Bossino says Gibraltar led by ‘failing and flailing government’ 

GSD MP Damon Bossino used a budget address this week to slam the Gibraltar Government’s record in office, accusing it of political failure, poor delivery and wasteful spending. 

Mr Bossino said Gibraltar was being presided over “by a failing and flailing government”, adding ministers had failed to deliver on key commitments while public confidence had been damaged by recent controversies. 

He said Chief Minister Fabian Picardo’s account of the Government’s record in his budget speech was undermined by the fallout from the Openshaw report and the Principal Auditor’s report. 

He described as “embarrassing” Mr Picardo’s view that the Openshaw report had vindicated the Government, noting the Chief Minister had then moved to challenge some of the report’s findings through a judicial review funded by taxpayers. 

Mr Bossino also cited the Principal Auditor’s report, which he said highlighted issues including poorly controlled overtime, breaches of tendering procedures, weaknesses in government contracts, opaque spending and poor value for money. 

He said the Government’s response had been to attack the reputation of the office-holder instead of addressing the findings. 

These were political developments of a seriousness that in other places would have led to a resignation, Mr Bossino told Parliament. 

Echoing an earlier address by Opposition Leader Keith Azopardi, Mr Bossino reflected on the planned leadership transition within the GSLP. 

He said the Minister for Health, Care and Business, Gemma Arias Vasquez, could not present herself as a break from the current administration because she had backed the Chief Minister during debates on the Principal Auditor, the Openshaw report and the GSD’s no confidence motion. 

“This is not a successor,” Mr Bossino said. “This is a co-signatory.” 

Mr Bossino also criticised Mrs Arias Vasquez over the handling of recent power cuts, adding businesses and the public had been left questioning the management of the outages. 

He said her public appearances during the blackouts had appeared “performative…rather than substantive”. 

Turning to manifesto commitments, Mr Bossino accused the Government of repeated non-delivery. 

Mr Bossino said ministers had failed to meet pledges on housing, including commitments to eradicate and clear the housing waiting list, to ensure everyone on the list was housed, and to build affordable housing at a rate of around 200 units each year. 

He said those failures were affecting younger people trying to leave home, buyers facing delays and rising mortgage costs, and older residents seeking more suitable housing. 

He cited examples of delays to housing projects and said these had damaged people’s quality of life, including buyers in Bob Peliza Mews who had paid instalments for years only to find rising mortgage costs had made the homes unaffordable because of lengthy delays.  

Mr Bossino said the failure to deliver affordable housing also risked wider social consequences at a time of major change at the frontier.  

He said said younger Gibraltarians unable to afford to live on the Rock could increasingly look across the border to Spain once new treaty arrangements came into force, adding this could see Gibraltar lose part of a generation that would otherwise have remained here. 

Mr Bossino also criticised the Government’s wider approach to planning and development, saying ministers had made a series of announcements without following through. 

He referred to changes and delays affecting reclamation plans, schools, the mental health hub, the Gibraltar College, the police station project and the Road to the Lines project. 

He said promises of new homes linked to reclamation had not materialised, telling Parliament that despite earlier announcements, “not one grain of sand” had been placed in the relevant area.  

Mr Bossino said Gibraltar was still operating under the 2009 development plan and told Parliament a new plan should have been in place seven years ago.  

He said this was further evidence of a government that had failed to plan properly for Gibraltar’s future, while continuing to make major planning and infrastructure announcements without an updated framework in place. 

“People are sick and tired of announceables,” he said. 

“They want deliverables once and for all from the Government.” 

On public spending, Mr Bossino highlighted the deal involving the building at 88 Queensway, saying the Government had sold a building and then rented space back at substantial public cost. 

He said this included more than £3 million to fit out offices and annual rent of £1.1 million, which he said amounted to £92,000 a month paid to a private entity, questioning whether this represented sound investment or waste. 

Mr Bossino said this approach was part of a broader pattern in which departments were moved from Government-owned buildings into private premises at significant long-term cost to taxpayers.  

Mr Bossino also addressed treaty issues, describing the agreement as “a significant event in our political history”. 

He said he was cautiously hopeful it would be a positive opportunity for Gibraltar, particularly when compared to the prospect of no deal. 

But he said the removal of physical barriers at the frontier would create doubts for some people, both psychologically and in practical terms, noting public concerns about security and about how the new arrangements would work in practice. 

Mr Bossino said the treaty would require a substantial investment of time and human resources from a small administration, with Gibraltar needing the right people to sit on implementation bodies and committees. 

He said the Government had shown an “obvious and apparent inability” to prepare properly for the practical arrangements related to the treaty, citing uncertainty for businesses, questions over residency requirements and concerns among Borders and Coastguard Agency staff over future deployment. 

Mr Bossino said the next election should offer “a message of hope” to people frustrated by housing pressures, power cuts and what he described as unfairness in public life.  

He said many in Gibraltar felt ignored and wanted “fairness, transparency” and a different approach to government.