Recent events paint a bleak picture of how our provincial government operates -- and fuels the fire of discontent currently burning across Saskatchewan. A string of misguided policy decisions and a damning report from the provincial auditor give credence to criticism that our government is -- to put it bluntly -- an incompetent money manager.

Ghosts of scandals past continue to haunt the government. Recall Spudco, the government's failed soviet-style foray into the potato storage business. The Official Opposition used the very brief sitting of the legislature to hold the government accountable for the $28 million white elephant. But the government has been an elusive target, using the fact that they are being sued as a way of ducking tricky questions.

Sask bureaucrats globetrotting

Last week the province's Information Services Corporation (ISC) came under fire after documents released by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation reveal ISC officials spent 2001 jet-setting around the globe on the taxpayers' tab. Destinations included Albania, Australia, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Ukraine, Washington and Frankfurt.

The purpose of the travel was to drum up business for its disastrous land registry system, which has been plagued by cost overruns and countless complaints from users.

Total out-of-province travel costs in 2001 came to $172,000, with in-province travel totaling an additional $171,000. Among the most bizarre trips taken by ISC officials was to Albania, an impoverished nation of 3 million where only two per cent of the population have telephones.

What could ISC hope to gain from trips to Albania, Australia and Hong Kong No surprise here: no sales resulted from the trips taken by ISC bureaucrats.

The kicker is that ISC will reportedly cost taxpayers $88 million - four times its original budget of $20 million. Taxpayers should never have been dragged in to this mess in the first place.

Hold on to your hat, it gets worse

Last week Provincial Auditor Fred Wendel delivered a damning report on the province's finances. For the third straight year, the Auditor slammed the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority, the body that oversees casinos in the province, for slack accounting practices and two "unauthorized" payments totaling $550,000 ($400,000 to the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, $150,000 to Sask Indian Gaming Licensing).

Of 19 recommendations to SIGA made by the Provincial Auditor since 2000, only seven have been implemented, four have been partially implemented, and eight have been completely ignored. And these recommendations weren't outlandish - they are fundamental principles of business. Recommendations ignored by SIGA include documentation of organizational goals and objectives, completion of business and financial plans, public reporting of planned and actual results, and establishing adequate policies to ensure their books show all transactions. These are the kind of things taught to first-year business students.

Our debt is growing

Looming ominously as a backdrop to this theatre of the absurd is the growing provincial debt. While government agencies and crowns squander millions of taxpayer dollars and bicker with the Provincial Auditor, our provincial debt is forecast to grow another $520 million, on top of the $482 million accumulated last year.

The choice is clear. We need leaders with the courage to stop the bleeding, cut the waste, and restore integrity and dignity to the government of the Saskatchewan.