PICARDO ADMITS TO ‘WASTE AND ABUSE’ WHILST GSLP-LIBERAL HYPOCRISY CONTINUES

Gibraltar & El Campo
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[The 'Christs-Letters' tag refers to the 1st reply to this post - see below.]

"Chief Minister Picardo admits now to ‘waste and abuse’, showing that his GSLP-Liberal Government do not govern us well. A huge failing to which he has now admitted, in his May Day message. The hypocrisy of the GSLP-Liberal Government, by them constantly pointing at what they think that the past Gibraltar Social Democrats (GSD) Government did or got wrong, is a smokescreen and propaganda to hide their own, now admitted, failure.

‘WASTE AND ABUSE’ IN A DEVASTATED ECONOMY

Mr Picardo has confessed that “… the COVID pandemic has devasted our economy …”. Yes, nothing less than ‘devasted’!

Yet he says, “Now, we must ensure that the costs of these payments and all other COVID expenses are repaid.” He goes on to promise to repay these “… without bringing about any austerity into our economy”, as that “always hurts the weakest …”.

Then comes the gigantic admission, in denial of much of what he has said in the past about the spending of our money, public expenditure, he admits that there has been ‘waste and abuse’.

He does so in the following terms, “… I can guarantee that we will ensure that we will stop all waste and all abuse we detect in government spending”. He goes on to make unsupported propagandist promises of growing the economy and revenues to sustain the public sector, based on a vague plea for “solidarity”.

PICARDO TO BLAME IF AUSTERITY COMES

No one is to blame for the devastation of COVID, but any failures to perform now, in the way Mr Picardo says he will perform to avoid austerity (and there are already clear signs of public spending cuts), cannot, in future, be distracted from by or blamed on what past governments did or did not do. If the GSLP-Liberals do not deliver on Mr Picardo’s promise, or if there is any austerity, it, and no one else, will have failed and will be to blame.

Voters should look at what the GSLP-Liberals are doing or failing to do now, and will do over the next two years, on all fronts and judge them on that. When we go to the polls in two years’ time, all of us should each vote based on the today that exists then, not on yesterday, or what the GSLP-Liberals say the GSD failed to do.

GIBRALTAR’S POLITICAL HOLE

However, there is a huge hole that needs to be filled in politics today. There is a need for a viable and good alternative to be offered to voters at a general election.

The GSD does not offer that at present, nor does Together Gibraltar. In the meantime, Gibraltar faces a political and governmental nothingness, in that, without a viable alternative, it will only get, from the GSLP-Liberals, more of what it has."

Continues at link

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Dear Robert,

We hope this finds you well, in good spirit and having a good day.

Having just read your excellent criticism of Der Fuehrer Picardo and his cohorts in crime, and agreeing with you on what you wrote, the time has obviously come for a complete change of government.

We have been warning Gibraltarians for decades against the divisive theatrical Punch-and-Judy Show of the party-politics system – poly ticks – poly meaning many, ticks being blood-sucking parasites.

Matthew 12:25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:

One cannot go against the word of God and succeed, and Der Fuehrer Picardo is a self-admitted atheist existentialist.

There is ONLY ONE cure for Gibraltar’s ails and that is to return to keeping God’s Law and Covenants under His Government.

The First Principle of God's Government - Theocracy

Decades ago, We offered to govern Gibraltar for only Our keep, but people obviously prefer to suffer under the local poly-ticks and ignored Our offer.

Until the Gibraltarian Gadites who are Israelites, not Jews, return to keeping The Covenant and God’s Law the people will suffer more and more on the rocky road to ruin.

Gibraltar - Gebal Tariq: British or Spanish?

We have never withdrawn Our offer to govern Gibraltar for the benefit of the people and have been advising and warning them via the Gibraltar Messenger and Defending Gibraltar news-letters and websites for years.

Gibraltar Messenger
Defending-Gibraltar

Both websites are accessible from my main website Christs.net.

Please take the time to study them both and feel free to contact me.

Peace be upon you,

Christ (yes, REALLY).

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https://www.yourgibraltartv.com/politics/23356-tg-austerity-is-already-here-and-causing-great-pain-and-suffering

Written by YGTV Team on 10 May 2021.

Together Gibraltar has said that austerity has hit Gibraltar, in particular the GHA. The party claims that “Medical staff throughout the department are being stretched to the limit, working with inadequate staffing levels due to vacancies not being filled, supply staff not being renewed, and professionals being hired on a precarious basis.”

A statement continued:

“Just over a week ago, in his May Day message, Fabian Picardo stated that the costs of COVID would be fully repaid without bringing any austerity into the economy. He lied.

“This was the latest in a string of lies the CM has been feeding the people of Gibraltar throughout his tenure. In his desire to justify an economic agenda riddled with vanity spending, cronyism and clientelism, he promised the people of Gibraltar that Gibraltar was a Tiger economy with robust public finances and plentiful rainy day funds at our disposal. In March 2020 we were told we had £150m in reserves. Roughly six (pandemic) months later, a UK bailout in the form of a soft loan was necessary to keep Gibraltar afloat.

“Now we are being told that no austerity will be implemented in Gibraltar, when it has become abundantly clear that this is not the case. Austerity is already here, and it must be called out for what it is. In the last year we have seen cuts across most departments, but none quite as visible and painful as within the GHA. Medical staff throughout the department are being stretched to the limit, working with inadequate staffing levels due to vacancies not being filled, supply staff not being renewed, and professionals being hired on a precarious basis. The insinuation that problems of access to appointments in the PCC are linked to staff absenteeism is simply an insult to a workforce that has just carried our community through a pandemic, working tirelessly through terrifying times.

“Whoever in the GSLP government thought that it was a good idea to implement these cuts while dealing with the clinical aftermath of the pandemic should accept their responsibility and resign. These are not cuts of waste or abuse. These are decisions that are costing our citizens pain, sickness, and in some cases potentially death. Together Gibraltar has received representations from severely sick citizens unable to see a doctor at the PCC for weeks; cancer patients whose tests have been delayed, A&E patients not being sent for life-saving surgery on time, disabled, elderly or severely impaired patients left to wait unaided for months for treatments and referrals, and of course, dozens and dozens of citizens who simply cannot get through to the PCC when they need it, after spending hours on the phone.

“When protesters coined the slogan “Austerity kills”, this was exactly what they were referring to.

“The government’s plan to cut waste and abuse in the system amounts to an admission of maladministration. TG agrees that this maladministration exists and that it is costly, and that some measure of reform is necessary. Gibraltar need to streamline most of its public services, modernise processes and improve the management of its resources. The party also believes that only by limiting political interference and introducing real accountability can these changes take place.

“Together Gibraltar believes that asking the relevant authorities to fix the problems in the PCC is just another piecemeal solution for what is a greater, systemic problem. If cuts are necessary due to financial problems, the Government must first acknowledge that this is the case, give a clear and accurate depiction of the state our public finances, and then open up a discussion with opposition parties and social stakeholders. There are numerous systemic issues that must be tackled before implementing cuts of the like we have seen in recent times, and a willingness -at least on the part of TG- for cross party collaboration to tackle these urgent systemic reforms.

“There are costly inefficiencies in our housing system, in a system of taxation that does not require high earners contribute fairly to the common pot, and in a civil service that has been more often than not used as an electoral tool. In order to tackle these difficult reforms in a way that can garner the support and understanding of the Gibraltarian people, Government should commit to full transparency of public finances going forward. Together Gibraltar would also like to see Government setting an example in the reduction of unnecessary spending by cutting the roster of government consultants, as well as the salaries and travel expenses of ministers.

“The party will call out all austerity cuts that impact on fundamental services such as healthcare, and will continue to publicise the real-life consequences of these measures. It will also continue to offer alternatives and its willingness to participate in a cross-party effort to tackle Gibraltar’s systemic problems.

“In the following days, the party will publish a series of anonymous testimonies of constituents explaining their ordeals with a diminished GHA.”

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Together Gibraltar is just the other side of the coin, isn't it?

The poly-ticks continues – it's a show.

Maybe TG's role is to tell "Gibraltar how bad it really is" (good cop/bad cop) but beware of a wolf in sheep's clothing from this very liberal group who seem full of Green, Global, Great Reset solutions.

image

They are all pushing everyone toward the Satanic Great Reset.

This is why it is vitally important to listen to The Lord.

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There are signs that public spending cuts are being made, despite the promise of no austerity. These cuts arrive with the Chief Minister’s, Fabian Picardo’s, confession that the COVID-19 pandemic has devasted our economy. Based on his May Day message, one is led to believe that any public spending cuts will be made to stop ‘abuse and waste’, and will not amount to his idea of what austerity is. But is that the case, and is there any difference? The definition of ‘austerity’ shows that there is no difference.

Furthermore, if indeed that spending of public monies, which the GSLP-Liberal Government is now pledging to cut, was ‘abuse and waste’, why were those cuts not made earlier, as is the obligation for ‘peace, order and good’ government? Earlier cuts would have been in line with the obligation to govern Gibraltar efficiently. In those circumstances, this year’s May Day message by the Chief Minister amounts to a confession of bad government, and the existence of ‘waste and abuse’ in public finances.

CUTS EXAMINED.

Let us examine, what these cuts in public expenditure are so far, in no order of importance we have already had the following.

[1] Community Care Officers, which allow for those between the ages of 60 and 65 to receive Community Care payments, have been reduced. The reality is that Community Care is hugely influenced by and is virtually entirely funded by government, so the effect is that it filters through as a public spending cut. It may be that this measure was taken prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that only goes to show that cuts were necessary even before that ‘economic devastation’.

Community Care may further justify the move on the grounds that those who have been excluded were in receipt of huge pensions, so it is cutting out an ‘abuse and waste’. Agreed if that is so, then, why was the saving not made earlier? Why was that ‘abuse and waste’ allowed to go on for so long?

[2] The attempts of the GSLP-Liberal Government to downgrade civil service posts by not promoting public servants into vacancies as and when they arise have been in the news. Again, is that cutting ‘waste and abuse’? Based on the Chief Minister’s May Day message it would seem to be a measure to cut ‘abuse and waste’, as those words are defined by the Chief Minister, in which case why has the cost been permitted for so long? If, on the other hand, it is an austerity measure, then the message is not accurate.

[3] Yet Again, one hears that the Government has imposed substantial limitations on overtime in the public service, involving both direct and indirect employees. Indirect employees include those in government agencies and companies owned by government, as in the end all these are funded by public funds.

Once more, based on the Chief Minister’s May Day message, these overtime restrictions amount to cutting out ‘abuse and waste’ and, according to him, are not an austerity measure. One wonders how the affected workers feel about the description of this cost as ‘abuse and waste’. Surely the overtime must have been necessary, as otherwise why did it arise? If it was not, what does that say about the responsibility of all governments to govern well?

[4] It is said that there has been a failure to pay Borders and Coastguards Officers ‘time in lieu’ in accordance with their contracts. Surely, if so, this is not only wrong, but not one that cuts ‘abuse and waste’. What is contractually due and payable cannot be ‘abuse and waste’, unless the Government agree and admit that entering the contractual arrangement was itself an ‘abuse and waste’.

[5] There are also indications that there are serious employment issues in the environment department. It seems that staff are overworked and now expected to deal with their obligations without overtime. Was this overtime in the past an ‘abuse and waste’, as the Chief Minister’s May Day message would suggest, or is this an austerity measure, in the sense indicated by the Chief Minister, which his message says will not be taken against workers?

[6] Finally (for now), there is a buzz that government housing
works, and repairs have stopped, except for emergency situations. Additionally, there is talk of less efficiency and speed in the provision of most public services. Again, is this a cut of ‘waste and abuse’? Surely not, as otherwise it would be an admission that such ‘waste and abuse’ has been going on for decades. Then it must be an austerity measure, as meant by the Chief Minister, which, once again, Mr Picardo promised would not be taken against workers.

Continued at link.

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Punch – Judy – Punch:

Over £1 billion – That’s what the Government invests in health services

They have accused the Government of austerity in relation to the health service when the facts show that more money is now spent on health and more people are employed there than ever before.