Efficiency of government can go further
I HAVE found this election frustrating. Voters in the UK and other countries may only vote for one candidate but party politics mean that each candidate is representing a whole team of potential ministers and a range of policies. I may be able to vote for six candidates but I do so without any idea whether any of them will become ministers. Meanwhile, the political future of most of the obvious favourites for ministerial office will depend entirely on voters in other parishes.
Two important topics to emerge from this election have been island-wide voting and increasing the efficiency of government. I would suggest that these are two birds that can be killed (or at least wounded) with one stone. I have never understood why each States department should be overseen by a committee. Surely it would be better and more efficient if one minister and one deputy minister (let us call them 'conseillers') controlled each department? Responsibility and accountability for the conduct and performance of the departments would then be clear. To help them formulate policy, each minister/conseiller and deputy could seek advice from a council of stakeholders, representing those most directly affected by the decisions they make.
Because the actions and policies of the ministers/conseillers affect everybody in Guernsey, it is only right and proper that they should be elected directly to those offices by island-wide elections. I would favour a system with candidates being sitting States members who had been nominated and seconded by fellow States members.
Deputies who would represent the people and hold ministers to account could then be elected using the current system at separate elections, held some time after the ministerial island-wide ones. This would give unsuccessful ministerial candidates a second chance of election. The newly-elected deputies could then elect deputy ministers from amongst their number.
Over the last few years (or decades) the structure of Guernsey's government has gradually been streamlined and the time has surely come to take the next step to make it more democratic and accountable.
BARRIE PAIGE,
GY6 8BP.
