St John hustings: Ministers in the spotlight

A LACK of faith in ministerial government and concern over the £350 million Waterfront plans dominated the Deputy hustings in St John last night.
New candidates – and old neighbours – Deputy Patrick Ryan and former parish deputy Phil Rondel will battle it out for departing St John Deputy Andrew Lewis’s seat.
At a packed parish hall the two candidates were quizzed on issues ranging from the Waterfront, ministerial government, civil servants, recycling, immigration and increased funding for the Youth Service, before ending with questions on Barack Obama’s views on Jersey and the option of building a bridge to France.
Twenty questions were put to the candidates, but many St John parishioners spoke of their dissatisfaction with ministerial government and wanted answers about who actually runs the Island. Parishioner David Roberts began by asking the candidates if civil servants, politicians or consultants were in charge.
‘It is the civil servants,’ replied Mr Rondel. ‘Politicians come and go but there is always the continuity of the same civil servants,’ he said.
But Deputy Ryan said that it was ‘a popular myth’ that civil servants ran the Island. ‘It is the politicians who set policies and it is up to the civil servants to follow policy. It is when the two mix that you get problems. That is why I like Scrutiny,’ he said.
Richard Day said that the public were losing faith in ministerial government and asked the candidates how they felt about government reform.
Mr Rondel said that he would wish to review the system of government if he was elected. ‘I believe it is dictatorial and is not transparent,’ he said. Deputy Ryan said that the government had moved forward but he admitted that there was a lot more to do.
Concerns about the worldwide financial downturn and recession were also raised. Alan Poignand asked the candidates if they thought it was appropriate to go ahead with building a £350 financial centre on the Waterfront.
Mr Rondel said that Jersey was heading for a deep recession and thought that the project should be put on hold for five years. Deputy Ryan agreed that now may not the best time for the massive project. ‘The decisions on the Waterfront were made in a different economic climate. We have to review them in today’s climate,’ he said.
The current St John Deputy, Andrew Lewis, who is also the new Home Affairs Minister, joined parishioners to quiz the two men battling it out for his seat in the States. Pressing them further about the Waterfront, Deputy Lewis asked the candidates if they agreed that Jersey should be investing in the Waterfront now so that the Island will be ready coming out of a recession in 18 months to two years. ‘We should be on the front foot, not the back foot,’ he said.
But Mr Rondel responded: ‘I would leave it for several years to find out what we do need. We should not go ahead until we know what is around the corner. I am 62 and have been around for a long time. I saw it happening in the 90s and back in the 70s.’
Deputy Ryan said: ‘We need to be ready to invest and have confidence in our own abilities. The decision to develop the financial centre was made in a different economic climate. We need to wait a little while but we need to be ready to move forward with confidence when we can.’ (from thisisjersey)