MANY are rightly concerned about the SNP government’s motivations in its proposed takeover of the Ferguson shipyard ("Nationalisation is a dangerous answer to shipyard crisis", The Herald, August 14). Is it political expediency or a genuine desire to get the best value for money in support of critical jobs? Both here and at Prestwick Airport back before the 2014 independence referendum, the strong suspicion is that there has been no analysis of whether the £150 million or more of public funds involved could be better used protecting other jobs at risk, but rather these high-profile situations have been approached as PR risks to be managed at any cost.
The Scottish Government involvement at Ferguson shipyard looked odd from the start, with a complete lack of any arms-length structure to the way the original deal was done with Jim McColl. The resulting very-public falling out suggests more time and clear thinking should have been applied to ensure the Calmac ferry contracts could not become situations where good money had to be thrown after bad.
Time and again it seems this SNP Government fails to see the need to understand the commercial realities of business ventures, blinded as it is by spin doctors trying to maintain a positive nationalist message. The final bills for these deeply flawed interventions will take a while to unfold, but meanwhile it is time for this SNP administration to face up to some hard questions about its mismanagement of public funds in pursuit of its own party political objectives.
Keith Howell, West Linton.
I HAVE followed the news on the situation at Ferguson Marine over the past few months and I am at a loss to understand how the agencies of the Scottish Government and the shipyard could be in this position.
With a fixed-price contract the conditions and price are agreed with both parties. Contractual meetings are held say on a two-monthly basis where variations to contract are priced and agreed together with any design changes and extension to contract.
It is obvious that there has been a complete breakdown, such that the yard goes into administration or the Scottish Government nationalises the shipyard.
Could both parties not agree to set up an arbitration panel comprising of eminent men who have been in the shipbuilding industry along with a legal team to establish a fair price for the work done to date? Both parties would accept the findings and these ships would be completed.
Nationalisation is not the way forward.
Charles R McQueen, Renfrew.
IN terms of the brouhaha surrounding Fergusons and the Scottish Government at the moment, is it not worth mentioning the February 2018 £580 million overspend (so far) on the Trident replacement, for a bit of perspective?
And haven’t we built lots of submarines before?
Stephen Henson, Glasgow G22.
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