She said there are concerns about the safety of the aircraft and added that Attorney General Anand Ramlogan will look at the legal issues in the matter and report back in about two weeks.
"An issue has arisen with respect to safety of the aircraft, the preferred aircraft, from the former board, and the present board is raising safety issues.
"So what we have decided is that we will get an expert, an international expert, to give us a report. We have no conclusion on that yet. We have no further decisions on that matter," Persad-Bissessar said.
She also dismissed suggestions that the differences between the CAL board and its line minister, Jack Warner will have negative effects on the airline's operation, "No, not at all. In fact, when I went to Jamaica earlier this year for the Caricom Heads, we had said that we will honour that deal, and I don't see this as a fallout from that."
The cabinet approved the purchase of the aircraft in September after Warner instructed the airlines's CEO at the time, Ian Brunton, to sign the agreement in the absence of a board for the airline.
The board was subsequently appointed and later fired Brunton. Warner says the CEO was fired because of the disagreement over the contract and suggested that Nicholas has a preference for the Canadian-made Bombardier aircraft.
He has said the matter has become a choice between him and the CAL chairman. He said he will not work with Nicholas and has suggested that the CAL board should resign if it cannot work with him as line minister.
1 comment:
By suggesting how the CAL matter should be resolved, the Minister of Works and Transport is effectively ransoming the Cabinet and hog-tieing the Prime Minister. Should this attitude continue publicly, it could have the effect of destabilising the government and create an opening for a coup-d'etat from loose elements in the society.
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