Readers’ opinion - week 15, 2024.
Unnecessary traffic chaos
Sir,
I would like to find out who, in their wisdom, erected four-way traffic lights in Brodick on the main road on one of the busiest holiday weekends we have had recently.
To my knowledge, no workers were present, no work appeared to be done and no-one seemed to be in charge.
Why was this necessary? At one point on Saturday, Alma road became like a race track as drivers tried to escape the gridlock on the front. This on a minor, almost single track road which is frequently used by families with babies in prams and small children on cycles.
Did they factor any of these things into a risk assessment study? I think not.
Yours,
Elaine Duncan,
Brodick.
Total ferry mismanagement
Sir,
The removal, by whatever means, of Robbie Drummond, chief executive officer of CalMac, will make no significant difference in the foreseeable future to islanders, their communities, their economies or their dwindling visitor numbers.
Robbie Drummond was trying, albeit badly, to manage a fleet that is well beyond its sell-by date, but he had no control or influence over the procurement rate or financing of its replacement.
That role lies with the Scottish Government’s civil servants in Transport Scotland, overseen by the transport secretary - currently Fiona Hyslop - and Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) and its current chief executive officer Kevin Hobbs. The finger of blame clearly points at them and the last two First Ministers.
Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf are totally complicit in all of this. CalMac’s recent purchase of a useless £18.5m Italian-sourced ticketing and booking system is their fault and in-house CalMac sources say, after a year in operation, it is so bad that it cannot be fixed and never will be fixed.
That is largely to do with lack of consultation over the last six years with island residents who offered assistance. Alan Hood of CalMac must carry the can for that.
Shuffling deckchairs on sinking vessels, with or without icebergs, will not undo 17 years of ferry mismanagement of the failed tripartite ferries model: CalMac, CMAL and the Scottish Government’s Transport Scotland.
Island residents of many years like me and more have predicted for far too many years that this day was coming. But they would not listen. Well, that day is here. Robbie Drummond leaving will not fix it. An immediate judicial-led review is essential, without kicking it into the proverbial long grass.
Ferries are about “a service” not timetables, a concept that has been so overlooked for too long, except of course when it suits Transport Scotland and CalMac to pretend that they are providing a "lifeline service”, a notion that is no longer recognisable. "De-bundling" the routes, privatisation and every other so far seriously alien unexplored option must be considered as soon as possible, without RMT interference. A straightforward renewal of the contract handed to CalMac without due process and competition has to be the only option NOT on the table.
Yours,
Neil Arthur,
Kilpatrick.
Real culprits unscathed
Sir,
David Tydeman and Robbie Drummond have been dismissed while the real culprits in the ongoing ferry shambles continue unscathed.
The scandal of fleet vessel shortage of many years rests with the SNP administration, Transport Scotland and the complex and expensive, untested designs determined by CMAL and outwith the proven competence of Ferguson’s small vessel expertise.
The CMAL mantra of the unsuitability of catamarans as a vessel, deemed unable to deal with the peculiarly difficult waters of the west coast, has been exposed as a monohull dogma; the MV Alfred and the continuing capability of the Pentalina on the Orkney route reinforce the case for a strategy review.
Kevin Hobbs, chief executive officer of CMAL, of limited practical marine experience, has derided the expertise of acknowledged catamaran designers and renowned ferry strategists.
David Tydeman and Robbie Drummond have been awarded the ’Nae Luck Award’ whilst the real culprits in this saga remain in post.
The three ’E’s’ of good public sector management are probably unknown in Edinburgh or Gourock.
Effective - do the right thing; efficiency - do things right; economy - value for money.
Yours,
John Lamont,
Dippen.
Call to ban the Grand National
Sir,
The Grand National three day meeting starts this week: an event which has claimed the lives of 63 horses since 2000. The famous Grand National race on Saturday is notoriously dangerous; 16 horses have been killed in this race since 2000.
Whilst many punters go home having had a ‘fun day out’, many horses will be going ‘home’ with traumatic injuries, or not going home at all. Those horses ‘lucky’ enough to survive, can face an uncertain and bleak future. Currently, on average, around £130 is allocated for the aftercare of each horse leaving racing, meaning that brutal ‘disposal’ methods of these beautiful animals are common – countless horses spend their last moments alive enduring the horrors of the slaughterhouse.
To find out more about the aftercare of race horses and Animal Aid’s campaign to ban the Grand National, go to animalaid.org.uk/horse-racing
Yours,
Nina Copleston-Hawkens,
Animal Aid.
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