AT least £3m of public money has been lost over the failure to fix exchange rates on Jersey’s biggest-ever capital project.
An independent report has found that the pound’s fall against the euro has added millions of pounds to the cost of the new incinerator.
As soon as the report was published, Treasury Minister Philip Ozouf issued a statement saying that disciplinary action was being taken against some staff. It is understood that three or four Treasury employees, both senior and junior, are facing action over the mistakes.
When the States approved the proposition to build the incinerator last July they were told that the rate would be fixed when the contract was signed, eliminating any risk due to currency fluctuations.
But that did not happen, and the changes in exchange rates since the contract was signed in November have made the euro portion of the contract — which represents more than half the total cost — more expensive.
• Picture: The euro’s rise against the pound means that the incinerator will cost an extra £3 million because rates were not fixed
