We deserve better than States’ plea for savings ideas
IT WAS very disturbing to read the articles and comments published in great aplomb across the front page and internal pages of the Guernsey Press [23 June 2023]. Our States has been appointed and well paid to provide good governance and direction to the public on all matters relating to the running of our island, which includes financial planning and implication. To simply roll over and suggest that the public ‘may have’ answers to help save money having failed to agree any joined up considerations or voting on proposals presented by various States departments borders on ludicrous and crass government. The GP Comment column said it all, as how can the public be asked to:
1. Provide ‘alternatives’ to the options that the States have had many, many years of paid employment to analyse and agree on our behalf.
2. Make advised judgment and recommendations against Guernsey’s financial affairs by 14 July 2023 without in-depth knowledge of spending accounts, which have been subjected to States scrutiny for many years.
3. Provide our disconnected States with options that will require months of further analysis, debate and challenge that will only serve to provide further disagreement and disengagement in voting for a solution that really makes sense.
Surely the present and previous States appointed leaders have considered and provided the public with many options that address the issues of public expenditure, savings and income options that could be made but have failed to be implemented due to the in-house back-biting and divided ‘political opinions’ of the government officials as they stand today.
The public deserve better from those in power than to simply ask for ‘our’ help in seeking what options there are.
My own opinion would be for the States to admit that they are divided in their appointed roles and have demonstrated that personal opinion and lack of appointed strong and decisive leadership is the issue that is causing a ‘hung government’ in regard to implementation of what must be considered as extremely urgent for Guernsey.
Instead of asking for help by requesting public options I suggest the States needs to publish all options that have been presented by various parties and simply ask for the public to vote for their preferred choice, which will eliminate their previous lack of ability to implement what must be fully considered and truly possible options that meet the majority of public opinion.
Let’s stop wasting more time and money on considerations that will only lead to further delays in implementing solutions that require action ‘now’ and provide public help by directing this States government to vote through the options that are ready and waiting to begin making savings and income today and not be rolled over to the next generation of elected States government to continue to debate and fail to implement in two years’ time.
TONY VERON
