Madam,

I find it appropriate to analogise between two features contained in your 8 September issue.

There are obvious areas of commonality between your article ‘Fight to keep harbourmaster’ and the letter ‘Unacceptable council won’t let us see what £2m spent on’.

Those areas of commonality are the financially motivated but abject abrogation by the executive of Ceredigion County Council of responsibility and accountability to the communities within Ceredigion and the virtual ‘asset stripping’ of the community services within Ceredigion by PwC, sanctioned by the executives of the council, again as a financial enterprise.

It would be reasonable to expect that with a joint income in excess of £1 million, (plus expenses and pension contributions) that between the management team someone would have the financial acumen to appreciate that by systematic degradation of community services, money could be saved.

I must question whether or not that same management team hoped to remove themselves from direct responsibility for such swingeing cuts by introducing PwC as the ‘bad guys’, there is an election imminent. If that was a consideration, it has certainly backfired; the executive will not be forgiven for handing over £2m to an avaricious private organisation of dubious credentials to introduce a ‘hatchet job’ they did not have the moral fibre to introduce themselves.

The recommendation by PwC to reduce the harbourmaster role indicates the level to which they are prepared to go to enhance the ‘package’ in commission, it obviously does not stop at putting lives at risk.

The role of the harbourmaster is essential to ensure the safety of the local boating community and more specifically the summer visitors who are less familiar with the vagaries and dangers of Aberaeron harbour and the surrounding sea.

Previous cuts in service have been less obvious in the presentation of threats to the safety and well-being of the residents and visitors, but this, lives are being put at risk and it is a condemnation of the Ceredigion council that they are even considering such a step.

Could it be that the executive of Ceredigion council is suffering with delusions of grandeur and inflated feelings of self importance? Redaction is more associated with the ‘get out of jail card’ played by national government or big boys games in MI5 or MI6, not really the realm of a rather insignificant county in rural Wales, what can they cite of national interest?.

When considering the commercial interests of PwC, having extracted their ‘pound of flesh’, I very much doubt whether they give a jot for the views of the communities within our little backwater county.

The only motivation for such action by the executive of Ceredigion council is a desire to bury their shame, to avoid the condemnation of the disenfranchised and vulnerable members of the county who they have failed in their duty of care to represent to the best of their ability, limited as it may be.

Yours etc,

Allan Phillips, New Quay.

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