The Gaaf Dhaal Atoll Council has accused Trinus-CAE Pvt Ltd of ceasing ferry services in the Upper South Province.
The private company was contracted to provide ferry services in November 2009 under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) policy of the ousted Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) government.
In a press statement yesterday, the MDP-majority council based in Gaaf Dhaal Thinadhoo expressed “serious concern” with the failure of both the Transport Ministry and Trinus to reply to the council’s written complaints regarding the cessation of ferry services.
As a result, the statement read, the council was receiving a number of complaints from citizens inconvenienced by the unavailability of the intra-atoll ferry service. The council also revealed that it had requested annulling an agreement with the Transport Ministry to monitor ferry services.
“The council believes that since the company that provides this service in the atoll has been given an uninhabited island [under the PPP programme] and continues to reap benefits from the island, the public should receive adequate services,” the statement read.
The council statement went on to characterise the “inconsistent” services provided by the company as politically motivated, adding that the government’s failure to remedy the situation was “regrettable.”
(0)Dislikes
(0)