In a speech to the Institute of Directors yesterday afternoon, Chris Swinson said that Islanders found it easy to ‘think the worst’ of the States and did not give politicians or officers enough credit when things were going well.
‘I am not going to shrink from saying that things are going wrong but we need to give people the space to get them right once those words have been said,’ said Mr Swinson, the Comptroller and Auditor General.
‘If we do not, we end up with a States culture which is defensive and withdraws from innovation. We need a States culture where people feel free to take risks – properly managed and assessed – to make things better. I am worried about that because wherever I go in the States I find officers who find it easy to be defensive because they are worried about public reaction.’
