NI Conservatives’ finance spokesman, Harry Cullen, has implored Sammy Wilson to get to grips with waste in public services, after the auditor general’s latest report into the investigation of fraud in Northern Ireland Water.
“Report after report from the audit commission reveals more waste, impropriety and a failure to deal with problems when they arise, in our public services”, Harry observed. “These latest revelations, that NIW didn’t get the basics right when it investigated fraud within the organisation, come weeks after the department of regional development was criticised for a botched investigation.”
“We know that public bodies waste up to £140 million because they don’t procure goods and services as efficiently as possible, we know that the civil service wastes £17 million on extra office space and we know that there are more and more high earners in Northern Ireland’s councils, while the figure in the rest of the UK goes down. The money which is squandered could make a huge difference if it were invested in health, schools or infrastructure projects.”
“The executive, and in particular the finance minister, is not offering the people of Northern Ireland value for money. Sammy Wilson has presided over an enormous amount of waste, which is all paid for by our taxes. The audit office repeatedly highlights a lack of coordination between government departments and a lack of targets to save money.”
“When will Sammy Wilson take responsibility for stamping out the culture of waste and inefficiency which has flourished under his tenure at the department of finance?”