First Legislative Council meeting

The first formal LegCo was a slightly nerve wracking event as there is a degree of protocol to be followed and it is a public event.

What made it more interesting was that the day before I stumbled on the 'Oath of Confidentiality' that we were required to swear or affirm.  For some reason both Lawson and I had missed this in reading the constitution and no one else had spoken about it.  It goes against everything that we had campaigned for in creating an open and transparent government.  We had to quickly decide what we would do so we agreed to issue a statement saying that while we would take the oath we did so under protest.  We did not want to refuse to take it as this could have caused all sorts of problems and with so much work to be done we did not want to delay to opening of LegCo.

Below is my inaugural speech to LegCo which refers to this oath

Madam Deputy Speaker

I feel a sense of coming full circle in standing here today as

it is in this very building toward the end of last year that the

seed was first planted that led me to stand for election.  I

was invited to join in the youth parliament debate and I

remember giving a rather theatrical speech in favour of

young people having free spectacles and hearing aids.  We

 won the debate and don’t worry the irony is not lost on me

that now as the new chair of the Health and Social Welfare

committee I am going to have to address this issue.

That first speech led to some reading of political biographies,

a subscription to the magazine Total Politics, a few faltering

conversations with my wife Belinda, who at the time I

suspect was just humouring me, and eventually to my

declaring an intention to stand for election.

I am humbled by the number of people who showed faith in

me at the polls and I feel the weight of responsibility to not

let them and the whole of the electorate, indeed the whole

island, down. 

Watching an election from the other side one is struck by

two things. Firstly the logistics of the operation and the

efficient way in which the teams worked both at the polling

stations and during the count.   The other is the solemnity of

the event, the little things such as being shown an empty

ballot box before it is sealed or having to vacate a polling

station so that a voter can be assisted to vote.  In some ways

it reminded me of religious rituals and if you think I am

being melodramatic is there not something almost sacred in

the population placing an X in a box to choose those who will

work on their behalf.

Democracy is a fragile activity and one we too often take for

granted.  There was no vote rigging or violence during our

election. Contrast this with Egypt, Iraq or Kenya where

standing for office can be a death sentence.  But just because

our lives are not at risk does not mean that we can be

complacent.

We have a constitution and one that upholds our

fundamental human rights.  This is important because it is

within living memory that one of these rights, a right to a

nationality, was denied to many Saints.  We owe a great deal

to all those who fought so hard to restore citizenship and we

must remain vigilant to ensure that other rights are not

denied. 

This is why freedom of information is so important.  It serves

to protect the people from exploitation and holds the

government and administration accountable.  It

fundamentally alters the relationship between government

and the public so that power is not handed over with a

individual’s vote. The person elected to office is subject to

scrutiny as are all of those in administration.  In colonial

times the rulers did not have to listen to those that they

ruled.  Today there should not be any rulers; there are

leaders who make decisions on behalf of the community but

they must make these decisions for the common good of the

community.

The Oath of Confidentiality does nothing for the common

good.  It promotes a culture of secrecy; it reinforces the

divide between those who are elected and those who elected

them.  It has no place in a Constitution that otherwise

protects the fundamental rights of Saints.

As we move into an exciting period of the island’s history we

must not forget those who may not feel part of this new

chapter in the St Helena narrative.  We must never forget

those who struggle with illness, disability or who

do not feel that they fit in.  It is not enough to say that

economic development will benefit all.  We as members of

the council have a moral obligation to ensure that the

‘vulnerable’ are supported and not just paid lip service.  That

means that we must never let the trappings of office, or the

busyness of our work schedules become a barrier to engaging

with the community.  We must aim high, perhaps we should

even dare to rise to the challenge set by Martin Luther King

Junior

“Our goal is to create a beloved community and this will

 require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a

quantitative change in our lives”

You may have also heard me quote the late US Senator Paul

Wellstone before but as we as a council embark on this very

exciting journey we will all do well to remember his words

over the next four years:

“Politics is not about big money or power games; it is about

the improvement of people’s lives”

That one you may have heard but I will leave you with

another powerful statement from the late Senator Wellstone

“Never separate the life you lead from the words you speak”