Former DDS Commander (with the longest reign by far) The Shiner is the head of the New Sparta Estate which means he runs all NS facilties and also the budget! He gave this short interview to Proxima Business Daily at the weekend.
Proxima Business Daily : Mr Shiner, you recently said New Sparta has some financial turbulence on its horizon. Can you elaborate on that?
The Shiner : We live in uncertain times. As you know the majority of our budget comes from the UNP and thus we are dependent on the UNP economy doing well. Recently things have not been that smooth.
PBD : Indeed, while the core planets have done well some of the outlying UNP worlds such as Saeou have been stuck with anaemic economies for a number of years.
TS : Yes, and so the pressure on the core planets to cover the NS budget funding becomes more onerous. Thats why i fear there will come a time the UNP might want to cut things back.
PDB : Well that is threatened fairly regularly but New Sparta is the military of the UNP in all but name.
TS : Well we all know that the defence budget is always a tempting target for cuts in times of peace. Its why i am trying to reduce out reliance on the UNP grant and raise funds from other avenues.
PDB : A few years ago exports of weapons and technology bought in nearly 15% of the NS budget but that has dropped to 12%. Can you explain why.
TS : There has been a downturn in our military exports. We are improving our portfolio but i think the main problem is we have saturated our market for space ships (and of course have growing competition). To compensate we are looking into the after market for growth. We've sold scores of ships. Now lets sell upgrades, improvements.
PDB : The new e-Core engine technology could be a big part of that.
TS : Indeed, we think re-engining the many Pentekonters out there could be lucrative over the next few years. I want us to grow our export revenue by 30% over the next 5 years. After market will be key but our improved portfolio will also be vital. We're looking into new types of ships for different roles.
PDB : For existing customers?
TS : Yes, we see many of our customers as being on a journey to build up their space presence. Many start with transports and shuttles, then they get some Pentekonters or refurbished Kalahati Tuuls. Now they have a working fleet but maybe they need combat support, mine warfare, EW. New Sparta needs to be where they come to develop their fleet and capabilities to the next level.
PDB : Is there not the danger though if you raise billions of zarks from other revenue sources the UNP might feel able to reduce your grant?
TS : It is a possibility but i hope not. We can't worry about this happening, we have a commanding lead in ship exports and we need to maintain it. Its not just revenue we bring in. Our customers become our friends, maybe some become allies at some stage, and of course already operate compatible hardware so integration is easy.
PDB : Finally how do you see New Sparta financially by 2120?
TS : In a good place overall. We've managed to build some reserves so barring a major war we should be OK even if there is some turbulence. We just need to start selling ships again.
