Neoliberal Kate Forbes' "Investment Champion" role will turbocharge the asset-stripping of Scotland
Last May, I wrote that neoliberal Kate Forbes was vowing to sell more of Scotland’s assets to private investors. Well, looks like her goal has been turbocharged. John Swinney has appointed her to be Scotland’s ‘Investment Champion,’ where she’ll oversee:
She’s Rachel Reeve’s mini-me.
Ian Stewart from the Scottish Currency Group reacted to this news:
Depressing to read this narrow interpretation of economic ambition. As a devolved government, restricted as Scotland is to a puny budget from Westminster, I can see why Kate has accepted this role in the SNP colonial government. I would have preferred hearing her paint her ambition to fund from our own resources with independence and our own currency. Perhaps one day the SNP might get it. I am of course a member of the Scottish Currency Group, where our ambitions far exceed those of Mr Swinney and his cohorts.
What’s particularly galling is that Forbes is calling for more catastrophic Public Private Partnerships, aka PFIs. Doesn’t she know that Scotland is in debt by over £29 billion for just £5.8 billion of substandard infrastructure and will be paying the bill until at least 2043?
Between 2000-2012, 75 PFI projects were built in Scotland. Here’s a summary of these disasters:
35 projects were schools with a value of £3.046bn but £14.223bn in debt payments.
24 were hospital projects where NHS boards constructed facilities worth £1.216bn with £7.604bn in debt.
7 projects were waste water treatment facilities valued at £451m and £3.919bn in debt.
3 motorways and one A-road were built valued at £609.7m but loaded with £2.4870bn in debt.
3 prisons were built worth £129m but with a debt burden of £1.434bn.
Finally, a waste management project with Argyll and Bute council was valued at £21.7m but carried £130.72m in debt, and an office for Perth and Kinross council, valued at £15m with a debt repayment of £70.44m.
The early PFI projects, like Edinburgh’s Royal Infirmary, had buy-back clauses, meaning once the contract period ends, the public body will have to enter into a secondary contract period where it will pay a ‘management charge’ to the contractor. So although the contract for the Royal Infirmary ends in 2027, NHS Lothian will pay the contractor, Consort, until 2053. Only then will the building revert to public control.
Former FM Alex Salmond banned PFIs in Scotland when the SNP took power in 2007, describing the schemes as a “costly mistake”.
Since then, the SNP has stopped trying to extricate Scotland from this failing union. Instead it has settled comfortably into its colonial administrative role, becoming no more than a mini version of Westminster.
God help us.
PFI also extended to ferries. Ex KPMG PFI hospital financial engineers put together the 3 x ship NorthLink deal in 2000 and later financing of Loch Seaforth, which collectively cost hundreds of millions and ended up around three times more expensive than necessary. The 2 x ferries yet to be delivered at Ferguson's also cost three times more than necessary, tho for different reasons - i.e. incompetence and worse, i.e. intentional delayed delivery. All of these ferries were inefficient designs to start with compared with standard proven lower cost options available.
As well as independence Scotland really probably needs an anti-corruption ministry.
PFI was a crazy idea and no more projects should be funded that way. Let's not be fooled again.
I also dislike 'Free Ports' and Enterprise Zones as they are all ways of taking control and money from local areas. We been to get out of this toxic union ASAP.