Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Steve Olympia is a smoking gun
ON MONDAY and Tuesday, damning articles about the Olympia debacle were published.
The reports were a superb example of journalism by Dale Haslam.
To wade through the horribly opaque 800 pages that Dundee City Council put online was a Herculean feat of forensic examination.
What Dale revealed is incredible – a litany of failures, inaction, squabbling and blame-passing.
And there are at least six meetings mentioned, but then no further reference to them.
Did they take place? What was decided? Who said what? Where are the minutes?
The council left in references to meetings, then never again mentions the meetings. It couldn’t even do a proper job of hiding things!
It’s a smoking gun. This is the starkest expose of organisational incompetence I can remember in 45 years in local newspapers.
Dundee City Council, a direct question: where are the missing papers, and you have no viable reason to redact all the things you’ve put black marker pens through.
Who do you think you are to hide public information from taxpayers?
Some blame has to fall on the management of the administration. There are standards for recording of meetings, which files can be redacted, which must be open to scrutiny.
The bounteously-paid bosses, in their North Lindsay Street ivory towers – aren’t they supposed to ensure the council is run properly and standards adhered to?
CEO Gregory Colgan: You are paid £160,000 to oversee, organise and manage. Why aren’t you doing that?
You preside over a chaotic circus that doesn’t file papers it is supposed to file, hides information it shouldn’t hide, and fails to publish minutes.
Are you up to the job, Gregory?
Then, in another superb coup for reporters, they actually get the first minister on record as saying that, despite the evidence in the documentation – there is no need for an inquiry!
A smoking gun proving there is missing information, costs and losses going through the roof, and the Olympia – let’s not forget – is still not fully open, and Mr Yousaf doesn’t think anyone has to answer any questions.
Wow!
What happened to accountability and responsibility in this country?
Does anyone think he’d have said the same if Dundee had any other party forming the ruling group?
It is a tactical mistake to align yourself with such a position, Mr Yousaf.
Perhaps most ridiculous, most ludicrous, most comedic – we are now in the position that the first minister has given comment on a Dundee domestic matter, while rank and file
SNP city councillors never have.
If that’s not the wrong way round then nothing is!
Only John Alexander has talked about this, albeit not a word since this week’s revelations.
Councillors, how can you be taken seriously on any matter? Your party leader has publicly been giving attention to the problems at the Olympia but you have not?
From now on, councillors, when you give cheesy grins at city centre clean-up photo opportunities, Dundonians will think: why can they do that but can’t answer simple questions?
Is their only talent picking up litter?