Minister blames lack of funds

While there is no doubt that the water transport sector is underfunded, as are many sectors of our struggling economy, we are at a loss to understand how the man-made calamities can be laid at the door of a funding shortfall.

One problem with the current regimen is the fact that smaller launches that ply from the smaller terminals evade surveillance. But the question is: why?

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

In the case of the MV Lighting Sun, the principal problem appears to have been the fact that it was a B category launch that was not registered to sail in stormy conditions. In addition to this, it has been learned that the hull of the vessel was made of material thinner than the officially approved specification and that it had been repaired in over 156 spots. There was built-in imbalance which might well have caused the launch to capsize.

The 23 year-old launch was given a survey certificate last August in spite of these obvious flaws. It seems to us that this is where the real problem lies. Further compounding the mess is that the chief of the inquiry committee formed to probe what happened is reportedly none other than the person who had surveyed the launch in the first place.

Ironically, the minister's defense plays right into the hands of his critics. We could conceivably use a funding shortfall as a catch-all excuse for anything. We are, after all, still a developing nation with only modest resources available to us. But surely the point is to do the best with the available resources at hand, and if this is the best the minister can do with the resources he has at his disposal, as he seems to concede, then maybe he is not the right man for the job after all.