We are now nearly two days into the crisis which has engulfed Carmarthenshire County Council, and the council leader, Kevin Madge (Lab) has finally decided that he had better say something.
Most people in Carmarthenshire would have expected him to say something - anything -about the auditor's reports and the grave accusations of gross misconduct which have been levelled at the chief executive and some other officers. Er, no.
What we have got instead is a bitter personal attack on the leader of the opposition. Peter Hughes Griffiths is a "complete hypocrite" who merely wants to get his hands on power (i.e. Kevin's job).
This is because Peter Hughes Griffiths supported the action which the council took against Jacqui Thompson, based on the half truths and false information he was fed along with everybody else.
One very interesting aspect of this is Kevin Madge's own conduct in the last few months.
In common with other members of the Executive Board, Kevin Madge was privy to what was effectively an advance copy of the auditor's reports back in early November in the form of two "consideration documents" (see Caebrwyn for the details). He knew exactly what the auditor was going to say and when the reports would be published.
Despite that he went on the rampage at a meeting of the Executive Board on 6 January, using this privileged platform to demonise Jacqui Thompson and justify the council's actions. He even claimed that a full report on the case would reveal the truth about Cllr Siân Caiach's decision to stand as a witness in the libel trial.
The report has not yet appeared, and in view of what has come out in the last few days it would be amazing if anyone believed a word of it.
In other news one of the Independent councillors has also emerged from hiding. Cllr Giles Morgan, a member of the Audit Committee who has on at least two recent occasions sought to dismiss the auditor's findings, now thinks there is cause for concern. Here he is on Twitter:
CCC Audit Committee members may feel very uncomfortable with some of the things they are reading today. Council should meet ASAP to discuss.
If Peter Hughes Griffiths has his eyes on Kevin's job, Giles almost certainly has designs on Pam Palmer's seat at the top table.
Pobol y Cwm's plot lines are beginning to look very tame.
Friday, January 31, 2014
0 comments:
Post a Comment