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Guernsey’s Treasury Lead wants there to be more centralised government control of economic enablers in the island.
Deputy Mark Helyar was sitting on an expert panel during an Institute of Directors event last week (22 July) where he was quizzed on the future of Guernsey’s air and sea links.
He was joined by the CEO of Aurigny, Nico Bezuidenhout, the chair of GIBA, Paul Hodgson, and a former pilot and aviation expert called Jerry Girard. The event followed a quarterly announcement from Aurigny the day before, where the States-owned airline announced that it was on track for profitability in 2023.
You can read more about Aurigny’s latest announcement HERE.
Pictured: Deputy Helyar spoke during an IoD event at the OGH.
The panel spent most of the time discussing the pros and cons of runway extensions and the progress Aurigny has made in trying to break even. However, when questioned about whether the ownership and government structure behind Aurigny is fit for purpose, Deputy Helyar dipped into politics and suggested that some States’ responsibilities need to be streamlined.
“We are, as part of the GWP [Government Work Plan] having a review of government generally,” he said.
“There are lots of mixed-up economic enablers within different committees that really should be in one place.
“Housing is a good example; that sits with ESS [the Committee for Employment and Social Security] and E&I [the Committee for the Environment and Infrastructure] and P&R has no influence there. Population policy is another really important economic driver that sits with the Committee for Home Affairs.
“Some of these mandates and responsibilities, in my view, are in the wrong place.
“I think the future, and part of this review, will be to bring the shareholder and creditor position of P&R and STSB under one roof. I think [currently] it can drive behaviors that are not helpful to the airline and are not helpful to the ports [either], in circumstances where you have me with the cheque book and someone else trying to develop the policy.”
Aurigny on track for a profitable 2023
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