This Is Jersey

From John Rice.
I REFER to Mr Swinson’s report which was so enthusiastically endorsed by Senator Le Sueur.

I don’t pretend to be an expert in these matters but am wondering just how wide the parameters stretch that cover them.

Is Mr Swinson concentrating on the number of people and their income that are needed to run our government, or does it address the same problems as the Clothier Report, ie the size required for this Island?

Did the report consider the amount of money that we spend on experts or other expensive quangoes?
Did it touch on the lack of opposition to the executives’ particular schemes?

In the not too distant past the Island has badly overspent, and, by the sound of things, it still does. I may be wrong, but in the absence of an opposition is there a powerful enough person or committee to look after the interests of how public money is spent?

Is it really necessary to have so many States Members, and why is someone living, say, in St Brelade unable to influence a States Deputy from another parish holding a senior post in government? I had to threaten to conduct my complaint through the columns of your paper recently before I got a reply, for the particular Deputy wouldn’t be affected as I had no say in whether he won an election or not.

The States might be more accountable if each member was subject to an Islandwide vote. Constables are there for parish matters.
41 Tabor Park,
St Brelade.

Article posted on 30th May, 2008 - 2.59pm