Buy, don’t rent vehicles

In an attempt to minimise cost, opposition senator Wade Mark suggested that the Ministry of Works and Transport invest in maxis and heavy-duty vehicles at the Port of Port of Port of Spain instead of renting, as that would be more costly in the long-term.

Mark made the statements during a Public Administration and Appropriation Committee sitting at Parliament yesterday in which he questioned why officials of the Port Authority spent over $2 million between 2006 to 2018 on the rental of maxi taxis for the transportation of port workers. He said the Port also rented forklifts and other vehicles from Massy Motors and Southern Sales and Services Ltd. Acting General Manager of the Port Authority of TT (PATT) Trudy Gill-Conlon said it was necessary as international best practice required recommended that workers not walk through loading areas on the port for safety reasons. Mark said while he understood the need for vehicles to transport workers from Dock Road, Port of Spain, he suggested that the ministry buy the vehicles instead of renting them as that would be more cost-effective. “Trinidad and Tobago is under a lot of financial stress and when you analyse these figures you are talking about millions and millions of dollars. The analyses might tell you that it is better to buy the fork lifts rather than rent them. “Vehicles, we can buy these things and maintain them or work with the PTSC and get some mini buses to transport the workers from the North Gate rather than paying out these amounts of money when we don’t have it.”

Mark made the suggestion to the ministry’s permanent secretary Sonia Francis-Yearwood.