Confirmation Needed on Source Monies of the £90M

The announcement by the Government that TNG has paid the £90M premium on the Eastside project on the very last day of the financial year studiously leaves open the question as to the source of monies used to pay the premium. Given this Government’s track record of opaque use of Credit Finance, the Savings Bank or public funds generally the question deserves further exploration. The Government should therefore confirm that none of the source funds to pay the £90M premium were provided by the Savings Bank, Credit Finance or any Government entity and that no public or savers monies have been used towards this.

It will be recalled that the Eastside project was adjudicated with much fanfare in October 2021 by the Government to TNG, an entity which they subsequently confirmed had not even submitted a bid within the expressions of interest process conducted in relation to the Eastside. Indeed it was a company that did not even exist when the expressions of interest process closed. That in itself raised serious questions at the time. 18 months on very little has substantively happened on site.

The Government issued photographs at the time that agreement with TNG was announced in 2021 which showed Government and TNG officers signing Heads of Terms. Subsequently it transpired following questions in Parliament that there were still aspects under discussion. Only three weeks ago the Chief Minister accepted there were still issues being negotiated. The payment of the premium on the very last day of the financial year with the lease signed the same day shows how much of a last-minute scramble all this has been to save the Government from presenting an even bigger hole in its budget. The Government should now publish the full set of contractual arrangements entered with TNG in relation to this site. If it does not do so a future GSD Government will.