Juggling workloads and conflicts

It has begun at the top with Policy & Resources president Peter Ferbrache coming under fire from his predecessor for already rolling back on a pledge to cease all work with law firm Ferbrache and Farrell when he took on the top job.

He believes he has time to continue as a consultant as well as leading the island and has stressed he would not have taken on the role if he did not.

Part of that leadership will be on a tourist accommodation strategy, a sector in which he has publicly declared a financial interest.

Over at Scrutiny, the president Yvonne Burford has rid any perception of bias by quitting the Guernsey Partnership of Independents, yet another committee member, John Dyke, believes he can manage any clash, perceived or otherwise, with his membership of the Guernsey Party.

Managing conflicts, whether political or financial, is part and parcel of being in government. To have the skills you need to create a cohesive and effective operation will mean having a range of backgrounds and interests.

But the perception of conflict can end up haunting an administration and individuals, whether fairly or not, and deserves to be addressed and avoided if at all possible.

There are rules and guidance in place, but it remains an anomaly that when all the committee elections take place very little is known about the candidates because of the timeframes.

There are no rules about how party membership fits into all of this, so members have been left to act on their own conscience.

The cleanest and most preferable thing is for Scrutiny members to be clean of any baggage or allegiance, indeed given the numbers involved it would be best if they were unencumbered by membership of any other committees too.

There is another advantage in that scrutiny becomes the one and only focus, ensuring timely and effective action.