Workshop identified a lack of clear leadership

LAST Wednesday's Chief Pleas sitting was remarkable for a number of reasons, not least because it went on until almost 3pm – a rarity indeed during the last four years.

The sitting also provided me with a modicum of satisfaction in that, at long last, conseillers seem to be getting the message about declaring interests in the subjects under discussion and withdrawing from the chamber – in last week's case that chamber being the Island Hall, with its less than satisfactory acoustics for such a gathering.

By my reckoning there were more withdrawals in those few hours than there have been in the whole of the previous 11 years I have reported on the legislature's proceedings.

It was a welcome sight for those like me who believe that without rules and procedures, the whole thing can fall apart.

A statement was made early in the sitting about a workshop held the previous Saturday – something which, to no one's great surprise, relatively few residents knew anything about. Those attending – apart from someone from the Ministry of Justice and another from Guernsey – were island officials, 21 of the 28 conseillers, the head teacher and the doctor.

In the certain knowledge that my head is now considerably higher than the parapet I will preface my next remarks by saying that head teacher Sarah Cottle's contribution to this community – particularly in relation to music and drama but many other things as well – goes way beyond her education remit and she is regarded as a considerable asset to Sark.

Dr John Stevenson has only been here a matter of weeks but to my knowledge has demonstrated a keen interest in island affairs that bodes well for the future.

That said, if I were a Sarkee (my definition is someone who has lived here from childhood), and particularly one of the many whose interest in and contribution to this island's affairs at least matches that of the only two members of the public who were actually invited to this somewhat exclusive gathering, I'd be pretty miffed, to say the least.

As one resident sitting in the public gallery observed to me during lunch, it turns the clock back a century or so to the days when the only educated people in the village were the doctor, the head teacher, the bank manager and the vicar.

That comment, along with the rebellion during the budget debate over a few pennies on a pint, a packet of cigarettes and a Scotch, pretty much sums up what a pig's ear those in Sark's corridors of power are making of things these days.

It is all to do with the appointment of Colin Kniveton as temporary chief secretary, whether the General Purposes and Advisory Committee like it or not. The impot duty rebellion was because part of the money was earmarked for Mr Kniveton's salary and no other reason and it's a pity so few of those who rebelled had the courage to say so.

I find it ironic in the extreme that among the weaknesses in the system identified by this workshop were the lack of clear leadership and an unsatisfactory consultation process. With regard to the latter, perhaps conseillers should consider that just two days before Chief Pleas, two very long-term island residents were told by me of Mr Kniveton's appointment. A small notice on shop noticeboards or a brief note in a postal drop would have been courteous to those paying the wages.

The impot duty vote was a reflection of public disquiet over the sloppy way this – and other aspects of Belinda Crowe's report – has been handled. Looking at the names of those who opposed the 27% duty hike, and with all due respect to other members, I'd suggest that generally speaking they are perhaps closer to the coalface of public opinion than are some of those who voted in favour.

I would suggest also that conseillers, and General Purposes and Advisory in particular, have got their work cut out if they cherish any hope at all of widespread public support for improving the machinery of government. As has been said many times before, and perhaps Mr Kniveton may care to take note, the only way to lead a Sarkee is to find out where he's going and walk in front of him.

Keeping him in the dark about what he's expected to pay for is counter-productive.

* The email address for comment is fallesark@sark.net.