Vote of Censure Lodged.

Today, the long awaited, Vote Of Censure against the Treasury Minister, Senator Philip Ozouf was lodged by Senator Sarah Ferguson and signed by Constable Dan Murphy, Deputy Roy Le Herissier and Former Assistant Treasury Minister Deputy John Le Fondre. Who have also issued a Press Release (Below).

Proposition of a vote of censure of Senator P F C Ozouf:

"The Proposition, seeking a vote of censure, is in regard to the conduct of the Treasury Minister cited in two recent reports by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

The emphasis of the proposition is upon reported behaviour which falls well below the standards required of a Minister.  The signatories are strongly of the view that the cornerstone of parliamentary government is accountability.

The summary dismissal of the Reports in the Assembly by the Chief Minister, presumably speaking for the Council of Ministers, was a worrying development.  Instead of a considered reaction to the Reports, the Chief Minister and the Treasury Minister reacted immediately and, in the case of the Treasury Minister, cast serious aspersions upon the integrity of the Comptroller and Auditor General.

We hold no brief for the Comptroller and Auditor General.  However, we believe he plays a vital role in maintaining checks and balances and we believe his Reports contain information, concerning the conduct of the Treasury Minister, which must be the subject of a thorough and considered debate." (END)

The proposition can be read HERE where it tells us there are 6 areas of concern for the proposers and they are.

1. Members will have heard the Minister for Treasury and Resources claiming that it is his job to challenge Officers and also to achieve best value for the States. We have no problem with this. Unfortunately, we have learned of a pattern of excessive challenging of officers, whether they are the Chief Executive or the Director of Property Holdings, which goes beyond that which is considered reasonable. In short, there is documented evidence by the Comptroller and Auditor General of bullying by the Minister for Treasury and Resources. We do not consider that bullying has any part to play in a robust and challenging environment, and it is particularly inappropriate behaviour for a government Minister to engage in.

2. There has been criticism by the Minister for Treasury and Resources of the price offered by Jersey Property Holdings for Lime Grove House. Should that price have been challenged? Indubitably. But when that price was confirmed by independent third-party professionals – as opposed to informal comments – should the challenge not have ceased? Instead, reliance continued to be placed on informal valuations which had not been tested to the extent that the formal valuations had been. The specialist knowledge held by the specialist officers, not the politicians, was ignored. Why was this the case?

3. The attempt to impugn the integrity and reputation of the Director of Jersey Property Holdings in order to avoid paying compensation for premature termination of his employment contract is also particularly pernicious, and is not acceptable behaviour for any elected official, particularly that of a senior Minister.

4. The unpleasant situation in the Treasury Department described in the Report was compounded by the deliberate intention to delay the transaction. According to the Report, the Minister for Treasury and Resources was in communication with a director of the company which was developing the building on the Esplanade which might have been taken by the finance company, which was in competition for Lime Grove House. But this information was not given to States’ officers or possibly to anyone else working on the project. In fact, the Minister for Treasury and Resources was deliberately trying to delay the project.1 This is most inexplicable, given the Minister’s remit for defending the public purse and, coupled with his reliance on informal valuations; it also raises serious doubts about the motives of the Minister for Treasury and Resources during the process of acquiring Lime Grove.

5. On 27th October 2010, the Minister for Treasury and Resources and the Deputy Chief Executive met with the former Managing Director and the Finance Director of WEB. The officers of WEB were told that the former Chief Minister had approved the request for WEB to provide services to the Minister for Treasury and Resources and the Deputy Chief Executive. The former Chief Minister, when interviewed, stated that he had not approved the request and, indeed, did not know in advance or approve of the exclusion of Jersey Property Holdings from the Lime Grove House transaction.2

6. Misleading the States and the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel when stating that in order to meet £65 million savings a culture change would be required to achieve the necessary organisational changes, even though the Chief Executive made it known that it was not possible to carry out an office strategy at the same time as the Comprehensive Spending Review. (END)

Regular readers/viewers will be aware that we have interviewed the key players in this saga (before the proposition was lodged) and offer the interviews (below) as a "one stop shop" for the most in-depth and informative analyses of this subject, not offered by the State Media. We ask the questions not asked by the State Media and just as importantly give a balanced perspective not given by parts of the State Media.

Senator's Ferguson and Ozouf Exclusive.

ANOTHER EXCLUSIVE FROM VFC AND CITIZENS MEDIA.

September last year we interviewed Senator Sarah Ferguson after she had come in for some criticism for handing over "The Lime Grove Fiasco" to the Controller and Auditor General. Now that his Report has been published we have followed up the interview, with another, and ask her if she feels vindicated in her decision. For what it's worth we believe she has been vindicated.


In the interview we ask the questions that are not asked by our State Media. "Will she bring a vote of no confidence against the Treasury Minister?" Will she stand for the post of Treasury Minister should he lose a vote of no confidence?" We ask "when is it time to stop learning from the past and moving on?" When are fingers going to start being pointed at those who are responsible?" 


It is apparent that the CAG's Report does not show the Treasury Minister in a good light and in the interest of fairness and balance we asked him for his response which he gave us........And much more besides!


Some of us have recently come to the view that there could be a campaign by the Jersey Evening Post, and others, to oust the Minister from his post. That's not to say he doesn't deserve ousting, but why ONLY him?


There are other Ministers, in our opinion, that should have been ousted a long time ago. Home Affairs Minister Senator Le Marquand for his shambolic handling and actions concerning the (possibly illegal) suspension of our Former Police Chief Graham Power QPM. The millions of pounds he squandered on what has been described as "a personal vendetta" against the Former Police Chief. The total waste of time, and taxpayers money, on the disgraced and discredited Wiltshire Report. The Kangaroo Court and trial by media he was allowed to get away with by dropping any disciplinary charges against the Former Police Chief and then publishing the prosecution case against him and not the defence case! The Home Affairs Minister didn't face, in the media, the onslaught that the Treasury Minister is.


The Health Minister, Deputy Ann Pryke, has never faced the criticisms that the Treasury Minister is in the media after the avoidable and tragic deaths of patients and the Hospital being in a shambles, some eight years behind that of the NHS, the damming Verita Report(s) and so on........So why, all of a sudden, has the Treasury Minister fallen out of favour? Why should he be held to account when no other Minister is?


Could it be that there is a new "Establishment Party" after the arrival of Philip Bailhache becoming overtly political? Senator Ozouf, not that long ago was "Golden Balls," in our opinion, when it came to the JEP. What's changed? What has he done (if anything) to upset them?


In our interview with him we ask these questions. We dicuss the power, and influence of Jersey's ONLY "news"paper. We also ask if he will be resigning as Treasury Minister and despite what the JEP (online) say; 


"Senator Ozouf has said he will not comment on his position or the allegations until after next week’s States sitting" 


We can exclusively reveal that Senator Ozouf HAS, in our interview, commented on his position and told us whether he will be resigning, or not. Once more Citizens Media brings you the news BEFORE the State Media who are increasingly being left in our wake.


Viewers are asked to consider, before jumping on the "Anti Ozouf Campaign," are you only playing into the hands of the (new) Establishment Party?


Should he be held to account? Hell yes, but why ONLY him? Why aren't Senator Le Marquand or Deputy Pryke being dragged over the coals by the Jersey Evening Post and others? Something about this just doesn't smell right.


Is this really about the Lime Grove issue or is there another agenda?


What we, as Citizens Media, offer here are in-depth interviews from BOTH sides of the camp in an attempt to bring you as balanced a view as possible and leave it to you to draw your own conclusions from what our interviewees have to say. Can the same be said for the State Media????

Scrutiny, "Lime Grove" and the media.

Senator Sarah Ferguson Has just published her Scrutiny Panel’s Report into the purchasing (or not as it turned out) of “Lime Grove.” Naturally the “accredited” media have wasted little time in telling the public as much as they (“accredited” media) think the public should know.

As is so often the case, in particular the Jersey Evening Post, have published an article on this Report/Review, which does not give their readers a true, or accurate, picture of just how complex, wide ranging and beyond the remit of Scrutiny that this subject had become.

The Senator explains to us how she believes the JEP "journalist" didn't even read the full Scrutiny Report and how their readers have formed an opinion based on the JEP's own opinion with little regard to the facts.


Although Senator Ferguson gave the "AWARD WINNING" Channel Television a 25 minute interview, they chose only to broadcast a 30 second soundbite and was not entirely representative of the interview given.


We (Team Voice) are pleased to bring our viewers an in-depth interview with Senator Ferguson, where she tells us much the same as she told the "accredited" media, which never got to see the light of day.


In this part one, of a two part interview, we discuss how the Scrutiny Review was much more than "buying a building." We talk of gagging orders, contracts, the way the States treat their employees, natural justice and much more.


In part two (coming soon) we discuss the "accredited" media and Bloggers.