‘Sark will no longer control its destiny’
SARK Electricity’s managing director has claimed that Guernsey was only prepared to lend money to Sark so Chief Pleas would engage with a newly proposed constitutional commission.
The States is set to debate loaning Sark £1.5m. to buy the island’s privately-owned electricity company and invest in new infrastructure under a proposal revealed last week.
This came days after the States of Guernsey announced an intention to set a commission, which could consider the relationships between the island and Alderney, and Sark.
Sark Electricity Limited MD Alan Witney-Price has now written to all Sark’s residents warning them that ‘Sark will no longer control its destiny’.
He has urging them to speak to Conseillers about ‘swiftly and roundly rejecting the proposition agreed with Guernsey’.
‘P&F, in exchange for this loan, are signing over Sark’s independence and right to self-determination,’ he said.
‘P&F have, subject to a vote in Chief Pleas, agreed to join the Bailiwick Commission. This commission will strip power from local conseillers and pass that power to Guernsey.’
Mr Witney-Price told the Guernsey Press that Sark would end up charging Guernsey tax rates and ultimately become another parish of Guernsey.
‘That will empty Sark and the economy will collapse.
‘Take away its independence and it will be bereft and dead in a decade.’
The letter was issued just ahead of a public meeting in Sark scheduled for last night, when plans for Chief Pleas to buy of the island’s existing electricity infrastructure will be discussed.
Chief Pleas has said the ‘regulated asset value’ of the island’s current infrastructure was £425,392, but negotiations would need to take place around topics such as future revenues and liabilities.
However Mr Witney Price said that a figure of around £500,000 was well below market value. He claimed that he had already agreed to sell the utility to a third party, with the sale due to go through at the end of April.
He added that the actions of the States and Chief Pleas were placing this sale in jeopardy. He claimed that neither party had wanted to engage with him about the island’s future power supplies.
‘Despite my efforts neither Sark or Guernsey have engaged with me for years.
‘I am tearing my hair out with frustration.’
n The Sark loan policy letter has been lodged by Policy & Resources, although Guernsey has no formal constitutional responsibility for Sark’s electricity supply nor the island’s finances.
The committee said that the situation had reached a point where it could be considered that there was a ‘moral argument’ for the States to support Chief Pleas with a loan to secure reliable and sustainable provision for energy generation and supply in Sark.
P&R said that the commission idea had come about as it was noted that the complex relationships between the islands’ governments were not widely understood, leading to confusion about oversight and accountability.
It is hoped the commission will set out recommendations for how the constitutional and governance arrangements might work for each island.
The establishment and operation of such a commission would need to be by consent from the governments of the jurisdictions involved.
