Who has the power?

It is passing strange that coming on the heels of several questions surrounding the circumstances of the Super Fast Galicia that the Port Authority could so easily make a mess of this arrangement that has left us with a multitude of questions surrounding the Cabo Star and the Ocean Flower 2.

There are reasons to suggest that this is not a simple mistake. The debacle arising from the ferry service has already led to the demise of the Port Authority Board under Christine Sahadeo and is now pointing to the present board of directors and the line minister, who may also have to demit office.

How is it possible for the Tenders Committee at the port to consistently mismanage the procurement process for the acquisition of vessels for this service? Is the committee comprised of incompetent people or is it acting ultra vires to the well being of the people? Is it that someone or some people have more to gain from convoluting the process than to ensure that the country gets value for money from the contracts awarded? It is possible that the problems surrounding procurement of services at the port has nothing to do with the current minister or board, but may reside within the hands of the public officers that operate in the system. Perhaps the mismanagement is something endemic at the port and we may have to look in the direction of long-standing public servants for answers.

Once more corruption rears its ugly head and one wonders why, in the face of the Government that has shown more fight against corruption, this ferry fiasco has exploded, leaving so much speculation. Calls abound for the heads of the Prime Minister, the Minister of Works and Transport and the board, fresh elections and so on. To whose benefit are these calls being made? How will the country profit from new elections at this time? The stench of political interference wafts through the breeze surrounding this situation.

The efforts to have investigations by the Integrity Commission, the President and a joint select committee of Parliament suggest that the opposition forces smell the opportunity to score maximum points from the fiasco and are going in for the kill.

It also distracts from the incomplete probe into the circumstances of the Galicia, which must now take second place to the Ocean Flower 2 and Cabo Star.

Whatever the outcome of these investigations, the bottom line is that there is someone with a substantial amount of power within the system to so successfully manoeuvre the processes within the Port Authority, beyond the reach of the Cabinet, board and the line minister, and who used the urgency for the vessels for personal enrichment. Who has this power?

GARVIN COLE Tobago