And, in a direct response to the publication of the Senator’s expenses following a freedom of information request, Chief Minister Ian Gorst – who earlier this month survived a vote of no confidence in part brought because of his support for Senator Ozouf – has now requested that a ministerial code on travel and expenses be drawn up.
Currently, and unlike for civil servants, there is no formal policy on ministerial spending on purchase cards and expenses.
However, Senator Ozouf said that any accusations that he had been misusing his States credit card for personal spending were untrue.
The amounts that he personally reimbursed covered transactions for books bought from Amazon, personal travel – which includes everything from international flights to a £4.50 boat rental, a haircut, a new pair of glasses, medical supplies, a new iPad and a shirt and jacket bought from a shop in the Rwandan capital Kigali so that he could attend the African Nations Championship.
Allegations of misuse had fuelled calls in recent weeks for him to resign and led to him releasing a breakdown of his expenses. The latest figures relate to the spending on his States purchase card and he now plans to release more information about the figures in an effort to try to reassure the public.
The Senator said there were ‘probably five examples’ of personal spending when he had had no other option but to use his States credit card and then pay it back.
Full report in Saturday’s JEP.
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