From Paul Troalic.
HERE’S an interesting idea for our States Assembly in this New Year – how about some transparency and bit of accountability?

I think it’s pretty clear that our States Members have so far failed to gain any credibility with the electorate, so how about starting out this year and doing what they have been elected to do and proving their worth?

They tell us that running the States is like running a business. The ‘States of Jersey Ltd’ is how they like it to be called, yet they don’t provide us, their shareholders, with an annual report showing what they have achieved and what they are going to do. Perhaps some of them could even refresh our memories about what exactly we elected them to do and tell us when we could expect them to do it?

I’m convinced that they want us to be reassured about some of the things they’ve introduced. As an example, our ministers introduced GST to partly plug the so-called Black Hole in our finances. Surely now is the time they should be showing us the profit and loss account. How much has been recovered, what has it cost and what has it made the States in profit terms? I cannot recall seeing a reference to this, apart from in a letter to the JEP.

It is only from these details that we can all judge whether it has been a success or not. (OK, from what I hear Customs would be keen to see the back of it, due to the extra work it has caused, but that’s another story.)

It’s the same with ITIS, the ‘pay as you earn’ variant that was installed some years ago. Does anybody know exactly how much it has cost to implement and how much extra revenue it has raised net of these costs? Has it proved its worth and can someone demonstrate this clearly for all to see? If it hasn’t proved its worth, is there a better, more efficient, alternative?

From what I can see the only obvious advantages are that it has helped us all to budget more carefully (though we’ve all lost out on that little bit of interest from the bank) and has recouped tax from the many people who escaped the net in the past by going home at the end of each season.

It’s the poor pensioners who have to live on the income from their investments that I feel sorry for – they’re being charged every half-year on the basis of estimation. Whoever thought that one up will regret it when they get old, that’s for sure.

Finally, what about that old chestnut – overstaffing and the cost of the civil service. Have any moves yet been made to reduce the headcount? How many staff have been shed?

As far as most people can see, the States are still recruiting. You only have to check out the double page adverts in this paper to see that. And of those that have gone, what has been the cost to the taxpayer? Surely these are questions that need to be published for all to see.

Also, what about the cost of those senior employees who have been suspended? Will we ever be told how much this has cost the Island?

I see (JEP, 12 January) that there are to be redundancies at Jersey Post and Jersey Telecom, two companies that were formerly run as States departments. This is regrettable, of course, but it goes to show that when push comes to shove costs can be cut.

It all seems to me to be a very simple exercise to undertake and something that surely could occupy the time of some of those backbenchers who, to all intents and purposes, appear to be doing nothing apart from drawing a very large salary.

It would also be a good PR exercise by the States and perhaps quieten some of its critics who don’t always know the facts. Come on, what about it, then?