Still no meeting on £300 million housing estates loan - GSD

The GSD has criticised the Chief Minister for ‘failing’ to honour a commitment to meet with members of the Opposition to discuss the £300 million loan secured on six publicly-owned housing estates.

In lieu of answering parliamentary questions on September 22, the Chief Minister offered to host a meeting with technical advisers and members of the Opposition in order to provide the detailed information that had been requested, the GSD said in a statement yesterday.

This offer, the GSD added, was accepted in the interests of expediency and on condition that non–commercially sensitive information could be disclosed to the public.

This meeting has still not taken place.

Roy Clinton GSD MP with shadow responsibility for public finance said: “I wrote to the Chief Minister on the 3rd October 2016 requesting a date for the offered meeting and to date I have not had a response.”

“In answer to supplementary questions on 28 October 2016 when I reminded him of my letter of the 3rd October requesting the meeting, the Chief Minister stated he hoped it would be ‘in the next 14 to 21 days maximum’, that time period has since elapsed and we have still heard nothing.”

“If the Chief Minister offers a meeting on the £300 million loan in Parliament I expect him to keep to his word on a matter of such public interest and importance. It is regrettable and disrespectful to Parliament and the electorate that such a meeting has not yet taken place given the significance of the £300 million loan which is secured on public housing estates.”