In response to Judith Ferris’ letter published here yesterday, Undercliff Drive scandal whistle-blower Mike Starke adds his comment. Ed
I can only admire the remarkable restraint of those listing the grim catalogue of failures over Cowes Enterprise College (CEC). This is a truly appalling indictment of those in whom we (mis)place our trust to deliver public services from our public funds.
As the whistleblower on the Undercliff scandal six years ago, I find some disturbing comparisons and contrasts.
For instance, the Undercliff debacle involved a contract worth around a third of the CEC amount. This sparked the setting up of no less than three independent investigations, plus the convening of an internal review body of councillors. I detect no such robust reaction over CEC.
Lack of technical expertise
In addition, Stuart Love’s predecessor at the time of Undercliff, Derek Rowell, was also not a qualified professional in the relevant field. The defence was that “strategic directors” were there for their “management skills”, not technical expertise. Look where that has got us.
Senior officials persistently played down flagrant errors and many refused to take responsibility for their actions.
Undercliff fiasco taken seriously
Ironically, the first person I approached over the Undercliff fiasco was then-Cllr Alan Wells. Within 24 hours I was being invited to present my dossier of documents to council chief executive Joe Duckworth.
How times change.
Positive suggestion
Here’s a suggestion: Why not engage one of the Island’s resident expert civil engineering consultants to do an independent assessment of the CEC failures and then report to a cross-party investigation panel of councillors meeting in public?
Ah, but I was forgetting; this council administration does no wrong, does it? At least, that’s what it tells us, as it frantically stashes yet another skeleton into County Hall’s bulging cupboards.
