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Diben y datganiad hwn yw cyhoeddi fy mhenderfyniad y dylai gweithgareddau buddsoddi Cronfa Buddsoddi Cymru mewn Adfywio, ar eu ffurf bresennol, ddod i ben. Hoffwn hysbysu’r Aelodau fy mod yn cymryd camau heddiw i sicrhau fy mod bellach yn rheoli’r Gronfa yn uniongyrchol. Fy mwriad yw sicrhau bod yr adnoddau sydd eisoes ynghlwm wrth y Gronfa yn cael eu darparu er mwyn buddsoddi mewn cymunedau ledled Cymru cyn gynted ag y bo’n rhesymol bosibl.

Bydd yr Aelodau eisoes yn ymwybodol o’r ffaith bod gweithgareddau buddsoddi’r Gronfa wedi cael eu hatal dros dro gan fy rhagflaenydd ym mis Hydref 2012\. Gwnaed y penderfyniad hwn yn sgil ymchwiliadau gan Swyddfa Archwilio Cymru ynghylch amgylchiadau a oedd ynghlwm wrth werthu asedau tir y Gronfa. Rydym hefyd wedi bod yn cydweithio’n agos iawn â Swyddfa Archwilio Cymru ers hynny. Mae fy Adran hefyd wedi comisiynu ymchwiliadau ar wahân sy’n ceisio pennu a allai’r moratoriwm ar weithgareddau’r Gronfa ddod i ben yn y tymor byr. 

Pwysleisiais i’r Cynulliad ym mis Gorffennaf fod fy hyder yng Nghronfa Buddsoddi Cymru mewn Adfywio wedi cael cryn ergyd yn sgil effaith gronnol ymchwiliadau sydd wedi’u cynnal dros y misoedd diwethaf. Mae’r ymchwiliadau hyn yn parhau o hyd ac o’r herwydd rwyf wedi dod i’r casgliad na allaf godi’r moratoriwm ar weithgareddau’r Gronfa. Gwn mai effaith hynny, heb gamau pellach, fyddai estyn yr ansicrwydd ynghylch y Gronfa. Rwyf hefyd yn llwyr ymwybodol o’r ffaith y byddai gwneud dim yn golygu na fyddai adnoddau a ddylai fod ar gael i’w buddsoddi yn ein cymunedau  yn cael eu defnyddio.  

Ar ôl ymgynghori â Bwrdd Cronfa Buddsoddi Cymru mewn Adfywio rwyf wedi dod i’r casgliad y dylem ddirwyn gweithgareddau buddsoddi’r Gronfa, ar eu ffurf bresennol, i ben. Bydd hyn yn sicrhau bod modd ailddyrannu’r adnoddau sydd ynghlwm wrth y Gronfa ar hyn o bryd ar gyfer prosiectau eraill sy’n cynnal swyddi a thwf ar draws Cymru. Bydd fy Adran i yn derbyn cyfrifoldeb uniongyrchol am oruchwylio’r Gronfa yn ystod y broses hon.

Bydd angen i’n blaenoriaethau cychwynnol gynnwys asesiad trylwyr o brosiectau’r Gronfa sydd eisoes ar y gweill ynghyd â’i hasedau, ei rhwymedigaethau a’i hatebolrwyddau. Bydd angen i ni ymwneud â rhanddeiliaid er mwyn pennu’r ffordd orau o gyflawni’r hawliau a’r rhwymedigaethau sy’n weddill o safbwynt Cronfa Buddsoddi Cymru mewn Adfywio. Byddwn hefyd yn trefnu bod buddsoddiad Cronfa Buddsoddi Cymru mewn Adfywio yng Nghastell\-nedd a Phort Talbot yn parhau yn unol â’r disgwyl. Rwy’n parhau’n ymrwymedig i wneud popeth o fewn fy ngallu i ddiogelu cymaint â phosibl o brosiectau buddsoddi sydd eisoes ar y gweill gan Gronfa Buddsoddi Cymru mewn Adfywio. Bydd angen i ni gydweithio ag Amber sef rheolwyr y Gronfa er mwyn cyflawni hyn. Rwyf hefyd yn falch fod y Gweinidog Cyllid wedi cytuno i gefnogi’r broses hon.  

Mae’r Gronfa yn cynnwys peth cyllid gan Gronfa Datblygu Rhanbarthol Ewrop ac rwy’n cydnabod y bydd angen i WEFO wneud penderfyniad ynghylch posibilrwydd ailddyrannu cyllid Ewropeaidd yn sgil fy mhenderfyniad. Bydd fy mhenderfyniad yn helpu i sicrhau bod cyllid Ewropeaidd ar gael o hyd, fel bod modd ei ddefnyddio mewn modd effeithiol yng Nghymru. Bydd hefyd yn sicrhau na fydd unrhyw effaith andwyol ar fuddiannau’r rhaglen ehangach.

Ni fydd unrhyw un o’r camau hyn yn effeithio ar ymchwiliadau Swyddfa Archwilio Cymru ynghylch gweithgareddau Cronfa Buddsoddi Cymru mewn Adfywio sydd ar waith o hyd. Bydd fy swyddogion yn parhau i gynnig pob cymorth er mwyn sicrhau y gall adroddiad Swyddfa Archwilio Cymru ar y materion hyn gael ei gwblhau cyn gynted â phosibl.   








Translation:


 
The purpose of this statement is to announce my decision that the investment activities of the Regeneration Investment Fund for Wales (RIFW) as currently constituted should be brought to a close.  Members will wish to be aware that I am today taking action to place the Fund under my direct control.  This action is intended to ensure that the resources currently tied up in the Fund should be made available for investment in communities around Wales as soon as reasonably possible.


Members will be aware that the Fund’s investment activities were suspended on a temporary basis by my predecessor in October 2012\.  This decision was taken in the light of Wales Audit Office investigations into the circumstances surrounding the sale of land assets by the Fund.  We have been working with the WAO very closely ever since.  My Department has also commissioned separate investigations aimed at establishing whether the moratorium placed on the Fund could be lifted in the short term.


I made clear to the Assembly in July that my confidence in RIFW as an effective investment vehicle in its current form had been seriously damaged by the cumulative impact of investigations that have been underway over recent months.  These investigations are still continuing and in the circumstances I have concluded that I am not in a position to remove the moratorium on the activities of the Fund.  I am conscious that the effect of that would, without further action, simply be to extend the uncertainty surrounding the Fund.  I am also very concerned that unless I take further action resources which should be made available to invest in our communities will instead be lying unused in RIFW’s bank account.


Following consultation with the RIFW Board I have therefore concluded that we should draw the investment activities of the Fund as currently constituted to a close. This will ensure that the resources currently locked up in the Fund can instead be reallocated for other projects supporting jobs and growth across Wales.  My Department will assume direct responsibility for overseeing the Fund through this process.  


  

Our immediate objectives will need to include a thorough assessment of Fund’s current pipeline of projects as well as its assets, liabilities and obligations.  We will need to engage with stakeholders in order to determine how RIFW’s residual rights and obligations are best discharged going forward.  We will also make arrangements to ensure that the RIFW investment in Neath and Port Talbot can proceed as has already been agreed.  I remain committed to doing what we can to safeguard as many projects as possible from the existing RIFW investment pipeline and we will need to work closely with Amber the Fund managers to achieve this.  I am pleased that the Minister of Finance has also agreed to support this process.


The Fund is partly made up of ERDF funding and I recognise that in the light of my decision today WEFO will need to take a decision on whether to reallocate European funding.  My decision will help to ensure that the European funds remain available to be deployed effectively in Wales, and that the interests of the wider programme are not affected.


None of these actions will cut across the WAO investigations into RIFW’s activities which are continuing.  My officials will continue to offer every assistance aimed at ensuring that the WAO report on these matters can be concluded as quickly as possible.