the other night but in the past I would view these events through a rather jaundiced eye.  It was just a PR exercise for the Navy and a bit of a jolly for the locals is how I used to see them.

Not that this isn't true to an extent but what I found when on board was a very articulate, interesting and interested group of personnel, all officers I imagine, whose company I really enjoyed.

I was able to learn something of life in the navy and they seemed genuinely interested in learning about life on St Helena. As is often the case it is the informal, unplanned situations that are the most memorable.  While waiting for the boat to get back to shore my host invited me for a quick tour of the living quarters.  I spent about twenty minutes in one of the wardrooms talking to a group of officers who were off duty and not part of the function.  Again we had a really interesting conversation and I know that they appreciated the warm welcome they received on St Helena.  They agreed that on the island they were 'among friends'.

So again I need to change my perceptions and as usual it comes through having the opportunity to meet people that I would not normally meet.  And you know what, in an uncertain world, on an isolated island, I am reassured that there is a UK naval presence in the South Atlantic.

Roads

The councillors were invited to spend a day with the roads section so that Dave Malpas could talk us through some of the issues with road building on St Helena.  It was important that we had this opportunity as during the election the roads was one of the main issues that the community raised concerns about.

In some of the meetings I was one of those who was critical of the state of the roads.

As Donald R Gannon said:

Where the facts are few, experts are many

It is not that the facts of road building are few it is just that I did not bother to check the facts before becoming an 'expert' on road building.

Dave took us through the science and engineering of building a road and then how this is made more difficult on St Helena with the terrain and the slope of the roads.  We also learned of staff shortages and budget constraints.

Asphalt was the big talking point and of course we have the asphalt plant that was bought a few years back and has turned out to not be safe.  While asphalt is a better road surface there are significant cost implications and with our narrow and twisting roads it will be difficult to lay.  Asphalt lasts longer but if the estimated life is 14 years then when it needs to be relaid the old asphalt will probably have to be dug up first to avoid the road becoming higher as each layer is put down.  Digging it up requires another machine, there is the problem with what you do with old asphalt and as the asphalt lasts a long time the plant will be sitting idle for long periods.  If I remember correctly patching any potholes would be done in a similar way to what is done now so all of the existing machinery will still need to be used.  Dave was not saying we should not build roads with asphalt he was just saying that we need to know all of the implications before making a decision

It was a realistic and open discussion.  The roads section are aware that the roads they are constructing of not of the highest standard but that is because the resources are not available to make them of the highest standard.  What he was saying is that they are fit for purpose in that you can drive on them, but he was not happy and of course would prefer to be able to fix the potholes quicker.

The other thing is that the roads crew do feel that they are being unfairly targeted.  Again it is easy to make sweeping and negative comments and not take into account how this affects the morale of the crews.

So a lesson was learned, that I must first think about the effects of any comments made and how this may cause distress to others.  It is not that problems are ignored but that problems must be approached with an open mind and analysed.  I know that this is blindingly obvious but it can be too easy to blame and moan which does nothing to solve the problem

I saw some of the roads guys today and they were pleased that the councillors had taken the time to learn more about their work.  I was pleased that the roads section took the time to explain to a bunch of non engineers what it takes to build a road.  At least now we have the facts. 

  

Red - Blue or somewhere in between

I have just finished reading Red Tory by Phillip Blond and before that The Big Society by Jesse Norman.  It would seem that there is a strand within UK conservative politics that concerns itself with building community, supporting co-operative movements and not pursing wealth and material gain for its own sake.  I guess I have not really taken much notice of this movement before and I just kept believing the old left and right wing stereotypes.

Not being in the UK it is difficult to know how these ideas are influencing policy within the coalition government though from the South Atlantic it looks as if the Big Society has become just another empty political slogan.

I got to thinking about this as I tried to work out what political party I would join if I lived in the UK or Australia for that matter.  I have never been a union person (I once committed the cardinal sin in Australia of crossing a union picket line as I do not believe that nurses should strike) but I guess I have always been more sympathetic towards the left.  Probably because I have never really been too fussed about making money or accumulating stuff.

Now I hear that there is a counter movement called Blue Labour and I have ordered the book as it sounds very interesting.

Why does any of this matter?  In our context I think it is very important that on St Helena we start to analyse the political climate.  There is no doubt where the external forces of DFID/UK are pushing us. Towards a private sector, strategic goal driven economy. While there is no doubt that past inefficiencies within Government have lead to stagnation I am wary of completing embracing the new agenda.  This is not because I am against economic development, I recognise the need for this with airport development, and the need for greater prosperity but it needs to be done organically.  I certainly do not agree with the mantra that a 'rising tide lifts all boats' simply because if a boat is on a short chain or leaking it is not going to happen. Many of the people who are calling me to ask for help with various problems suffer chronic illness, are in debt or had problems at school so they are not in a position to take advantage of economic prosperity.  This is not an argument for an enlarged welfare state, though we must make sure that our welfare reforms are actually supporting those in need, but is an argument to ensure that we are not leaving people behind.  Our strength is that we are a small enough community to develop relationships with those at risk so that we can work with them to support them to overcome the obstacles they face.

All good words but what does it really mean?  I think it means just that. Developing relationships, listening to people, being prepared to accept that we do not all have the same goals and aspirations.  We will not agree on everything but we must be prepared to listen to each other.  My feeling is that we are being asked to follow the path of economic development and chase the tourist dollar without any real appreciation of the stresses that our community is facing now.  There is an element of blind faith that economic development will give us enough money to then start tacking the problems in our community.  What I have learned from Red Tory and The Big Society is that we cannot achieve sustainable economic development if we do not first strengthen resilience within the community.  The cohesiveness within our community is starting to break down and the signs are there for us to see, alcohol abuse, sexual abuse, domestic violence, depression, are all indicators that we as a community are suffering.

It is not either/or, we need economic development but we need as a community to be part of the change.  If we don't we may not have a community.

As the Bruce Springsteen song goes:

I'll wait for you
And if should fall behind
Wait for me