Feb 05 - GSD: Government Ministers ‘Brainwashed’ By Consultants
The GSD notes that, days after his confirmation in Parliament that there is a significant problem with Government over-spending, Mr Bossano, the Minister for Inward Investment, “continues to raise serious doubts about the state of Government finances.”
In a GBC interview on 4th February 2015, Mr Bossano explained that the reason for Government over-spending was that Government Ministers have been brainwashed by “consultants”, “agencies and authorities”.
Incredible as this might be, says the Opposition, this is not, it says, as “jaw dropping” as is the admission by Mr Bossano, that Government Ministers have failed to exercise prudent judgement and financial restraint in respect of the Departments they are responsible for.
As Mr. Bossano well knows, says the GSD, the Chief Minister is the Minister for Finance and is the person who has overall responsibility for the public finances of this community. It is also, argues the GSD, the Chief Minister’s responsibility to ensure that his Ministers are not brainwashed into overspending. However, the Opposition says that, judging by the 45% overspend at No 6 Convent Place, “perhaps Mr Bossano thinks the Chief Minister himself has been brainwashed and has been sleep walking the last three years.”
The Leader of the Opposition, Daniel Feetham, said: “I never thought that I would live to see the day when a Government Minister, not least Mr Bossano himself, would suggest that his Ministerial colleagues (including his Chief Minister) do not have the strength of character to be able to resist being brainwashed by those working for them.
“Although this is an admission of mind-boggling proportions, it cannot be used as an excuse for the level of Government overspend, which the 2014 Budget revealed stood at £50 million across Government departments.
“The GSD is of the view that although Government Ministers might have easily been brainwashed into overspending, it will be quite another to pretend that the electorate can be brainwashed into believing that all is well with the state of the public finances”.
