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CLINTON’S VOW
SHADOW finance minister Roy Clinton has pledged that the GSD will ‘will govern differently’ in the wake of the Public Auditor’s damning report. Responding to the question of how the GSD differs from the incumbent GSLP–Liberal, Clinton was adamant his party would oversee a complete overhaul of how Gibraltar is governed, promising transparency, accountability and an end to the era of ‘government by announcement.’ Speaking to the Olive Press, Clinton said the opposition would establish oversight mechanisms the current administration has refused to set up, including a Public Accounts Committee.
Accountable
“We would want to run a government that is accountable. The first thing we would do is re-establish the proper scrutiny functions,” he said. He criticised the current use of government-owned companies to channel funds away from public oversight and hit out at the concentration of power in the hands of Chief Minister Fabian Picardo. “One of the reasons I got into politics myself is that there is no finance minister separate from the Chief Minister. So there’s no one to say no to him. “He’s the finance director, the chief minister and the CEO. Can you imagine that scenario in the private sector? It’s just a recipe for disaster.” Clinton, a former banker, added that he entered politics because he could no longer tolerate ‘the abuse of public finances’ going unchallenged.
Vol. 10 Issue 252
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July 16th - July 29th 2025
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Gibraltar’s system of patronage has been laid bare in the Public Auditor’s report – drawing comparisons to Nigeria, Kenya and even China THE long-awaited Public Auditor’s report has finally landed – and its impact triggered an earthquake that has shaken the Rock to its core. While nominally covering the shockingly out-of-date financial year of 2018-19, retired Public Auditor Tony Sacramento managed to crowbar in his findings on more recent government spending – and it paints a grim picture of how Gibraltar really operates. Among a litany of highly questionable and dubious revelations, the report details how £11.08 million was dished out in generous ‘golden handshake’ payments between 2018 and 2024 to a coterie of individuals branded ‘vocal GSLP supporters’ by opposition figures. A further £2.17m was paid out between April 2024 up to May 2025 – all outlays the PA called ‘excessive and in many cases unwarranted.’ Even more alarmingly, nearly half of those payouts ‘were authorised directly by the Chief Minister’s Of-
Miss Gibraltar day out
From left to right: Chelsea Collins, Tahlia Guerra, Naih Guilling, Julia Horne, Emma Dalmedo, Ashlyn Gonzalez and Gabriella Olivero enjoyed a team-building night out at the La Línea fair. The fun in the Spanish sun came ahead of the Miss Gibraltar contest – set to take place at the Alameda Open-Air Theatre on Saturday 16 August.
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fice, accounting for over half the total value disbursed.’ Across the report’s 550 pages, there are numerous accounts of irregularities and improprieties — including the discovery that millions in public money were funnelled through government-owned companies, dodging parliamentary scrutiny and creating shadow budgets outside the official accounts.
Outrageous
Meanwhile, it was revealed that contracts were handed out without competition, payments made without paperwork, and public money funnelled into the hands of politically connected entities. Shadow Finance Minister Roy Clinton told the Olive Press that the pay-offs were ‘outrageous’ and slammed the government’s lack of cooperation with the auditor as ‘an affront to Parliament.’
TRANSPARENT: The Public Auditor brings sunlight to the Rock’s dark corners “We’ve seen a pattern over the years of major capital projects, or significant payments, being routed through these government-owned companies, which are not subject to the same level of oversight,” the former banker said. “These are companies that are wholly owned by the government. Being subsidised to that extent without debate or estimates is unacceptable.” “We don’t have a P u b l i c Accounts C o m m i t t e e because the government refuses to allow one – they don’t want scrutiny.” “It’s government by announcement, not accountability.” It all lays
the groundwork for what critics describe as a textbook case of patronage politics more akin to the clientelist systems of Nigeria, Kenya – or even Putin’s Russia – than to modern, transparent parliamentary governance. These countries are marked by state capture, opaque financial dealings, and the blurring of lines between serving the public interest and narrow political loyalty. So damning was the report that the government pulled out every trick in the book to delay its release, only tabling the long-overdue audit after announcing its latest budget. Rolled out to much fanfare on June 30, the 2025 Budget boasted of a 6.5% surge in economic growth, adding £180 million to the territory’s GDP and giving the Rock a GDP per capita of £88,107 – ‘among the highest in Europe’, in the words of the Chief Minister.
Corruption
So it begs the question of who is capturing all this new wealth – or perhaps more pointedly it points the finger at where it is all flowing. Such impressive economic growth has also drawn comparisons with China, where political scientists recognise a form of corruption known as ‘access money’, which acts like steroids by stimulating investment 3000m2 shop and growth – but with longterm risks. Large parking area In public statements following the outcry, the government dismissed the report 952 886 814 as ‘demonstrably biased and 699 572 116 partial in many of its conclusions’ and laid out a series of defences for its actions. A7, Km 166. C/Séneca 2, It insisted that all ‘golden handshake’ payments were Villa de Costalita, made ‘in good faith,’ often ESTEPONA, Málaga with the advice of the Attorney General, and based solely on the individual circumstances of each officer’s departure. It categorically denied that any payments were linked to political favouritism, stressing that recipients were selected impartially and with-
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