This Is Guernsey

By Nick Mann

THE £301m. wish list of projects such as a new secondary school, mental health facilities and upgrading the runway has survived.

A series of votes in the States on amendments to the capital prioritsation programme has effectively given these projects the amber light to go ahead.

They still have to survive another vote today, but members are very unlikely to throw the whole thing out given previous decisions.

Each project also has to come back for detailed approval.

The decisions made yesterday also mean the States has decided to borrow – although whether this is internal or external will be central to the continuing debate.

The session broke up with debate beginning on the final and main challenger to Treasury’s proposals to borrow £175m. externally to help fund the programme.

Matt Fallaize opened on one of his group of five’s funding plans which would require no external borrowing by laying into the cost of Treasury’s plans and the legacy they would leave to the future.

‘Rarely if ever have the proposals of a States department been so unpopular with the public,’ said Deputy Fallaize. His speech was greeted with a round of applause when he finished.

Treasury minister Charles Parkinson replied by stating that the difference between internal borrowing, a key element of the amendment, and external borrowing was largely illusional.

If the island borrowed internally that money would no longer be gaining interest as it would if left on deposit.

Treasury’s report was pulled back from the brink earlier in the day when the States backed an amendment by the department to ensure a profit of some £3m. a year from the ports holding account went back into the central pot.

If it had not been approved, Treasury wanted to withdraw its report.

Not only would this have delayed work on any of the projects, it potentially meant losing millions of pounds-worth of them as well.

It followed a decision on Wednesday to back Public Services’ stance that the account should not be collapsed at least until a decision is made on potential commercialisation of the airport and harbours.

That department’s minister, Bernard Flouquet, said after yesterday’s debate that its report on the issue scheduled for December would go ahead, but was likely to reignite the argument over the £3m.

The States threw out the only proposal left that would have excluded any form of borrowing and cut the capital prioritisation list – an amendment by Deputy Al Brouard.

It also rejected exhausting the rainy day fund to pay for it, a policy backed by Deputy Jan Kuttelwasher.

Yesterday evening, one deputy predicted that Deputy Fallaize’s group would win the day by around five votes on one of either the two amendments it has on the table.

Its less favoured plan involves a small amount of external borrowing.

In the States Pages 22 & 23

Article posted on 26th June, 2009 - 2.30pm