IT IS an important principle of public life, readers, that citizens have certainty as to the meaning of the law. Even in private law it is well-established, for example, that where there is ambiguity in the words of a contract then the interpretation of the contract — provided it can be rectified — must be in favour of the party upon whom the burden of performance falls under its terms. Similarly, even statute law can be put to the test that words bear their normal meaning in the event that the law, regulations or guidance given under powers devolved to public txxlies (like Pembrokeshire County Council) are unclear.

The Pembrokeshire Herald has had cause to look at the Council’s European Manager, Gwyn Evans, before. He is the senior officer who was disciplined for rewriting the report of a meeting to make himself and other officers appear in a favourable light. He is also the senior officer, who Badger knows from his pal Moley in Cardiff, has claimed to WEFO that this newspaper had apologized to him for misreporting what he said to the Audit Committee in January. it seems that when it comes to rewriting history, Mr Evans knows no bounds. We did not apologize.

Mr Evans’ words to the Audit Committee speak for themselves and any gloss he wants to put on them on the basis of semantics and an after-the-fact realization of his mistake in saying -categorically — the Audit Committee would find nothing wrong with the grants schemes he administered and for which his department had responsibility — is a matter for his conscience and his employer’s judgement. in the light of his subsequent conduct in seeking to manipulate a public record, perhaps the weight given to his words by usually supine and tame Cabinet members should be tempered. Mr Evans clearly does not believe that words carry their normal meaning.

Rather like Humpty Dumpty and Jamie Adams, he believes that a word means what he means it say, neither anything more nor anything less. As an illustration of the above point, Badger noted a few words on Old Grumpy’s website about Mr Evans’ approach to how language should be interpreted. Grumpy reported that Mr Evans’ interpretation of the English language shows that he uses a very special dictionary indeed.

For example, guidance he prepared reads: “The specification should be agreed PRIOR to the applicant obtaining quotations [my emphasis] in order to avoid the need for revision. It MUST be sufficiently detailed to enable a full understanding of the proposed works and the methods and materials to be used. This level of detail will help contractors to quote accurately and prevent problems and misunderstandings occurring when the work is in progress. “Conditions in the offer letter should only be used to adjust minor omissions or details of the proposal and should never be relied upon to make substantial adjustments to a specification, therefore the specification should be agreed & approved PRIOR to going out to tender [my emphasis]. 5.3 Submission and agreement of specification and plans.

(a) An itemised and detailed specification should be submitted at this stage. Plans should also be submitted if these are required e.g. to show the details of lost features to be reinstated. (

(b) Carefully assess the specification and establish which items are eligible and which are ineligible.

(c) Agree the itemised specification with the applicant/agent and ask them to seek at least three independent itemised quotations…” It was pointed out by ClIr Jacob Williams that the procedure adopted to manage the grants process did not match the procedure. He asked the Council’s Monitoring Officer, Lawrence “brown envelope” Harding to explain the Council’s failure to follow its own policy manual.

Climbing astride his high horse, Gwyn Evans told Councillors “I shall answer your e-mail because AS THE AUTHOR of the Commercial Property Grant Scheme Procedure Manual I KNOW Bk. I I kR THAN ANYONE how it should be interpreted.” Before going on to claim that the words: “(b) Carefully assess the specification and establish which items are eligible and which are ineligible.” And ”

(d) Agree the itemised specification with the applicant/agent and ask them to seek at least three independent itemised quotations…” didn’t mean that there should be agreement PRIOR to going out to tender as to what is ineligible and what is not. Mr Evans can only mean that the word “prior” does not mean “BEFORE”. Badger has checked his dictionary, Readers. “Prior” damn well does mean “before”. Its opposite is “subsequent” (or “after”). If Badger is right, readers, when Gwyn Evans uses the words “CAREFULLY ASSESS” he cannot mean “cautiously evaluate”. Those words must bear another and entirely separate meaning known only to Mr Evans.

What Badger does know is that there have been major and substantial revisions to works attracting grants. The guidance is supposed to avoid that. It has failed miserably to ensure that end and the failure begins and ends with the person responsible for it. if you claim the credit, you have to bear the blame. It follows, therefore, that there are three plausible or possible interpretations of the position Mr Evans has adopted. Either:
• Mr Evans used the word “PRIOR” when what he meant to write was “WHEN YOU AND ME FEEL LIKE IT”: or • Mr Evans does not know what the word “PRIOR” means; or • Mr Evans is possessed of such arrogant certainty
that he will never be challenged by councillors or other officers that he just winged it.
Badger is quick to point out that he does not for a minute believe Mr Evans is arrogant. Ignorance is quite bad enough. And so we go back to the beginning, readers. Citizens are entitled to expect certainty when dealing with public authorities. They should not be obliged to guess what passed through a council officer’s mind while he sat on the privy scribbling on his note pad. If you were tendering on the basis of the procedure manual and followed it you would be at a disadvantage, all because you do not possess Evans Sensory Perception: the ability to read the mind of an officer who evidently believes the rules of language and its construction do not apply to him.