MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Faklands Chief Executive achieves policy objectives.

Dr. Michael Blanch has just completed the first year of a 3 years contract as Chief Executive with the Falkland Islands Government.
In an exclusive interview for Mercopress he reviewed his first year in office and looked ahead to what he hopes to achieve during the next 2 years.

?I arrived in the Falklands with 3 policy objectives ? the modernization of Government ? moving towards a more democratic and open structure in Government and achieving a sustainable economy ? and we have moved on all 3' said Dr. Blanch proudly. He pinpoints a budget reduction of around 8% as one of his main achievements. ?We will carry on reducing budgets over the next 2 years. People (in Government) have to learn to work with less resource, more efficiently'.

?One big challenge that I face is that we have 30 departments but I don't feel that they have ever worked together as a Government. Now all the big policy decisions have to go through Government before they go on to the Executive Council so therefore everybody has an opportunity to comment on what everyone else is doing and that has been very powerful', said the Chief Executive.

Dr.Blanch is the Falkland Government's fifth Chief Executive since 1982 and unlike his charismatic predecessor, Andrew Gurr, very rarely gives media interviews although he insists that it is not his fear of answering questions, but ?I am very rarely asked by the local newspaper or radio station'.

He insists that ?The economy is too dominated by the public sector and public money. The economy will be much healthier with more entrepreneurialism ? more activity in the private sector'.

While a battle rages locally over the anticipated privatization of many Government services Dr. Blanch is adamant that the future of the Falklands lies in this direction. ?We will move slowly, cautiously and prudently. It may well be that parts of Government can be moved wholesale into the private sector and become private sector operations by themselves and not only sell services to Government but sell services elsewhere'. In particular he highlighted the 1,500 British Forces which currently defend the Falklands and the many hundred civilians who are employed to support the troops. ?Civilianization could sell services to the Military base at Mt. Pleasant and I can think of 3-4 areas in Government which would operate better as the private sector'.

Dr. Blanch denied that he was in conflict and unpopular with some elected Councillors, given his somewhat forward thinking policies. Obviously