WATERFRONT Enterprise Board chairman Gerald Voisin has been sacked for the role he played in the Esplanade Quarter development fiasco.

The former St Lawrence Deputy was removed from the board last night after States Members voted by 22–15 that he should go after failing to declare an interest in the financial backers of the preferred developers, Harcourt.

The board and directors of WEB, including Senator Paul Routier and Deputy Jacqui Huet, survived after it was claimed that removing them straight away could cripple the company and potentially be harmful to the Island. An earlier move to rescind the entire Esplanade Quarter development proposals was also defeated.

Deputy Geoff Southern’s proposition to remove the chairman of WEB was backed by 22 votes to 15 but his call to sack the entire board and its directors failed by 31 votes to eight.

Half the House got to their feet during the debate and expressed concerns over the fact that Mr Voisin had failed to declare that he was chairman of the CI branch of Allied Irish Bank, whose parent company is the financial backers of favoured waterfront developers Harcourt. Many accusations were made during the three-hour debate yesterday, with some Members describing Mr Voisin’s role on WEB as ‘cosy politics’.

Senator Ben Shenton was the only member of the Council of Ministers to speak out against Mr Voisin, saying that he never even approved of the chairman’s appointment on WEB because of his ownership of ‘a large part of St Helier retail’ which he saw as a conflict.

The Health Minister went on to say that Mr Voisin’s appointment on WEB, which was held behind closed doors, was ‘rushed through’ and he described it as ‘more of a gin and tonic and cosy pub arrangement rather than a professional appointment’.

His concerns were echoed by Deputy Bob Hill and Deputy Roy Le Hérissier, who even suggested that there may have been a conspiracy at one point. Deputy Le Hérissier finished by saying: ‘We need to cut back on cosy club culture.’

One of the reasons why the first part of Deputy Southern’s proposition failed was because it was found to be technically flawed and meant that WEB would become paralysed and unable to take management decisions by law. The ‘badly worded’ part of the proposition led to a move by Deputy Guy de Faye to call for it to be thrown out, but this was rejected.

Some Members called on Senator Paul Routier, a director of WEB, to resign, but the Minister of Social Security refused, saying: ‘I believe I carry out my duties in a thorough and careful manner.’ He added that he was disappointed at former WEB director Senator Jim Perchard’s ‘quick resignation’ when he learned about Mr Voisin’s role on AIB CI after the Waterfront debate.

Mr Voisin was first challenged about his interest in AIB CI by the Jersey Evening Post on 10 June. When contacted that afternoon, he said he would prepare a statement overnight. The following morning Senator Perchard resigned, saying: ‘Overnight I have received new and disturbing information, which was previously unknown to me, that Mr F G Voisin, the chairman of WEB, is also is the non-executive chairman of AIB CI Ltd.’

Mr Voisin released a statement to the media that morning which said he had no involvement with AIB in Dublin and its transactions with Harcourt.

In the States yesterday Senator Perchard outlined the reasons for his resignation and once again said that he did not want to ‘swim in murky waters’.

He thought that Mr Voisin’s chairmanship in both companies was ‘too much of a cosy relationship’ and that it exhibited ‘a huge conflict’ of interest.

His former WEB colleague, Deputy Jacqui Huet, firmly denied misleading the Assembly during the Waterfront debate and said that the reports had been taken out of context.

Deputies Paul Le Claire and Sean Power were among those who called for Mr Voisin’s removal by saying that he should have disclosed his appointment to WEB.

Deputy Andrew Lewis said that the situation had the perception of a ‘scandal’ and called for the resignations to show the public that they upheld a high level of corporate governance. The Constable of St Brelade, Mike Jackson, held a similar view, saying: ‘Some action needs to be take to restore confidence in the board.’

Support for Mr Voisin came from Treasury Minister Terry Le Sueur, who said that the timing of the proposition was wrong and would not be good governance. Planning Minister Freddie Cohen said that Mr Voisin’s mistake was minor and was not ‘corrupt’. He called him ‘honourable’ and ‘a man of great integrity’ – sentiments echoed by many Members yesterday.

Chief Minister Frank Walker said he was still ‘hopping mad’ at being misled during the Waterfront debate but urged Members to consider whether the punishment fit the crime. He said he even considered sacking Mr Voisin but, in the end, could not see any justice or fairness, adding that the chairman had not broken any laws. But he was ‘silly’ not to have disclosed his interest.

‘He took the job in a public-spirited way. He has done a great job in giving WEB leadership,’ said Senator Walker.
Earlier this week Controller and Auditor General Chris Swinson released his initial report into the set-up of WEB and criticised board members for not declaring their interests.

He said that although Mr Voisin’s links to AIB and Harcourt were tenuous, he should have still declared his interest.