Prof Prem Sikka - interview on leaving Jersey 4 April 2013

Some people live in a place all their life and never understand what makes it tick.
Prof Prem Sikka has been in Jersey for just two days but has arrived at some very critical conclusions already.
Of course, he has visited before and  has a political agenda but there comes a time when such people as Prem and Richard Murphy or John Christensen really should be listended to.

Others within the Island have been expressing critical thoughts for many years too and been dismissed by the "establishment" as troublemakers or cranks or worse but such learned people as Prof Sikka should not be so casually dismissed.

His observations on Jersey's failure to achieve acceptable standards of  "good governance" are especially relevant now - at a time when Jersey is trying to grapple with reform of the democratic/electoral system.
The spectre of the UK government's restorative role in the Turks and Caicos  Islands should be in the minds of all  residents of small British territories around the world but especially those that are involved in dubious "tax haven" activities.

Prof Sikka meets all sorts of people around the world and at his Essex University where undergraduates and graduates from over 100 nationalities study. Here he expresses some of his departing thoughts in a ten minutes interview but what a pity that the Jersey government does not engage with his mind more usefully? What a shame that such a person was not invited to serve on the Electoral Commission!

Over the past few years Jersey has removed from office a Chief of Police, the Chief Executive Officer of the States administration, the Auditor General, and now the  Church of England Dean is "suspended".
A States' Senator has been imprisoned and hounded and the Chief Magistrate too is currently in jail...A local accountant has just been imprisoned in Australia in connection with the most serious tax evasion case known in that country, finance scandals on an immense scale with international dimensions are regularly being revealed - usually in foreign courts - whilst other local accountants, lawyers and other professionals face prosecution and sometimes jail, in Jersey....

Is this Jersey administration as currently constituted able to provide "good governance"? Is it fit to offer finance services to the wide world?

Prof Prem Sikka is a frequent writer on accountancy and related economic/political matters in National newspapers and regularly advises government departments/politicians. He travels and lectures widely.
see www.guardian.co.uk/profile/premsikka
AABA is the Association for Accountancy & Business Affairs which he heads.
see visar.csustan.edu/aaba/home.html
Membership is just £10 p annum.

University of Life, Essex or Jersey...?

Some people think that Jersey should have its own university.

These pix and the interview with Stephanie relate to one of the smaller UK institutions – namely the University of Essex at Colchester which hosts over 10,000 students from 120 plus nations.

Some of the educational activities take place at other centres (such as Southend) but it is quite clear that little ‘ole Jersey is already fully stretched with the Highlands College facility and that a full “Uni” is never going to happen here.

That is not to say that some more specialist courses could not be developed in Jersey and attract overseas students – but the full “Uni” experience is not just about narrow specialisation.

Essex has several particularly  well recognised departments – such as a Business School  and a Law Department which has a strong Human Rights interest – but these could hardly stand alone, especially in an insular place such as Jersey.

After all, the University experience is supposed to stimulate the brain not send it into a coma. If the purpose is to produce Trappist monks then different standards might apply but universities hopefully still strive towards educational awareness rather than cloning anonymous worker bees.

Perhaps if anybody has knowledge of Essex or plans to go there, now that the exam results are confirmed, they could comment here?

It would also be interesting to hear about Jersey students or potential students (young or mature) and how they are financing educational opportunities etc whether at “Uni” or elsewhere.

One of the most striking aspects of the Essex experience following this short visit was the inter-action with the local population.

Universities do tend to stimulate activities – from politics to sport and entertainment – that spill over outside the campus. The same is not very true for Highlands which seems to be still following some of its old Jesuit “closed community” behaviour.

Could/should Highlands be more involved with the community at large through initiating more research and stimulating public discussions on many issues (not just politics)?

Should Highlands’ policy be more welcoming to outside views and influences?

Does the Students Union still exist at Highlands and what is its status..?

Answers please on a beer mat

TAX AVOIDANCE, CORRUPTION and CRISIS CONFERENCE

Organised by AABA (the Association for Accountancy and Business Affairs, TJN (Tax Justice Network) the Centre for Global Accounting at Essex Business School the Conference took place on 5 and 6 July 2012 at the University of Essex and attracted an audience and speakers from all over the world.
Professor Prem Sikka of Essex Universioty welcomed those present and introduced the first session.

The following interviews are with just some of the many participants at the Conference and are subject to the vagaries of weather, lighting, background noise and so on - but will hopefully serve to confirm just how much concern there is across the world about these most important international issues.

For more information consult;
http://.aabaglobal.org/


Richard Murphy introduction:

Uddhab Prassad Pyakurel (Nepal)

A Norwegian TU view

Daniel MacKenzie (UK)

Ofer Sitbon & Moran Harari (Israel)

Alan Deneault (Canada)