It seems pretty bizarre that the Chief Secretary would be sounding out someone who was effectively being accused, by Treasury, of ignoring the law, to see if they would consider applying for the top job in the Civil Service.

During the Manx Herald’s recent interview with former Manx Electricity Authority Chief Executive, Mike Proffitt he ‘let slip’ an intriguing piece of information.

According to Mr Proffitt he was approached, sometime during 2002 (the Manx Herald reckons it would have been May 2002), by former Chief Secretary, Fred Kissack, who was coming up to retirement, to see if he would be interested in applying for the job of Chief Secretary.

Mr Proffitt says Mr Kissack told him only 5 people had applied for the job and it was likely only three of the applicants would be considered suitable for interview; so would he consider applying.

Mr Proffitt declined the invitation, and explained to the Manx Herald it was, among other reasons, because he didn’t want 4000 government employees hating him; the number he thinks the government could do with out, and would be better employed in the private sector.

He also described himself as a “name-taker”; i.e. he gives people a job and expects them to do it and if they do not, their names presumably end up on a ‘little list’. It probably doesn’t take much deduction to work out what the implications would be for someone on that list.

This revelation is intriguing in that almost coinciding with the approach from Mr Kissack, was the preparation by Treasury to serve a ‘direction’ on the MEA; over alleged non compliance with financial regulations.

It seems pretty bizarre that the Chief Secretary would be sounding out someone who was effectively being accused, by Treasury, of ignoring the law, to see if they would consider applying for the top job in the Civil Service.

The Manx Herald considers it improbable that the Chief Secretary’s Office would be unaware, if it was doing its job properly, of the rumblings of discontent, at Treasury, with the MEA; so is it any wonder people say – it could only happen in the Isle of Man!

It is also perhaps ironic that the person who was preparing to issue the Treasury direction was none other than Mary Williams, who went on to step into Mr Kissack’s shoes.

When the Manx Herald contacted Mr Kissack to verify what Mr Proffitt had claimed, he confirmed he had indeed approached Mr Proffitt.

However, it was his recollection, given that he didn’t know Mr Proffitt that well, his approach was founded not so much on he thought Mr Proffitt was the right person for the position but that he would make an “interesting” candidate.

Furthermore, he had thought it would be useful for the civil service to have a range of different candidates to choose from.

Obviously Mr Proffitt didn’t apply for the position and we can only speculate as to the outcome had he applied.

However, there will be some people who express disbelief, given the controversy surrounding his time at the MEA, that anyone would ever seriously consider him a worthy candidate, let alone suitable for the position.

Yet others will express regret, given his tough reputation and ‘can do’ attitude, he didn’t go for the job; especially those that consider the IOM supports a bloated, expensive and inefficient ‘government’ bureaucracy, employing far too many people. They may even go as far to say the IOM lost a golden opportunity to tackle this crucial area of government; and thus the best Chief Secretary the IOM never had.

Footnote:

Mr Proffitt, told the Manx Herald that, when he was growing up in Bromet Rd, Castletown, he had worked out that the IOM would be “inherited” by the likes of the Farghers and Stotts and the boys who went to the adjacent public school; so he left the Island and pursued a career elsewhere, which he did very successfully.

When he returned to the Island in 1995, he offered to put some of his knowledge and experience to good use in the Island; and his name was added to the pool of people COMIN can call upon to fill vacancies on Statutory Boards and other public bodies.

This is how he was appointed, by Tynwald, to the Board of the MEA in 1997.

He also made it clear he doesn’t really care what people may say or think about him, on the Island, as it is having no impact, on his business, outside the Island; and he is just going to get on with running that business and developing its technology.

The irony is that the renewable energy technology, being developed by his company, is just the type of technology that potentially has massive benefits for the IOM; yet the government appears to be making no effort, whatsoever, to see if it can take advantage of its development by a Manx company.