Former Board member of the Port Authority of T&T Ferdie Ferreira has issued a call to Government to accept its share of responsibility for the collapsed seabridge service, stating that the only way “we will get things right was by removing the wrong people.”
He made the comment while speaking on The Morning Brew programme as he responded to statements made by chairman of the Inter-Island Transport Committee in Tobago Diane Hadad who on Monday raised the issue of the maintenance contract of vessels which she claimed had been deliberately stopped.
Ferreira denied this was the case.
He said Bay Ferries, of Canada, had a maintenance contract to service the vessels for ten years of which they were paid TT$500 million but never trained anyone which they were supposed to do.
He said when Bay Ferries left T&T a survey was conducted which identified over 100 problems with the Warrior Spirit.
Having acquired the Super Fast Galicia, Ferreira said, the Port Authority never faced any breakdown with this vessel, as locals were sourced to provide preventative maintenance.
Ferreira admitted there were “differences” with the Christine Sahadeo led PATT Board of which he was part of.
While agreeing that preventative maintenance of vessels has been plaguing successive governments, including this Government, Ferreira also did not deny that mistakes have been made and continues to be made.
He described the dismissal of the authority’s acting general manager Charmaine Lewis and CEO of the Inter-island Transport Company Leon Grant as “casualties” while the board under Sahadeo was “constructively dismissed” with Allison Lewis, who served as chairman, tendering her resignation.
“I am not responsible. I am saying that errors are being made. There were three chairmen in three years.”
Ferreira said what the country has been witnessing with the new PATT Board was “a combination of strange events.”
Ferreira said what worries him most was “Government’s failure to accept their share of responsibility from the fiasco that developed” on the seabridge.
One strange development Ferriera cited was Nidco which he insisted has no experience in procuring and purchasing vessels.
Nidco has been charged with the responsibility of procuring two new vessels from Australia which will arrive in 2020.
“To me, the answer to the problem is a coming together of all the elements involved. And this is not happening. Decisions are made and that is why I say strange developments. I could understand the Government’s desperation in trying to regularise the service, but you cannot get it right with the wrong people,” Ferreira said.
Ferriera did not identify the wrong people doing the job.
He said if “we put our collective thoughts together we can turn things around. “ He added: “As I told Minister Sinanan (Rohan) I am available pro bono.”
He said if the Government needed the expertise of foreigners, they should retain them.
“You cannot put people to run a show with absolutely no knowledge and experience in the service.”
Ferriera also disagreed that Port Authority should be privatised.
“The PNM has never failed to take decisions that were in the national interest. I don’t think bashing the minister or the Government will solve the problems,” he said.