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| Philip Ozouf in his pre-hair transplant days |
Firstly the Managing Director of local construction firm Camerons publicly stated in the press that he is so incompetent at his job that he requires public funding to the tune of £40 million or so otherwise his company will have to close.
My first concern is why a Managing Director of any firm would publicly admit that he is not capable of operating his company, clearly the shareholders of Camerons have to be concerned. Secondly, one wonders what difference his salary makes to the viability of the company.
The very next day, Ozouf bravely agrees with the news that he has only just heard the day before in the paper and agrees to spend £40 million pounds on 'New Deal' type public works to save the 'construction industry' in Jersey.
I have examined the construction industry before and now more than ever, we actually do not have any need for one at all. There are so many empty offices, flats and warehouses built already that will never be filled. There are millions of pounds worth of projects which have been granted planning permission which simply are not being built. The reason is simple - it is not economically viable to do so. You cannot simply build things for the sake of having something to do, any development has to make commercial sense.
We have 100,000 people in our 80 square miles which is unanimously agreed is too many. We have an over-inflated property market, with falling house prices. The reality of house prices is much worse than is reported for the following simple reason.
When properties are sold now, the vendor gifts the buyer the 20% deposit in order to secure the mortgage. So on a £250,000 flat the real value of the transaction is £200,000. With the deposit (a notional £50,000) being given by the vendor to the buyer who gives it straight back to the vendor. All the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed, the bank is happy their is sufficient security to cover the loan, (although there is not) but the reported sale value of £250,000 is an outright lie, which is then used to mislead the public that things are not as bad as they really are.
So we have the Managing Director of Camerons scrounging off the government like a welfare case (although I am sure he gets more than £90 per week) and the 'right wing', 'free market' Treasury Minister acting like a left-wing pinko and stumping up taxpayers money to support the director's lifestyle.
Something simply does not add up... is there a 10% commission going to a certain someone or group of people that we will never know about? I'm trying to think of a reasonable alternative basis for this decision to be made this way.... I'm open to other peoples ideas, but at the moment I just cannot see any good reason for these developments in which the major players are acting out of character.
he had alopecia - look it up!
ReplyDeleteLove that picture of Ozouf. The ladies darts team at the Great Union have been using it for ages when practicing.
ReplyDeleteis that 80 square miles when the tide is out ;)
ReplyDeleteWhen the old Island Plan was dreamed up it was said that there was not sufficient capacity in the Jersey building industry to satisfy the demand for houses. Therefore, those without "quals" were not planned for.
ReplyDeleteStrange that the population was then less than 92,000 but it has now almost reached 100,000 and the building industry is now short of work. Something else does not add up especially since those without "quals" are still not included among those to be properly housed.
Think of a figure......