From Ed Le Quesne, Christian Aid chairman in Jersey.

I WOULD like to thank all those in Jersey who continue to support Christian Aid project appeals.

This year 65 Lent lunches, at least one in every parish, have raised £10,000 to support a partner group in Cambodia, which is training people in agriculture.

Christian Aid Week collections last month have raised at least £7,500 for a partner in Sierra Leone that is providing tools and training for people in a fertile area.

Both countries are recovering from civil war and both projects will have a multiplier effect as people are delighted to share their newly learned skills with neighbours.

I am sorry that the debate organised by Business Connect at the Town Hall in April was portrayed as an attack by Christian Aid on Jersey. The opening words of Helen Collinson from Christian Aid were ‘I come in peace’.

Many groups other than Christian Aid are questioning whether multinational companies and wealthy individuals are paying a fair amount of tax.

I believe that Jersey now has higher standards of regulation and ethical standards than exist in some other financial centres but there is still much work to be done internationally to ensure transparency. I also know that Colin Powell and others are working hard with international partners to ensure developing countries are able to receive and use appropriate tax revenues from industries working there.

We have our own example of the distorted global financial system in Jersey with the zero/ten system which puts a burden on individual taxpayers while many companies trade here tax-free.

However we know we are still much better off than many others and our gifts make a real difference so thank you all again for your support.

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