Tycoon: The elephant in the room is quango’s lack of competence
Engineering tycoon Jim Mccoll is clear: CMAL’S competence or lack of it has caused the ferries fiasco not the shipyard.
He said: “They are still having problems in the yard almost three years on from the government taking over. The common denominator here is CMAL. It is surplus to requirements. Before CMAL you didn’t have these problems.”
Mccoll, who has previously called for a judge-led inquiry, added: “The elephant in the room here is CMAL and their lack of competence in this project. It can be exposed
in a judge-led inquiry with expert determination involved, because you have to look at the technicalities here. This isn’t a simple legal argument. You have to have someone that understands the impacts CMAL made and the delays they caused in the preparation of this specification.
“The Public Audit Committee are still looking at it. Perhaps they could insist on a judge-led inquiry with expert determination, and one that can be done quickly, to stop any further damage being caused by CMAL. And I say judge-led because people need to be under oath.”
Another expert also questioned CMAL’S competence and said it should be prevented from placing further orders.
Alf Baird, a former professor of maritime business at Napier University who sat on the Scottish Government’s Expert Ferry Group which was axed in March, also criticised CMAL.
He said: “A public inquiry might be able to probe such matters in sufficient detail. My suggestion to ministers after the 801 and 802 fiasco was to stop any further orders being made by CMAL, and that advice still stands.”
Joe Reade, chair of the Mull and Iona ferry committee, added: “There are huge sums of money being spent on Scottish ferries. The problem is the spending decisions that are being made and CMAL is at the heart of those spending decisions.
“It’s a hugely slow and expensive process and what you get at the end of it is a series of vessels that are over-specified and unique.
“That is the problem and that is entirely about how well the procurement system is managed. What they should be doing is finding cost-effective repeat-build vessels and buying a lot of them.”
Sheila Gilmore, chief executive of Visit Arran, who also sits on the island’s ferry committee, said: “I’m really appalled at the slack- shoulderness that goes on. These people are public servants employed by the taxpayer. Get us the ferry service we deserve.”
The GMB trade union, which represents Ferguson’s workers, said: “There is a viable and prosperous future for Ferguson Marine and the workers and communities that depend on it, but that requires everyone pulling together.”
Scottish Labour transport spokesperson Neil Bibby said an inquiry was needed, adding: “The damage the SNP has done to the reputation of this yard and Scotland’s iconic shipbuilding sector is unforgivable.”