Good governance in Sark takes its 'first step' by appointing a full-time civil servant

SARK'S decision to appoint a senior administrator is the 'first step' towards strengthening good governance in the island, the UK minister with responsibility for the Crown Dependencies has said.

Minister of State for Justice Lord McNally praised the recent move by Chief

Pleas to back the appointment of Sark's first full-time civil servant.

It follows the visit by Lord McNally to Sark last month, where he left Chief Pleas with a clear message for change.

His scheduled Sark visit followed the initial decision by Chief Pleas to reject the appointment of a full-time administrator – a move that Lord McNally admitted being very frustrated by at the time.

'I welcome the decision of the Chief Pleas to appoint a senior administrator as a first step toward strengthening good governance and effectively providing the services residents have the right to expect,' said Lord McNally.

'The UK Government is committed to continued strong relationships with the Crown Dependencies, including Sark, and remains available to provide support to Sark in recruiting their senior administrator, and as it continues to reform.'

The revised administrator post, however, did attract criticism in the island from Sark Estate Management managing director Kevin Delaney.

He labelled it a 'watered-down' version of the original proposal and suggested it would not fool the Ministry of Justice.

Mr Delaney also said that any desire to recruit locally was going against the vision of temporary civil servant Colin Kniveton during his visit and claimed that Chief Pleas had instead created a subservient role.