Sharpen up or we risk becoming a backwater

Society generally owes a huge debt of gratitude to those who have the energy, and are prepared to take the financial risk, of setting up and operating businesses, and especially small and medium size businesses, because they are the engine room of the economy. It is they who generate the wealth which then goes, directly or indirectly through taxation, to pay for the public services (health, education, policing and suchlike) which we all want and rely on, and indeed, to pay the salaries taken home by our politicians, and also by our civil servants.

Such businesses should therefore be encouraged, nurtured and assisted, and their success made easier with a ‘can-do’ attitude from the authorities, rather than being faced with hurdles – planning delays, staff shortages, micro-regulation – at every step. Fortunately, at the moment, there seems to have been a change of attitude since the new States came into power a couple of years ago (although this has clearly been hampered by the Covid pandemic), but this needs to be supported by the approach of the new chief executive, whose identity will, I understand, be announced shortly.

But politicians, really do need to start injecting common sense into their priorities.

There are far more important matters to occupy the States’ time than trivial and nakedly populist demands that the Lt-Governor pays tax on his salary.

Streamlining the civil service is an obvious, if challenging, task, although it can be achieved. In my political career I was fortunate enough to be part of a mechanism which implemented the outsourcing of many public service areas previously controlled and run ‘in-house’ by civil servants and employees, resulting in enormous costs savings, and thus a dramatic reduction in the amount of tax recovery required to support public services.

Not only, though, is it important to save costs, but a longer-term foresighted priority needs to be given to economic enablers to enable Guernsey to compete in, and keep up with, the global economy. And, as Richard Digard remarked in his recent article (on the Lt-Governor interview), the lengthening of Guernsey’s airport runway, long-term project though it is, is really a no-brainer if we want ‘fairer air fares’.

Guernsey is also fortunate enough to have many people of great wisdom and experience resident on the island who are willing to assist by offering their thoughts and services to those involved in determining policy and priorities. This resource should be recognised, respected and taken advantage of. It is extraordinary, for example, that, when it was recently pointed out from one such source that while Guernsey had – very properly – resolved to bring the preparation of States accounts into line with modern international accounting standards in 2008 this had still not been implemented, the response from those in charge was simply dismissive.

Guernsey needs to sharpen up its act in practical ways, in all the above respects, or risk becoming a sluggish and expensive backwater.

HARVEY MARSHALL

St Saviour’s