Jul 22 - GSD Claims Picardo Makes ‘Clear Abuse of Power’
The GSD has today criticised the Chief Minister for his claims in Parliament that he is entitled to draft and issue press releases in the name of public authorities, criticising the former GSD administration.
The criticism follows a Gibelec press statement released on the day of the by-election. The Party insists that ‘there is a world of difference between a public authority responding to criticisms from the Opposition against it and the Government deciding to manipulate Gibelec for its own political purposes. In addition, it is illustrative of how the Chief Minister does not appear to care about basic democratic values when he brushes aside criticism that there is a clear convention not to campaign on the day of an election by stating that if the GLSP-Liberals had issued the press release in their own name, it would have been improper but not if it was issued in the name of the Government, or the Government caused it to be issued in the name of a public authority.’
Commenting on the matter, Opposition Leader Daniel Feetham claimed that there is a clear distinction between press releases that are a necessary or incidental part of administering the affairs of Gibraltar even on election-day and politically partisan press releases attacking or criticising your political opponents.’
The GSD is also critical of the Financial Secretary’s press release on behalf of the Gibraltar Savings Bank, and its investment in Credit Finance, which in turn had lent money to the Sunborn. The Opposition insists that involving a Senior Civil Servant in a cynical political attempt to mislead the people of Gibraltar is ‘ not right and raises serious issues of good governance.’
The GSD goes on to state that the current Government have been involved in ‘some very serious good governance issues that have emerged directly associated with Mr. Picardo’s conduct of the affairs of Gibraltar.’
These include ‘Secret No 6. Companies where the Government has paid for the start up costs, provided subsidized labour through the Future Job Strategy and contracts by direct allocation; a £303 million investment of savers’ money into a company called Credit Finance which the Government also attempted to keep secret and which is then lending money to third parties without regulation or governance; the misleading of Parliament; the publication of selective parts of the Principal Auditor’s report on the day before the by-election, only publishing the entirety of it very late that day after the Opposition had called both his office and that of the Principal Auditor to insist on publication, when the report had been available to the Chief Minister for over a month; the use as a political football of the Financial Secretary and documents addressed to the former administration in the middle of an election campaign; the use of Land Property Services Limited as a political football to further his political campaign against his political opponents and to distract attention from his own governance failings.’
Mr. Feetham challenges the Chief Minister to report any matters disclosed in any report from the Principal Auditor that seem untoward, to the Police, and not to indulge in trial by Principal Auditor.
