MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Nigel Phillips CBE from the Falklands to governor of St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha

Mr. Nigel Phillips will be taking office next August as governor of St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha

Mr. Nigel Phillips CBE, currently governor of the Falkland Islands has been appointed Governor of St Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha in succession to Dr. Philip Rushbrook. Mr. Phillips will take up his appointment in August 2022.

The incoming St Helena governor is married to Emma Phillips and have a daughter. Since 2017 he has been governor of the Falkland Islands and Commissioner for South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands. He is a Royal Air Force Commissioned Officer who in 2016/2017, was appointed to the UK Permanent Representation to the EU as deputy military representative. 2014/2016 MOD, head of Russian Strategic Studies, in 2013/2014 Member of the Royal College of Defense Studies; 2012, Language training in Russian, Defense Academy; 2010/2012, Defense Attaché in Warsaw and 2003/2007, Defense Attaché in Stockholm; 2007/2009, Defense College of Communications and Information Systems.

In the Falkland Islands, Mr Nigel Phillips will be replaced by Ms. Alison Blake CMG, who will be take up her appointment as the first woman governor of the Falklands during July 2022. She is the former ambassador in Kabul from 2019 to 2021.

The appointment of Mr Nigel Phillips coincides with a release from the St Helena Statistics Office with estimates of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Gross National Income (GNI) for the 2020/21 financial year, together with revisions for some earlier years.

GDP is a measure of the total value of all the goods and services produced on St Helena, and for 2020/21 it is estimated to have been £39.2 million, or £8,690 per person. GNI, a measure of the total income of all economic units resident on St Helena, is estimated to have been £39.7 million, or £8,770 per person.

When price inflation is taken into account, total GDP is estimated to have grown by 2.4% compared to the previous year, but when population changes are also taken into account, GDP per capita increased by 3.4%.

The sector with the biggest percentage increase in the volume of goods and services produced in 2020/21 compared to the previous year was Government and Public Administration, which includes Health and Education Services. This was likely a result of the additional resources provided by the UK Government to support the Health Service and to make other arrangements in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the development of quarantine facilities.

The volume of activity in the Construction sector also grew, by 8.4%, also likely due to the additional construction activity needed for the COVID-19 response, and also because of the increased investment through the Economic Development and Investment Program (EDIP).

The sectors with the biggest percentage decrease in the volume of goods and services produced in 2020/21 compared to the previous year were Accommodation and Food Services (-39.9%), a direct result of the drop in international passenger traffic caused by COVID-19 restrictions, and Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing (-32.1%), likely a result of the closure of the St Helena Fisheries Corporation and the inability to process fish for export. But the Statistical Bulletin also notes that these are two of the smallest sectors, accounting for less than 3% of GDP.