Councils will lose assets with book values in the billions and end up with a replacement ‘shareholding’ in an entity that cannot have any financial value attached. Photo / Janine Baalbergen, File
Asset stripping
The Government has stated councils will have shares in their Three Waters services entity allocated on a population basis and the shareholdings will be “non-financial”.
How then will the non-financial shareholdings be described in
the water services entities’ annual reports and financial statements?
The Water Services Entities Bill goes a lot further. The shares cannot, for any reason, be sold or transferred.
Clause 166 of the Bill says each owner cannot receive any dividend, give any water services entity any support, capital, loans or credit and the owners cannot give guarantees, securities or indemnities.
Thus the councils will lose assets with book values…
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