When eventually the dust settles on the Wi-fiasco the simple lesson we may learn is ‘do not make decisions in isolation’. We learnt at the Scrutiny meeting April 8th that Rod Bluh did not take the Wi-fi project to Cabinet because he could not trust his cabinet colleagues.
Whilst Rod used semantics to refute the point I made about his lack of trust in his Cabinet this probably was the reason for the mess that followed. Very few would say the Cabinet System is perfect however it can stop foolish decision making and dictatorial behaviour. Wise minds helped to develop the Cabinet System to speed up decision making and to prevent the abuse of public trust. To avoid the Cabinet System is a mistake, ‘poor decisions get exposed’.
When eventually the dust settles on the Wi-fiasco the simple lesson we may learn is ‘do not make decisions in isolation’. We learnt at the Scrutiny meeting April 8th that Rod Bluh did not take the Wi-fi project to Cabinet because he could not trust his cabinet colleagues.
These are the people he hand picked and appointed to look after your interests. What message does that send? He was concerned that Cabinet Members may leak details to others. Leaks are usually the escape route for concerns that individuals are afraid to address formally. Although in this case some of the Wi-fi leaks were the result of Tory infighting.
Whilst Rod used semantics to refute the point I made about his lack of trust in his Cabinet this probably was the reason for the mess that followed. Very few would say the Cabinet System is perfect however it can stop foolish decision making and dictatorial behaviour. Wise minds helped to develop the Cabinet System to speed up decision making and to prevent the abuse of public trust. To avoid the Cabinet System is a mistake, ‘poor decisions get exposed’.
Connecting People Connecting Places has an objective of listening to public concerns and addressing these concerns. This episode has re-enforced my view that the public can detect when something is wrong and public diligence has shown that the scrutiny process can be used to expose failures of good governance. However it has been hard work to overcome the tide of political interest. Some public questions were only answered after decisions had been made. Follow up questions were not possible because people were not armed with the relevant information. Thank god for ‘Talkswindon’ keeping the public informed. This failure to answer questions prior decision making is something I will follow up with the borough Solicitor.
My dissatisfaction with the Wi-fi decision making process is well known. What has disappointed me is that many of the Tory back bench members who have previously demonstrated they are capable of doing the right thing did not stand up and do the right thing on Wi-fi. They have lacked the courage to do the right thing and only one councillor from the opposition saw that the way the decision was made was the core problem. It is ‘black box’ politics; present a decision that has to be accepted without involvement or demonstration of value. This type of decision making is designed to disenfranchise democracy. It is the types of decision making that creates suspicion of motive and whilst Rod was concerned about people doubting his integrity he failed to recognise he was the architect of the challenge. It is clear to many but not the Tories that you can not just go ahead and make ‘deals’ on your own or just with an inner circle.
The Swindon Advertiser has reported that Rod has made an agreement with the Labour Group leader, Derique Montaut, to refer the Wi-fiasco to external enquiry. The referral to an external auditor was already in place, before Rod sought to make an agreement with the Derique, however the change in approach is welcome. I suspect this was a way of limiting further damage to the Tories. However I can not stand by and allow assertions regarding officer time, damaging publicity, costs to the tax payer etc to go unchallenged. THESE ARE ALL THE RESULT OF POOR DECISION MAKING AND THE AVOIDANCE OF THE CAbINET SYSTEM.
Even now Tories have sought to displace responsibility for their actions. Those present at Scrutiny on April 19th saw the attempt to shift the responsibility for incurred of costs to the delays caused by democratic challenge. Members of the public present must have been dismayed by the lack of responsibility shown by the decision makers. As I stated at the meeting the External Auditor will state whether the Wi-fiasco was the result of poor paper work administration or some other reason. Even without the result of the investigation I hope this will be last we see of ‘black box’ politics. I know now many will be on their guard to stop the by-passing of democratic process.
Cllr Bob Wright,
Central Ward Councillor