Jersey government to give £160k in funding for Battle of Flowers
Deputy Morel said: "It is the role of Ministers to consider the wider balance of risks and take into consideration the broader economic and social imperatives".He admitted there was "significant overspend" last year and the government "does not have an established relationship" with the new organisers.But, the Minister described the Battle of Flowers, which was first held in 1902, as an "iconic event" and "an important fixture," which "brings Islanders together." Battle is due to be held on the 8 and 9 August, and the parades will be free to watch.
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ITV News
13 hours ago
- ITV News
Who are the runners and riders for Guernsey's next committee presidents?
The next big bit of business facing Guernsey's freshly elected deputies is to choose who, other than Policy and Resources President Lindsay de Sausmarez, will hold the balance of power in the new States. The island has 13 political committees that devise policy on everything from housing to law enforcement. They are led by presidents, who are seen as the public face of their decision-making. That can come at a cost. In the last election, four committee presidents lost their seats, including the President for Education, Sport and Culture, Andrea Dudley-Owen. It's believed that the Policy and Resources Committee will look to propose certain candidates for top jobs, which, if successful, will further strengthen their grip on the Assembly as a whole. Politicians will vote for the positions on Friday (4 July) and while there could be some surprises, here is who we expect to stand in the different races: Economic Development Even before the election, the race to succeed Neil Inder as President of Economic Development was well in motion. Sasha Kazantseva-Miller has made clear her desire to succeed her colleague and is the clear favourite. Serving as Inder's vice-president in the last term, she is well-positioned to get the job. However, she may face competition from a key proponent of the offshore wind farm, Chris Blin, who is also targeting the role. With the departure of Carl Meerveld, who was the chair of the group that led on the project, Blin will consider his commitment to what he describes as the "biggest economic enabler the island has ever seen" as fundamental to the office. Marc Laine, a long-established businessman, is also eyeing up a bid. Education, Sport and Culture It's referred to as the 'poisoned chalice' of Guernsey politics. So much so, you have to go back 20 years to see the last time a president from the committee was re-elected. Aidan Matthews, who is in his second term as a deputy, is looking to avoid the same fate. In his manifesto, he wants to repair the relationship between private colleges and the Government. A returning deputy at the election, Sarah Hansmann-Rouxel, is also interested in leading the committee. She wants to reform Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) support and modernise the Education Law. Despite ruling it out on air, I've also heard rumours that Guernsey's National Education Union (NEU) representative and teacher Paul Montague is now interested in leading this committee. He finished higher in the poll than any of the other newly elected deputies, so he could be a popular choice. Employment and Social Security We may well see an uncontested election for this presidency with Tina Bury looking to succeed Peter Roffey for a place on the top bench. According to her manifesto, she wants to look again at long-term care funding, something that dominated discussion towards the back end of the last States' term. Environment and Infrastructure In another potentially uncontested election, Adrian Gabriel will be seen as the frontrunner to succeed de Sausmarez as E&I President. Serving as her vice-president in the last term, he wants to introduce incentives for private developments and enable modular construction options for housing. Health and Social Care With another outgoing president, Health and Social Care will see a new name at the helm. It appears this may well be a battle between two deputies - Marc Leadbeater and George Oswald. Leadbeater served as Al Brouard's vice-president in the last term. He's long supported a relaxation in restrictions around cannabis. Oswald, another newcomer to the States, worked as a doctor and co-founded the Medical Specialist Group. Housing Housing is one of Guernsey's most pressing issues but, as of yet, there is nobody desperately seeking the presidency of the newest States' committee. There is talk of Steve Williams being interested in becoming its first president. According to his manifesto, he wants to review all of the large housing projects and see how they can progress faster. Given that the committee was her brainchild, Kazantseva-Miller may well be seen as the person who should lead it. Home Affairs The sitting Home Affairs president, Rob Prow, lost his seat at the last election. His vice-president in the last Assembly, Simon Vermeulen, is positioning himself to take over from Prow. An experienced States' member, he may well receive a lot of backing. He could be challenged by new deputy Jayne Ozanne, who finished 28th in the public poll at the election. Scrutiny Management Committee The last President, Yvonne Burford, has decided not to put her name forward again. Instead, newcomer Andy Sloan has said he's interested in the job. He was the former chief economist to the States and served on the Fiscal Policy Panel. Father of the House, John Gollop, is also an interested party. A member for nearly 30 years, his experience could win the backing of his colleagues. Development and Planning Authority John Gollop is also interested in serving here if he isn't successful elsewhere. Burford, who finished second in the poll behind De Sausmarez, is also keen to take on the role. States Assembly and Constitution Committee Following the ousting of Carl Meerveld, a new deputy will take on the role of managing the rules and procedures of the Assembly. Burford says she may well stand for this job. She could face competition from Sarah Hannsman-Rouxel and potentially John Gollop. States Trading and Supervisory Board Despite making his candidacy a significant part of his manifesto, it's been reported that Neil Inder may not fancy this position but that could change. Following his unsuccessful bid to become President of Policy and Resources, Mark Helyar is also looking to stand. There will also be elections for head of the Overseas Aid and Development Commission, and Transport Licensing Authority, but members who are interested in those roles seem to be keeping their cards close to their chest for now. Following the committee president elections, all the other committee members will be decided on Monday (7 July). Then, they will all take their seats in the first meeting of the new States on Tuesday 15 July. Want the inside track on the key issues that will shape Guernsey's Election this June? Listen to Guernsey Votes, an ITV Channel podcast packed with expert guests, local insight and analysis you can trust...
BBC News
20 hours ago
- BBC News
Minister warns regulations department at 'breaking point'
A minister has warned a team in his department is at "breaking point" and would struggle to implement new tenancy reforms if the States votes to approve them in principle next Steve Luce, the environment minister, said it would be up to his "fully stretched" department to enact parts of the changes put forward by housing minister Deputy Sam Mé proposals aim to increase protections for tenants and said a move to allow landlords to end the tenancy with seven days' notice if the tenant "has caused or permitted a repeated or serious nuisance" would require inspections by officers in the regulations team. He said: "The regulation department is fully stretched. We have a huge number, 39 different laws to administer, and every time a new law comes on it's more work for the same number of officers and we are really at breaking point."The minister was concerned at the additional workload the changes could have on his said: "Anything to do with getting a complaint together and putting it before a court requires a huge amount of time and effort visiting sites, creating the data and making sure all the different angles are covered so that when you present a case in court it stands up. "That's a huge amount of work every time you go to court." Luce said Mezec had spoken to officers in the regulation department "about how it would work".He added his team had regularly similar challenges every time a new law requires regulation."New laws require more work for us and we will need more resource," he said. 'A concern but not a surprise' The head of the environment scrutiny panel, Deputy Hilary Jeune said the Ministers comments were a concern but not a surprise."We constantly hear from the environment minister and from the department that there is a lot of pressure being put on them to carry out their functions and the regulation department is under a lot of pressure.""I think the whole council of ministers and the States Assembly at large need to understand the role of regulation, the importance of regulation so we can all ensure there is enough resource for it."The BBC has approached Housing Minister Sam Mezec for comment.
FF News
a day ago
- FF News
Ecobank Group and Google Cloud Announce Partnership to Accelerate Financial Inclusion and Innovation Across Africa
Ecobank Group and Google Cloud have announced a strategic collaboration to improve financial inclusion and digital innovation across Africa. The Ecobank Google Cloud partnership brings scalable technology to the forefront of financial services on the continent. Through this collaboration, Ecobank plans to leverage Google Cloud's cutting-edge technology to deliver innovative payment and remittance solutions that are frictionless, secure, and universally accessible, empowering individuals and businesses across the continent and beyond. This collaboration will focus on leveraging Google Cloud's advanced technologies and AI to enhance Ecobank's digital offerings to accelerate the digital transformation of the Bank. The partnership agreement is designed to empower individuals, support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the region, and contribute to the overall economic development of Africa. This partnership is intended to deliver substantial benefits: Enhancing financial accessibility: The collaboration will strive to simplify and streamline money transfers, both domestically and across borders. This will be supported by Google Cloud's scalable infrastructure and advanced API solutions, such as Apigee, aiming to make financial transactions faster, more affordable, and more accessible for more people, facilitating crucial support for families and enabling smoother commercial activities for businesses. The collaboration will strive to simplify and streamline money transfers, both domestically and across borders. This will be supported by Google Cloud's scalable infrastructure and advanced API solutions, such as Apigee, aiming to make financial transactions faster, more affordable, and more accessible for more people, facilitating crucial support for families and enabling smoother commercial activities for businesses. Empowering African businesses: A core objective of the collaboration is to explore ways to bolster the continent's entrepreneurial ecosystem. By leveraging Google Cloud's capabilities, including its powerful data analytics platform, BigQuery, for AI-driven insights, Ecobank will aim to develop solutions that improve access to finance for SMEs, simplify payment acceptance, and provide valuable data-driven insights to help businesses scale across more than 33 countries in Africa. A core objective of the collaboration is to explore ways to bolster the continent's entrepreneurial ecosystem. By leveraging Google Cloud's capabilities, including its powerful data analytics platform, BigQuery, for AI-driven insights, Ecobank will aim to develop solutions that improve access to finance for SMEs, simplify payment acceptance, and provide valuable data-driven insights to help businesses scale across more than 33 countries in Africa. Envisioning seamless digital banking: The collaboration will explore the creation of more intuitive and user-friendly digital banking platforms, built on Google Cloud's secure and scalable global infrastructure and enhanced by Google Cloud's AI technologies. This will empower Ecobank's developers and customers to easily integrate into Ecobank's platforms connecting to a unified and advanced API, enabling them to offer innovative financial solutions. For example, fintech partners can readily provide core banking services such as accounts, payments, and lending for seamless transactions. The collaboration will explore the creation of more intuitive and user-friendly digital banking platforms, built on Google Cloud's secure and scalable global infrastructure and enhanced by Google Cloud's AI technologies. This will empower Ecobank's developers and customers to easily integrate into Ecobank's platforms connecting to a unified and advanced API, enabling them to offer innovative financial solutions. For example, fintech partners can readily provide core banking services such as accounts, payments, and lending for seamless transactions. Personalising financial solutions responsibly: Utilizing Google's advanced data analytics, AI, and machine learning, while upholding the highest standards of data privacy and security, Ecobank will aim to better understand and anticipate customer needs. This will enable the development of more relevant and personalized financial products and services, including tailored credit, savings, and insurance options. Utilizing Google's advanced data analytics, AI, and machine learning, while upholding the highest standards of data privacy and security, Ecobank will aim to better understand and anticipate customer needs. This will enable the development of more relevant and personalized financial products and services, including tailored credit, savings, and insurance options. Strategic expert collaboration: Google Cloud's Professional Services team will aim to provide ongoing expert support to Ecobank, ensuring the effective implementation of technology and the successful realization of the collaboration's transformative goals over the coming years. Jeremy Awori, Group CEO, Ecobank said: 'Our collaboration with Google Cloud is a leap forward in Ecobank's digital transformation journey. We look forward to leveraging Google Cloud's world-class technology to unlock new possibilities for individuals and businesses to grow and scale across Africa. This collaboration signifies our shared intent to explore building a more connected and financially inclusive future for the continent.' Thomas Kurian, CEO, Google Cloud said: 'Google Cloud and Ecobank have a shared vision for using technology to help deliver financial empowerment to more people and businesses in Africa. We look forward to exploring the ways our cutting-edge AI, powerful data analytics, and scalable infrastructure can support Ecobank efforts to fuel the continent's economic development and digital future.' This agreement signifies a shared commitment between Ecobank and Google Cloud to explore how the power of technology might unlock new opportunities for Africans and contribute to a digitally empowered and economically vibrant future for the continent. Ecobank and Google Cloud will actively explore opportunities to further expand their collaboration, tapping into the vast potential of other Google solutions and services. With this initiative, the Ecobank Google Cloud partnership marks a major step in Africa's journey toward financial empowerment through technology. Companies In This Post Ecobank Google Cloud
