Island FM - News for Guernsey
LIBERATION DAY'S GONE GREENLiberation Day celebrations are underway.
A church parade got things started earlier this morning.
Thousands of islanders will be remembering the end of the occupation and to
mark the day, there's loads of events and activities lined up in Town from
North Beach to the Bus Terminus.
The theme of this year's Liberation Day is reduce, re-use and recycle.
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PAC WARN POST-FALLAGATE MEASURES ARE TAKING TOO LONG
There are concerns at how long its taking to bring in new procedures, called
for after the Fallagate scandal.
The Public Accounts Committee says it regrets the slowness in their annual
report for 2007.
In the report, PAC says the clinical block investigation had the highest
profile and the biggest impact on the way in which the States operates.
The review prompted a raft of recommendations 14 in total.
4 went before the house in February and the work is ongoing in preparing the
remaining 10.
PAC are warning the States they're stuck with flawed, outdated or inadequate
procedures until the changes are brought in.
Public Accounts conducted a number of reviews into overspends last year and
hope they'll lead to better value-for-money projects in the future.
But they are highlighting other areas that are still of concern, including
the state of the Guernsey Dairy's finances.
If they're not improved, PAC's ready to commission an independent
value-for-money review.
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ELECTIONS LINED UP FOR NEW ALDERNEY STATES MEMBER
A by-election's being held at the end of next month in Alderney.
Islanders will choose a replacement for States Member Richard Cox, who handed
in his resignation last month.
Nominations for anyone wanting to stand for the States have to get their
names in between the 10th and 17th of June, before islanders vote on the
28th.
Details of the by-election have been revealed in Alderney's May billet and
plans will have to be approved by politicians later this month.
Also on the agenda for the May meeting are new measures for the gambling
industry.
They'll ensure there's no inappropriate advertising with a focus on ads
targeting the young and vulnerable.
The States Meeting's scheduled for the 21st of May and a People's Meeting
will be held the Wednesday before at the Island Hall.
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FINANCE BOOMS DESPITE CREDIT CRUNCH
The credit crisis may have meant a tough year for banks around the world but
Guernsey's finance sector's still going strong.
The Guernsey Financial Services Commission, the industry's regulator, has
released its annual report for 2007 and reveals growth continued over the 12
months.
Investment funds in the island are up 47% and bank deposits have increased by
nearly 30%.
Meanwhile, proposals going to the States this month could mean a change in
the GFSC's role.
As well as regulating the sector, part of its job currently is to promote
financial services in Guernsey.
But there are concerns those 2 rolls could conflict with each other and the
States are being asked to remove the promotional side from its mandate.
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OVERSEAS AID BREAKS £2MILLION MARK
Guernsey States spent over £2million on overseas aid last year.
The figures for the 2007 have been revealed today in a report from the
Overseas Aid Commission.
Nearly all of that went towards grant aid but £150,000 was spent on emergency
and disaster relief.
£200,000 was earmarked for relief meaning £50,000 was tided over for 2008.
But that's just been put towards efforts providing aid in Burma following the
devastating cyclone.
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Saturday
