Watch what you’re voting for!

Friday 08 August 2014

Islanders should watch out for dodgy promises made by candidates standing in the next elections says one local businessman.

In the “Unplugged” interview in this month’s Connect magazine - which is out around town now - the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce Finance Committee Robert Kirkby said people should be sceptical about promises being made to boost the economy.

Mr Kirkby said: “If they’re promising a service or something different and new, the question has to be, how will they fund that service? If it’s a new tax how much will it raise, and do you want that tax, and does that tax just become an easy way to raid Islanders hard-earned salaries? And if no tax rise, then what service will be cut?

“I’m sure that there’s many great ideas out there that would be worth pursuing but as voters we need to be much more rigorous in our assessment of who to vote for and who will deliver the best for the long-term future of Jersey.”

Mr Kirkby says the Island is not in the position it was ten or 15 years ago when the States had more cash to splash and it’s harder now to provide all the services the Island and Islanders want and need.

He said: “What we need to do is grab a clean sheet of paper and ask some relatively simple questions. What as Islanders do we need the Jersey government to provide? What is the absolute, bare essential, raft of services required? Then we need to say what else would we like and then we have to look at whether we can afford the desired services. For example, a health service I suspect would be on most Islanders list. As a typical western population we face a hugely increasing burden of health costs due to ageing, the rapid rise of Western chronic diseases and rising medical costs. So the States commissioned a significant review, and they have determined how they need to change the provision of those services, so they are affordable.

“But we need to do that across government, it’s not just Health, it’s Social Security, it’s Education it’s all the assets and services that government provides and holds.

Mr Kirkby believes a pay-as-you-use service would boost income and could be introduced at the Island’s ports and for parking cars.

“At the end of the day it’s just like managing the household budget. We might want a new car, or a holiday in the sun, but if we can’t afford the new car or holiday, we compromise or do without. And we need to replicate that in government services and actually say these are the absolute “bare minimums” that we have to have and then there are the “nice to haves”. Perhaps for some of the “nice to haves”, we move towards a pay-as-you-use service. “

Islanders go to the polls in October.