Senate unified on Transport
The Transport Ministry won high praise from Opposition and Independent Senators during the budget debate in the Senate yesterday.
United Bermuda Party Senators Reverend Leonard Santucci and Neville Darrell praised the professionalism of Transport staff in handling day to day duties as well as crises like September 11.
Independent Senator Alf Oughton said: "It's a first class department with a first class performance."
He noted that Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown made a big effort in publicising what the department was up to with media conferences and public meetings - even though the public didn't always attend.
Sen. Oughton said: "People say they want information and then they don't show up."
Sen. Oughton praised the department for raising the bar on engine emissions to European standards - even though the island was hardly choking with exhaust fumes because they drifted out to sea.
He said: "The only things getting polluted is possibly the fish."
However Sen. Darrell said more should be done to crack down on old, badly tuned vehicles which put out filthy black smoke.
He said the problem had a potentially devastating affect on Bermuda's population who already suffered from high rates of asthma and heart problems.
Sen. Darrell said: "We should look at systematic vehicle tests."
He also called for the island's elderly drivers to have further driving education, similar to the practice in other countries, although he acknowledged that the over 65s did not have a high crash rate.
Sen. Darrell expressed concern that a senior manager, believed to be assistant Marine and Ports Director Mike Dolding, was "pursuing remedies outside the Government department".
Mr. Dolding is suing the Public Service Commission after being by-passed for the director's job.
Sen. Darrell said: "There was a perception that he was not dealt with in an even handed way."
Senate leader Col. David Burch said that Government ministers did not do the hiring and firing - he said that was handled by the Public Service Commission.
He said: "Situations like this don't have anything to do with us."
Senators from all sides agreed on the importance of training to ensure the Bermudianisation process continued.
Sen. Burch pointed to the $180,000 set aside for training in civil aviation. He said: "That's a significant amount of money."
Opposition Senate Leader Kim Swan praised the bus service but said it was time more was done to get a regular service for St. David's islanders.
He said: "There are two to three thousand people in St. David's, that's about four percent of the population."