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11 April, 2008
THE FUTURE of Shetland Charitable Trust will determine how well the
community can set priorities in reaction to new opportunities and
changing needs.
Following two expensive legal reports, including the likelihood that
the Office of the Scottish Charities Regulator (OSCR) will not
tolerate the status quo, it is now time for the convenor to state a
revised position on the governance of the community's oil funds.
It is widely accepted that increasing participation in decision
making assists economic and social development. Increasing the
extent of democracy helps by improving debate, ensuring fairer
outcomes and providing better safeguards, checks and balances,
different sources of ideas and alternative centres of power and
action.
When it comes to giving people more control of their own affairs
pluralism beats centralised control.
Having Shetland Charitable Trust independent of the councillors
would work better than the current set up when it comes to setting
affordable policies and priorities and sticking with them. The
councillors would focus on their statutory obligations and
independently elected trustees would work with the people of
Shetland to decide how best to use and safeguard the additional
funds.
If there is to be a public debate, and that was the primary
recommendation of Dundas and Wilson's £100 000 plus report, the
debate has to start somewhere. So, does Sandy Cluness still insist
Shetland's oil funds are for the councillors to dispose of because
its aye been?
Peter Hamilton
warnerhamilton@btopenworld.com |
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