TG says audit motion ‘unfair, unnecessary and vindictive’ 

Together Gibraltar on Tuesday said the Government motion on the 2018/19 Principal Auditor’s report was an “unfair, unnecessary and vindictive attack” on its author that had ramification for Gibraltar as whole. 

In a statement, it dismissed assertions from Chief Minister Fabian Picardo that it was necessary to place the Government’s objections on the parliamentary record in order to protect Gibraltar’s reputation, “as though our critics will watch the theatre of Parliament”.  

Gibraltar will be judged by the strength of its public services, the transparency of its public finances and the independence of its institutions, TG said.  

“These are the very things now under attack by a Chief Minister choosing to hound a retired civil servant without due process,” the party said.  

“When Gibraltar was grey listed for example, it was certainly not because of a lack of speeches in Parliament, nor the words of individual civil servants.” 

“We were grey listed because our institutions had failed to meet the standards required of us by international bodies.” 

“Rather than addressing the issues raised by the audit, the government has chosen to waste taxpayers’ money on legal advice, to solve a dispute that never needed to exist.” 

TG said the Government was not being judged as defendants in a court of law and that the matters raised in the audit report were about the Government’s role as custodian of public funds. 

That was a matter that should be left to auditors, “not more lawyers”. 

“How can any future Principal Auditors, seeing what has been done to their predecessor, now carry out their duties with confidence?” TG asked.  

“How can civil servants feel empowered to speak up when so many are already silenced by fear of reprisals?” 

“As the debate continues, we will continue to hear out the government on the individual points it wishes to raise.” 

“But we urge them to stop wasting the public’s time and money on a matter that has already gone too far.” 

“We urge all MPs, and especially ministers, to vote against this motion.” 

“Do not hamstring your own departments by making them worry about what happens to those that critique the system.”