A lot of talk today in the media from Kent council on a fresh investment panic, I guess they have found themselves once again wishing they hadn't invested money in a foreign bank, apparently ten mill is deposited with the Belgium bank Dexia, which is currently being bailed out by the French and Belgium governments.
The only worry I would have, is that the "confidence" expressed by the council is not just so much waffle and that they will get our money back, baring in mind similar ebullient remarks, were made when, Icelandic banks went tits up, so far considerably less than half of the 50 mill deposited by Kent council has made the journey home, 37 million has yet to be repatriated.
The difference is that this time there is a French & Belgium governments guarantee in place and, unlike Iceland, these countries are members of the EU. You know, Tony, that organisation your party seem to want to be ever cosier with!
ReplyDeleteDont forget the millions of pounds of interests they will not recover. Even at 4% p.a thats about £6 millions todate. KCC were predicting they would get back 90% of the £50 millions, leaving a loss of more than £10 millions in total. Will Carter apologies? not on your nellie.
ReplyDelete"Boy! Was that Dexia one sh*tty deal"
ReplyDeleteKCC now say that to obtain the guarantee they had to accept an interest rate of 0.5%. It not rocket science to work out what a very poor investment this has turned out to be.
ReplyDeleteI suppose the only consolation is that had we got a Labour administration in Kent they would have spent that £10m, along with the Iceland £50m, on a West Indian women's social club, a training school for dyslexic asylum seekers, a rest home for retired shop stewards and sundry other 'worthy' projects. We poor old council tax payers lose either way.
ReplyDeleteNothing but, like the rest of us, they can organise and fund their own social club. Would you expect public funding for the Botany Bay Skinny Dippers Association?
ReplyDeleteAnon 10.55,I think you will find that the Tory run KCC has a record of wasting tax payers money, like £6 millions on self promotion, like £4 millions on Kent TV, like £1 millions on Kent health watch when we already had NHS direct and Kentlink, like millions spent on over paid directors and their pay offs, like the total waste of £17 millions spent on reorganising Highways services like their loss at Manston and the millions they have put into roads and empty business parks at Manston.
ReplyDeleteAnon 12:07 I was simply stressing the point that it really makes no difference who you get. I lived in the London Borough of Greenwich where, compliments of its Labour council and our money, we had Nuclear Free Zone signs at every entry point and financial support for sundry organisations which should have paid their own subs like the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteAll politicians seem to think they have a right to spend our money on their pet projects rather than ours and there is little to choose between them.
If you think this is bad, you should see what they've been doing with your pension fund.
ReplyDelete8:16 in case you had not noticed your link is to some pension dipping scandal in the US of A and absolutely nothing to do with Kent. Suppose it fits your nasty bankers running the world theory except that they seem to have been caught on this occassion.
ReplyDeletewouldnt trust anyone one at kcc to look after the tea & biscuit kitty let alone the peoples consolidated funds or their children dont forget the wasted £2M on an extra 50 nonsocial workers more renown for child stealing
ReplyDeletevery serious assessment needs to be made of these public servants
Be honest 10:24, you wouldn't trust anyone period.
ReplyDelete