Chris Thomas MHK sacked from DOI

[Albert Tatlock]

1 hour ago, offshoremanxman said:

I wonder if we’ll get any sort of statement from him today? Last Tynwald before recess he could go wild. 

Here's a sneak preview!

 

[The Phantom]

Is it time for me to play devil's advocate?

Surely it's better that these clowns are being fired out of the cannon that remaining in situ, ballsing everything up adfinitum?

It seems Cannan has tried to put people in place to solve some of the issues.  On paper CT appears to have been competent, but he's had a year and done nothing, in fact it's got worse, so he is being jettisoned and he's not the first under Cannan's tenure. 

Due to the lack of any other solution (other than my longed for riot) I'm minded to give Cannan the benefit of the doubt and see if he can fix anything over the next two years.  Surely eventually though sheer trial and error, he might get someone capable put in place.  If not, it just demonstrates that the problem is essentially unfixable. 

With any luck come the next election, the GMP will remember their representative's failures and they won't be voted back in. 

[Andy Onchan]

On 7/17/2023 at 11:36 AM, ADELE said:

The DOI needs to be split up it is too unwieldy to manage.   The airport situation is the result of Covid backlash , Airlines probably the worst hit industry of all they let staff go and lots have not returned so there are no medically fit, experienced, staff to call on when sickness strikes.   As far as retirement goes a good many people nearing retirement age decided to retire after two years out of the job did other things or just enjoyed retirement after getting a taste of life without the stresses and strains of the workplace, others may not have passed a medical.   People also get sick and treatment was not forthcoming during Covid for lots of ailments.    Chris Thomas got very unpopular with the general public because instead of explaining the way things are he messed around with parking charges at the Airport, the very least of our worries.  He has a very unfortunate manner with his blustering and bumbling and saying very little of importance.    How he got this very important position in the first place is beyond comprehension.

CT's remit from COMIN was to break up the DOI into manageable pieces. He hasn't done that.

[Non-Believer]

Given that in two years Cannan has axed both the CEO and now the Minister from DOI, plus the other political victims previously sacrificed, there can be no finer proof that the Department is unwieldy and totally unmanageable. It was so when Brown created it and since then it has grown to encompass other areas such as LA administration for one.

Add to that civil servants running amok unchecked with their empire building and ambitions (eg Longworth, Reynolds) and it's abundantly obvious that it's beyond the control of one "Minister".

[2112]

Listening to CM Cannan in todays Tynpotwald is mind numbing. Desperate and droning comes to mind, and I’m afraid other MHKs are running rings around him. 
 

@Andy Onchan yes I agree, however, putting the DOI into a manageable department, has reached a point where maybe the it’s impossible to achieve, or any real form of change. 

[offshoremanxman]

15 minutes ago, Andy Onchan said:

CT's remit from COMIN was to break up the DOI into manageable pieces.

It doesn’t have any manageable pieces though! 

[Andy Onchan]

20 minutes ago, offshoremanxman said:

It doesn’t have any manageable pieces though! 

And that's why Departmental government doesn't work. There aren't enough MHKs to go round for the number of departments that are required. It was much better, administratively, when we had the board system. 

[Zarley]

Tynwald has stopped for their lunch. Alf's statement on DoI at 1:30pm, allegedly.  

[asitis]

13 minutes ago, Andy Onchan said:

And that's why Departmental government doesn't work. There aren't enough MHKs to go round for the number of departments that are required. It was much better, administratively, when we had the board system. 

Excepting of course the MEA board LOL !

[Nish as reesht]

16 minutes ago, Andy Onchan said:

And that's why Departmental government doesn't work. There aren't enough MHKs to go round for the number of departments that are required. It was much better, administratively, when we had the board system. 

Without fundamental reform of the structure of CoMin / Department (members) / Departments, we will be going round in circles forever. Guernsey are using a sort-of Board / committee system. I don't know lots about Jersey but I think when they moved from Committee-based government they ended up with a single legal entity for the Government.

Just some ideas. What we could have are resurrected Boards of Tynwald or similar to oversee mainly operational things (e.g. Highways Board, Airport), a smaller executive 'Council of Ministers' (say of seven) to collectively initiate policy, and Tynwald 'policy boards' to actively be consulted and involved on the proposed policy from the smaller CoMIn as it develops, but before it is taken forward. They could look at policy and secondary legislation / regulations. Forget the Departments and make Government into a single legal entity, while moving all the operational stuff to the Tynwald boards.

That way, you have 'collective responsiblity' in the middle (CoMin) but without an automatic majority in Keys (because of Departmental members, who would cease to exist), coupled to wider Tynwald involvement in the development of policy before it comes into force.

[offshoremanxman]

37 minutes ago, Andy Onchan said:

And that's why Departmental government doesn't work. There aren't enough MHKs to go round for the number of departments that are required. It was much better, administratively, when we had the board system. 

Yes many seem to be pushing for the old board system to return. It’s going to be far too much change to deliver though. Also there’s a quality issue. Forty years ago the people who ran the boards were generally business or world savvy the current lot (with some exceptions) are largely hopeless dreamers banking far more than they would ever have earned in any other job for talking almost no responsibility. 

[english zloty]

1 hour ago, Andy Onchan said:

CT's remit from COMIN was to break up the DOI into manageable pieces. He hasn't done that.

The “laugh” is that it’s only about ten years since it was fanfared as a successful growth/centralisation (Save initiative) for which Alf was at least in part responsible 😂😂

[Roger Mexico]

19 hours ago, Ringy Rose said:

Beaman has quite a few consultants who are ex-Manx CS.

It’s a complete mystery why they keep getting contracts to do more consultancy work.

Actually they've only got one Manxie but then they've only got four staff in total there, mostly retired types.  So they're hardly industry leaders.  They mainly seem to do job evaluations (they seem to be the people public service management go to when they decide they all need more money), so IOMG's use of them to produce reports on reorganising Departments is unusual.  Still Killip has come on here to claim he has nothing to do with the IOMG reports and I'm sure the others must have done them without talking to him, what with Beamans being such a big organisation.

[Roger Mexico]

23 minutes ago, Nish as reesht said:

52 minutes ago, Andy Onchan said:

And that's why Departmental government doesn't work. There aren't enough MHKs to go round for the number of departments that are required. It was much better, administratively, when we had the board system. 

Without fundamental reform of the structure of CoMin / Department (members) / Departments, we will be going round in circles forever. Guernsey are using a sort-of Board / committee system. I don't know lots about Jersey but I think when they moved from Committee-based government they ended up with a single legal entity for the Government.

But if you don't have enough people to be Ministers, you won't have enough to be Board Chairs either.  The problem is simply that there aren't enough politicians.  Guernsey has effectively 38 to choose from, Jersey 49, but the Isle of Man has only 24 because of this only recently imposed rule that you can't use LegCo members.  Take away the refuseniks, the blatantly unsuitable and the out of favour and you run out of people.

Guernsey is a mess and its electoral system bonkers and I suspect a Board system here would just allow the civil service even more room to do what they want.  Single legal entity is clearly required and should have been brought in years ago, but the current culture of lack of responsibility suits everyone too much.

[Banker]

Alf has his 2 ladie stars in Comin , Jane & Kate , has anyone heard anything from them ? Get rid of cabinet office as a department, amalgamate with Home affairs & shove one of them in DOI and see how they cope