Democratic Reform of Parliament and Empowerment of Public Servants- Another Core Principle Explained

Changes will be made, as may be necessary, to ensure that Parliament meets as a minimum for 3 days in every month except in December, August and the month on which Easter falls, during which months Parliament shall be in vacation.

A Permanent Parliamentary Committee of backbenchers (including crossbenchers and members of the opposition) will be established. It will meet a minimum of 1 day every month except in the months that Parliament does not meet, but otherwise as it considers necessary, for the efficient disposal of its business. The business of this will be to act as the equivalent committees, including Select Committees, of the House of Commons. 

This committee will examine matters in detail.  These will include government policy, proposed new laws, and any wider topics that concern the government and Gibraltar, including the economy.  It will check on the work of government departments and economic affairs.  It will hold the executive arm of government and the public administration to public account.

The committee shall have power to summons the Chief Minister, any Minister, and Civil Servant or any other person and question them on any matter relevant to the its business. It shall be constituted as closely as possible to reflect proportionally the make-up of Parliament. The committee shall have all powers of compulsion and enforcement over witnesses as a court of law, all evidence shall be taken and oath and all laws of perjury and contempt shall apply.

GBC TV and radio will be permitted to broadcast meetings of Parliament and this committee live.

The civil and public service, including authorities, commissions and other quasi-governmental entities will be empowered.  They will be freed of centralised (Chief Minister) control.  In return they must be responsible and accountable for their actions and accept such responsibility and accountability.

Is it All Change in the GSLP?

On Friday the public learnt that Joe Bossano, the dominant force in politics, the left wing and in the GSLP, would be stepping down as leader of the GSLP. What is extraordinary is that there has been little or no analysis of the effect this will or may have on politics generally in Gibraltar. I imagine there will be over the next days. My opinion is that it will be a seismic event only if this event is a precursor to political change within the GSLP and not just a change of identity of the leader.

The change of identity of leadership will have some effect in itself, but I believe, also, that much needed more fundamental political change will follow if Fabian Picardo is elected as the leader of the GSLP. If such change does not follow, a unique opportunity for Gibraltar politics will have been missed. It is this challenge that will mark out Fabian as a leader. He will not have much time to implement this change in the GSLP  before the next election. It is a change that he must achieve in order to consolidate the lead that the GSLP have in opinion polls and convert it into a win at the election.

The fact that Joe is bowing out as leader alone has its effect. One would hope, for example, that the GSD will now look to the future by participating in real politics rather than the negative politics of fear that they have wheeled out at every past election. The person that the GSD view as the pariah who allowed (and for some encouraged) the fast launch culture (but who in reality laid the economic foundations on which the GSD government has built Gibraltar's economy) is gone. Let that fear factor, whether you believe it or not, at last stop warping our democracy. Let rational analysis of policies take over from the destructive politics of personality. It is time for our politicians to allow the restricted form of democracy that exists in Gibraltar to work, as best it can, by resorting to proper political argument rather than appealing to the base emotion of fear in people.

Fabian Picardo will have much of the responsibility to ensure that this happens. He has to lay the ground upon which the GSLP will fight the next election. We know what the GSD will fight it on. It has told us in its recent party political broadcasts. The GSD has "given" us, rather than we have paid with our taxes, all the benefits and material assets that we enjoy. However, politics is not in what government's believe they have "given" us.

Politics is more in whether the decisions taken are good or bad decisions. Politics is not in how much tax has been recovered. Politics is in how and whether the right taxes are been levied, which incentivise economic activity, and on how these monies are spent. Politics is not in how an imperfect system is used by those temporarily in power to impose their will on voters. Politics is in how politicians develop and allow the electoral and parliamentary system to evolve and be improved for the benefit of the community.

If Fabian, as I believe and hope he will, takes the GSLP and so the election to political argument, the seismic change that has been presaged by Joe's departure as leader will be achieved. The electorate can and will be given a choice that will deliver real political and democratic change to Gibraltar. It will uncover the lack of ideological politics inherent in the GSD. It will discover the GSD for what it really is, an administration by one person and not a government. It will be indicative that administration will be returned to an accountable Civil Service that will administer Gibraltar under the Rule of Law. This is essential if real democracy is to be returned to Gibraltar. We will see if my hope is fulfilled over the next few months. Gibraltar needs such change.

Will the GSD rise to such a challenge by making changes? It needs to take a deep breath and seriously think about the changed scenario. If it were to do that and re-emphasise many past broken manifesto promises with guarantees that can be believed by the electorate, then it might redeem itself. It would also take politics to where I believe it should be. The improvement in Gibraltar would be palpable and vibrant were my hopes to become a reality. Unfortunately the history of politics in Gibraltar indicates that this will not happen ... oh well I will carry on trying anyway!

Accessibility to Fundamental Rights- The Fourth CIR Core Principle Explained

The Coalition for Reform considers that presently the means by which citizens can enforce their fundamental rights is difficult and too restricted. This arises from the need to apply to the Supreme Court of Gibraltar and the complication and cost associated with that procedure. The Coalition for Reform will create a new post of Commissioner of Fundamental Rights. The Judicial Services Commission will appoint him/her.  He/she must be an appropriately experienced lawyer. The Commissioner of Fundamental Rights will be provided with sufficient finance for her/him to establish an adequate secretariat.

The duty and responsibility of the Commissioner of Fundamental Rights will be to receive and investigate all complaints of breaches of Part 1 of the Gibraltar Constitution Order 2006 (2006 Constitution), which contains the fundamental rights.  He/she will publish an opinion of her/his findings.  The Commissioner of Fundamental Rights will also have power to investigate and issue an opinion of his/her own motion on any issue of concern on the subject of fundamental rights.

Within 3 months of the publication by the Commissioner of Fundamental Rights of his/her opinion on the subject of any complaint or of its own motion, the Government shall publish its policy statement on the relevant matter.  The statement will set out deadlines by which any breach of fundamental rights found to exist by the Commissioner of Fundamental Rights would be rectified. The Government must rectify by passing any necessary legislation or taking any corrective action within a period of 6 months from the publication of its policy statement.

In the event that the Government does not publish a policy statement or rectify any breach within the prescribed time limits, the Commission of Fundamental Rights will be obligated to commence proceedings before the Supreme Court, as permitted by section 16 of the 2006 Constitution, at the full cost and expense of the Government and without risk of an award of costs against it. The Supreme Court will be empowered to condemn the relevant Minister or Ministers personally in costs if it finds that non-compliance with the opinion of the Commissioner of Fundamental Rights has been by reason of his/her wilfulness, recklessness, gross negligence or purposeful breach.

Our Money Goes up in Smoke

If you want to get bad news out do it on a Friday.  This Friday was no exception. The news was that the Government had written off £5,000,000 in taxes and social security and £1,400,000 in rates, a total of £6,400,000 of public monies that have gone up in smoke. Undoubtedly write offs are a fact of life. No government can or should be criticised for having to write of an element of debt.  What I believe requires some analysis is the reason given and what requires some comment is the nature of some of the write offs, namely social security and PAYE.

The reason given is that the amounts are in the main due by companies that either have been liquidated, struck off or do not otherwise have the wherewithal to pay or self employed individuals who are no longer in Gibraltar.  The reality is that this reason simply analyses the final situation faced. It does not analyse the cause of the problem. It is important to analyse the cause to reduce the level of bad debt owed to government.

Businesses do not get into trouble overnight. It is a process that develops over time. There is little or no doubt that businesses will go down.   When businesses go down there will be bad debts owed not just to government but to other creditors.  The only way to reduce ultimate loss is to limit the amount of credit that businesses are allowed. It is in the process and efficiency of collection that the solution lies. It is important to ensure that no business is allowed to go into such large arrears that the ability to pay is compromised. Inability to pay debts as they fall due is the main ground for bankruptcy.

Permitting growth of debt when dealing with social security and PAYE is the most unconscionable of acts. This is money due in part, not by the business, but by the employees of that business. It has consequences on the employees. It is essential that a culture of prompt payment is instilled. There is no excuse for any delay. Non-payment at due dates give rise to criminality. Businesses should be made fully aware of the consequences. This is achieved by an efficient and unyielding collection system with immediate consequences flowing from non-payment.

The final consequence to a business, other than potentially criminal prosecution in some situations, of non-payment is usually bankruptcy. There is an argument to say that this should be avoided if possible to safeguard, for example employment. This argument has some force if there are facts and circumstances that are indicative of a probability that a business can trade itself out of a short term cash flow problem. In most other eventualities allowing a failed business to continue trading only achieves an aggravation. It results in increased write offs in the end. It also permits unfair competition in the market place, thus increasing the chances of other businesses getting into financial difficulties, which in turn also leads to increased write offs. Ridding an economy of failed businesses is curative for the economy as a whole.

Crticising for past occurrences and write offs is easy. The reality is that what has happened has happened already and whatever action needs to be taken now, including write offs, has to be taken. The write offs that we have been told off will not be the last. There will be more. What needs to happen is that steps are taken to reduce the risk of write offs and so reduce the loss to the public purse. There are clear signs that the present GSD government are tackling this issue head on. It should be supported and not criticised in this endeavour.

Making political capital of any steps taken in achieving what is a laudable aim is opportunistic, of no benefit to the wider community and counter-productive, not least, because those in opposition today may need to be doing exactly the same in government tomorrow. Politics is about doing what is for the better good of the community, not for selfish short term electoral gain. On occasions opposing political parties criticise in manner that is not for the greater good of all, perhaps it is time for this type of politics to come to an end.