| Mr. Mark Capes, who served as Deputy Governor in Anguilla for four years, has now been appointed Governor of St. Helena. He and Mrs. Capes spent several days here last week after arriving from the Turks and Caicos Islands. There Mr. Capes served as Chief Executive Officer for two years. He was previously appointed Deputy Governor in Bermuda for three years following his tour of duty in Anguilla. |
“It is a great pleasure to be back in Anguilla,” he told The Anguillian. “We left here in 2006 after four very happy and good years, and if ever we get the chance to come back to Anguilla, we will always take it. It has been tremendous over the few days catching up with friends (including those at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church which was an important part of my four years here) and my former colleagues. “I know that Anguilla is going through some difficult times but it is not alone in that. I have just come from the Turks and Caicos Islands where I was Chief Executive Officer of the Government and, of course, we have the problems of recession like everybody else. We are also dealing with the problems identified by the Sir Robin Knowles Commission of Inquiry which investigated the allegations of corruption in Turks and Caicos by the former administration; and the problems of the huge debt burden which was inherited by the interim Government when it took over in August 2009. I was previously in Turks and Caicos from 1991 to 1994 as Deputy Chief Secretary so I knew the island and its people and I have been back there a number of times over the years. I was vey pleased to have had the opportunity to try and make a difference there…The last two years have been very difficult in Turks and Caicos with many serious problems still remaining, but we made good progress in turning the ship around, and straightened out the financial position, and so we are on course there now. “I have done my two years there, and I am now going to be Governor in St. Helena and will take up my new position there in October. I am on my way back to London for briefing. It is very exciting and will be a completely new part of the world to me in St. Helena in the South Atlantic. There are big developments there including building an airport and that will be a lot of change for the island and the people. A big part of the job will be managing change – change in the economy and social life so it will be an exciting time and I am looking forward to that.” The far-flung British Overseas Territory, accessible only by boat, is being serviced by the Royal Mail Ship, RMS St. Helena. “It brings in everything from passengers to cargo etc. so building an airport is quite a turning point in the lives of the people and the economy,” Mr. Capes stated. The airport will be served by a regional aircraft – probably a 737 – flying in from Ascension Island or Cape Town, South Africa.The building of the airport, according to the Governor-designate, “is a huge investment by the British Government.” |
