SOSJ have answered a ‘call for evidence’ from two Scrutiny Panel Reviews to be conducted shortly. The first is the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel’s review entitled: ‘Jersey International Finance Centre Review’. The second Review is the ‘Environmental Housing and Technical Services Panel review on ‘Environmental Policies.’
SOSJ ‘s submissions are inter-related and we have added by way of an example how States Capital Projects can go wrong.
Our report,’What Really Happened at EfW’, followed events in 2009 when the incinerator construction site flooded at high tide (as we forecast). The contractors could not contain the toxic leachate and had to pump it into the (‘protected’) Ramsar Area.
The Scrutiny Panel at the time heard our evidence and wanted to investigate but were instructed not to continue, as there was a criminal investigation ongoing. But this was later abandoned.
Our current submissions will in due course be uploaded onto the States of Jersey Scrutiny Website.
This is a chance for two new Scrutiny panels to have a positive effect on current policies and hopefully protect us from yet more bad decision making and wasteful spending.
We also need truly independent environmental regulation.
SOSJ believes that the States is now hopelessly locked into a one party consensual majority situation, with new members still finding their feet.
Unfortunately, a crucial number of experienced and independently thinking members have either retired or not been re-elected. (Think Ben Shenton, John Young, etc).
Scrutiny, both from States Scrutiny Panels and also from independent scrutiny organisations such as ours, has become more important that ever.