NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE
Manx Radio (News and Current Affairs) are often getting stick for giving the CM to easy a time (not least from us on occasion) but in an interview (clip here):
https://www.manxradio.com/news/isle-of-man-news/new-business-for-island-more-crucial-than-ever/
they fire a ‘silver bullet’ at the Chief Minister as he rambles on about how government has not achieved its targets in areas like down sizing government, housing and local government. Pressed he says there are a ‘wide range of reasons’ (which he refuses to specify) why these endeavours have not been realised but when pressed falls back on:
“I think we have achieved a great deal a lot more than perhaps people give us credit for.”
This seems to be a repeat of that ‘Awards for Excellence’ blast against those doing ‘us’ down and not appreciating how well the government is doing.
However people will I think get tired of being blamed for failing to appreciate the ‘good works’ that government it doing when all around they see its failings and indeed some of impact of its mismanagement periodically drops through the letter box in the form of increased bills for utility and services.
The government’s ‘final throw of the dice’ is the Economic Development Fund (EDF) – which effectively is OUR £50 MILLION being delivered like some early Xmas gift to Chamber of Commerce members and other business sector apparatchiks.
However as long ago as 2012 Bell was pontificating on the need to grow business and at that time there was no mention of using reserves to achieve that end. See this link and ask why it has taken until now and also why it has taken so long now it needs reserves investment NOT MENTIONED then:
https://www.manxradio.com/news/isle-of-man-news/new-business-for-island-more-crucial-than-ever/
Let’s be clear as our (Celtic League) enquiries to government early this year indentified there are a range of support and subsidies in place already for local businesses. Some of them may well be very worthy and value for money. Our enquiry did not discount there worth it simply sought accountability.
The development of the EDF is an entirely different issue all manner of opportunists will pop up to take advantage here and there’s already evidence ‘off Island’ advertising of the fund is being pursued .
These EDFs are not peculiar to Mann they have been tried in other States (indeed the government popped over to Ireland mid summer to see how there’s had worked). All EDFs without exception carry an inherent risk of loss estimates range between 15-30%. In effect in a worse case scenario THIS MEANS ANYTHING UP TO £17 OF THE £50 MILLION WILL BE WASTED! That’s money that if the government did have a great urge to spend it could have gone to reduce the MEA (now MUA) debt!
This is not something the Isle of Man can currently afford and yet COMIN crack on like a drunken man in a casino throwing his last money on a turn of the dice.
It’s in this context you have to see the CMs Manx Radio comment about achieving “a great deal a lot more than perhaps people give us credit for.”
The point is the people increasingly do see what the government is achieving and they don’t like it one bit.
I do wish the CM and his colleagues would stop fretting about why the public don’t love them and get on with the business of trying to sought out some of the current chaos prior to a new administration coming along in late 2016!
BERNARD MOFFATT
Issued by: The Celtic News
13/12/15
THE CELTIC LEAGUE INFORMATION SERVICE.
The Celtic League established in 1961 has branches in the six Celtic Countries. It promotes cooperation between the countries and campaigns on a range of political, cultural and environmental matters. It highlights human rights abuse, military activity and socio-economic issues