TNAG-1115-FCO40-1387-Future-staffing-of-the-Dependent-Territories-1982 — Page 11

CODE 18-77

Reference

e.

1.

Administrator, Ascension

In addition to the nebulous function of administering the Island, he is Magistrate, Coroner, Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages, a Notary Public, Harbour Master, the representative of the Governor of St Helena and of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

2.

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But, the administration of the services that a Colonial Government normally provides is the preserve of the London Users Committee (LUC) consisting of the British employers on Ascension, viz. the BBC, Cable and Wireless and the Composite Signals Organisation. Indeed, the LUC pays the Administrator's salary and the expenses of his modest office and house. It also pays the cost of every public service - except the Police and the Post Office and thus exercises complete control over all of them including Public Works, Education, Water and Electricity supplies, marine and transport, medical, dental, etc etc. The Administrator sits as a member of the Management Committee of local LUC representatives under the chairmanship of the General Manager of Cable & Wireless, but since he has no financial clout, his influence on decisions is necessarily limited.

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3. As Magistrate, the Administrator is responsible for the main- tenance of law and order. He thus gives broad directions to the Inspector of Police in charge of one sergeant and 4 constables but he must take care not to prejudice his independence as a judge.

4.

Revenue from the sale of Ascention postage stamps accrues to St Helena and is a major input to the Colony's budget. The Administrator plans and directs the Island's stamp programme seeking advice from a local panel of philatelists and the Crown Agents Stamp Bureau.

Thus, the costs of the Police and of the Post Office are borne by the St Helena Government.

5.

6.

The Administrator is also concerned to maintain good relations with the American presence on Ascension. The US Air Force has an airfield on the Island under the command of a Lieutenant Colonel who is the only representative of the USAF. The operation of the airfield and the provision of all services for all American installations including NASA, RCA, Bendix, etc., is contracted out to Pan American Airways whose senior representative holds the real power on the US Base.

7. In the conservation field, the Administrator takes such action as he thinks necessary to protect the Green Turtles (Chelnia mydas) when they invade the beaches at the beginning of each year to lay their eggs. He is also concerned to preserve the 'green cap' of vegetation on Green Mountain and to protect the Wideawake Tern (Sterna fuscata) that come to Ascension in their thousands every 10 lunar months to breed.

8.

Public speaking is also an essential feature of the job. Ascension's heterogeneous population expects the Administrator to be able to speak readily, seriously, amusingly and pertinently (however the occasion demands) often with minimal notice. Fairly or not, much of his prestige and (thereby) his local influence may rest on this facility.