PERHAPS predictably, there have already been political calls for the States to take over the running of Herm. Since that would mean Treasury and Resources competing on the open market and perhaps spending £15m. to buy the remains of a lease on a property it already owns outright, taxpayers can breathe easy. It will never happen.
However, the plea is a reminder of how some deputies think and - had the opportunity arisen some years ago when Budget surpluses were embarrassingly high - of the perils of having too much money in the kitty.
It is also a lesson in how local attitudes to bureaucracy have changed.
When the States were advised 62 years ago to buy Herm from H. M. Treasury for £15,000 the intention was simple: ‘to ensure that at least this one small part of the archipelago may be preserved for all time in its natural state for the enjoyment of all who wish to land there’.
Because of the German Occupation, the States had other priorities with its scarce finances and wanted no part in the expense of running Herm or having to station what it termed States Servants there.
Both intentions have proved remarkably clear-sighted - something the Treasury and Resources Department should bear in mind.
It is to decide in a couple of weeks whether the reassignment of the lease should be taken to the States. Its decision should be emphatically no.
T&R is the landlord and has been given responsibility for the matter, as has the Lt-Governor, and they alone should exercise it.
It is one thing to say to a prospective tenant that a political board and Her Majesty’s representative in Guernsey provide a vetting process and quite another to say that having cleared those two rigorous but confidential hoops, the applicant then has to subject themselves to a newly elected committee of 47, including two Alderney representatives.
To come to the same conclusion as the already delegated scrutineers, the States would have to have access to the same information or be asked to rubber-stamp a fait accompli.
Islanders have confidence in its new Treasury team and the Lt-Governor and the future of Herm requires measured decisions - not the lottery of a talking shop.
Leave States out of Herm
PERHAPS predictably, there have already been political calls for the States to take over the running of Herm. Since that would mean Treasury and Resources competing on the open market and perhaps spending £15m. to buy the remains of a lease on a property it already owns outright, taxpayers can breathe easy. It will never happen.
However, the plea is a reminder of how some deputies think and - had the opportunity arisen some years ago when Budget surpluses were embarrassingly high - of the perils of having too much money in the kitty.
It is also a lesson in how local attitudes to bureaucracy have changed.
When the States were advised 62 years ago to buy Herm from H. M. Treasury for £15,000 the intention was simple: ‘to ensure that at least this one small part of the archipelago may be preserved for all time in its natural state for the enjoyment of all who wish to land there’.
Because of the German Occupation, the States had other priorities with its scarce finances and wanted no part in the expense of running Herm or having to station what it termed States Servants there.
Both intentions have proved remarkably clear-sighted - something the Treasury and Resources Department should bear in mind.
It is to decide in a couple of weeks whether the reassignment of the lease should be taken to the States. Its decision should be emphatically no.
T&R is the landlord and has been given responsibility for the matter, as has the Lt-Governor, and they alone should exercise it.
It is one thing to say to a prospective tenant that a political board and Her Majesty’s representative in Guernsey provide a vetting process and quite another to say that having cleared those two rigorous but confidential hoops, the applicant then has to subject themselves to a newly elected committee of 47, including two Alderney representatives.
To come to the same conclusion as the already delegated scrutineers, the States would have to have access to the same information or be asked to rubber-stamp a fait accompli.
Islanders have confidence in its new Treasury team and the Lt-Governor and the future of Herm requires measured decisions - not the lottery of a talking shop.
Article posted on 21st May, 2008 - 10.00am