Let the people decide fate of public assets

PRIVATISING public assets usually occurs when a country is in recession and its people feel anxious and vulnerable.

This creates an opportunity for those who for ideological reasons, or for reasons of personal gain, see an opportunity to implement privatisation policies they always wanted to implement but which the public would not tolerate in normal times.

Using a financial deficit to justify privatisation may just provide a cloak for what is really going on.

I think it would be a thundering disgrace if the Government seeks to use the collapse of the economy, for which it is largely responsible, to sell off public assets. It is possible the Government is considering privatisation because the IMF is demanding it. If this is the case, and if the Government gives in, it is yet another betrayal of trust, especially as some of these assets are providing continuous income to the state, as well as sustained employment.

Surely the people should question the right of the Government to sell off these public assets. After all, they were developed using the peoples’ money and labour over many years. It could be argued that every individual has contributed in one way or another. Surely then, the people could justifiably claim ownership of these valuable assets.

The Government shouldn’t be allowed to treat these assets as its private property to sell if it wishes, especially when the corrupt state of our economy and politics might open the privatisation door to the kind of ruthless speculators who brought the economy to its knees while the Government looked on.

Many people believe that being made to pay for bailing out the banks was nothing but theft. Many might think selling off public assets is theft, too. No public assets should be sold unless approved by a referendum.

Brian Abbott

‘Glencairn’

Bishopstown Road

Cork