A week after announcing an EC$17 million one-year ferry contract extension, the government is at risk of not delivering on its promise, according to the opposition leader.
Paul Lewis, speaking in a paid for statement on Montserrat Radio Echo on 5 April, said the “hasty decision” is now backfiring and causing the government “deep embarrassment”.
“We are being made to understand that the ferry service extension is on hold while the government is running around chasing its own tail, having frantic meetings to save face,” he said.
During a live broadcast interview on 28 March, Premier Joseph E Farrell said the government was about to sign a contract with Mexican ferry company Naviyuc SA De CV.
The EC$17 million agreement would guarantee ferry services on the Belize-flagged V2V Empress vessel for an additional year – following a previous EC$8 million five-month contract.
Farrell said Cabinet had agreed to fund the operation for the coming financial year using its 2024-2025 budget.
Speaking a week later, Lewis insisted this may have been done at the expense of cutting “critical, important” public services, and said a better contract could have been negotiated.
“This government most certainly had enough time after signing the initial five-month $8 million ferry contract to have started and completed the process of securing a better value for money ferry service,” he said.
“But instead, what they did was opt for a whopping $17 million ferry extension simply because it is an election year. This is inexcusable.”
‘No value for money’
Calling the contracted amount “mind blowing”, the opposition leader said the ferry operator must have felt like it had won the lottery jackpot.
Meanwhile, Montserrat’s residents are suffering in a “non-existent economy”, he said.
Aiming questions at the government, he asked what is the root cause of confusion over stopping or continuing the ferry service.
“Is it because the $17 million plus the $8 million for five months could buy the same ferry three times over?” he questions.
“Clearly, there was no value for money being received for the people of Montserrat.
“Furthermore, is it because to pay $17 million for a ferry service, government would have had to make large cuts in every ministry leaving the people without critical important services in an election year?
“How will this ferry debacle affect the anticipated 2024-2025 budget? The people need to know. In fact, the people demand to know,” he said.
Naviyuc SA De CV began its 1.5 hour services between Montserrat and Antigua in early November 2023.
The company was contracted to operate for five days a week during the off-peak period and six days a week during the peak periods in December 2023 and March 2024.
The schedule also included a number of day trips to Antigua and Nevis.
V2V Empress carries up to 192 passengers each trip and is run by an all-Mexican crew of seven.
