Mr Corkill, Mary Williams and the directors of ManStar suggested the MEA buy ManStar. The purchase price was mooted to be about £800,000 when, according to Mr Ferrer, it had no value; and thereafter, once the MEA’s decision was known it was not interested, all their telecoms plans were “blocked by Government at every move”.

Trevor Ferrer delivered a hard hitting submission to Friday’s (19^th June) session of the Tynwald Select Committee investigating the Manx Electricity Authority (MEA) ‘loans affairs’.

He complained bitterly to Committee Chairman, Speaker of the House of Keys, Steve Rodan that he should be allowed to read out his statement, but to no avail, as he wanted the public and the media to hear what he had to say. However, Mr Rodan said it was too long for the time allotted but assured him it would be included as part of the Hansard record.

The Manx Herald obtained a copy of Mr Ferrer’s statement and can perhaps see why some people wouldn’t want it published let alone read out; especially as he points to where he thinks the vested interests lie in blocking the MEA’s aspirations.

Although not strictly relevant to the issue of compliance with Treasury Financial Regulations, which is the subject currently being investigated, Mr Ferrer used the opportunity to attack the rejection, by Government, of the MEA’s Vision 2010 proposals.

As the five former Board members have effectively been ‘gagged’, since 2005, on speaking about their time at the MEA, it is perhaps unsurprising they are making best use of the current opportunity to get as much as possible into the public domain.

The Manx Herald believes they should have been given the opportunity to speak out a lot sooner, and certainly some of the revelations, that are now being made, the public had a right to know about a long time ago. But the Government’s aversion to the timely dissemination of information, regarding issues of a controversial or damaging nature, stood in the way as usual.

Mr Ferrer’s statement claims the MEA’s telecoms proposals were initially very well received by Government Ministers and MHKs; some of whom thought they were “marvellous”.

He says Mitsubishi, Schneider Electric and Tecnocom were some of the businesses interested in forming partnerships with Skyward, the MEA’s telecoms ‘vehicle’, and contracts were being lined up - as they assumed a full telecoms licence was going to be granted - which could have generated “Tens of Millions of Pounds Sterling to the Island.”

He states that former Dept. of Trade & Industry Minister, Alex Downie MLC had told the MEA he would sign the ‘appointed day order’ the moment the Gas and Electricity Act was passed (the enabling legislation for telecoms); but for some reason he “reneged on the promise”.

The purchase of Manx Telecom (MT) was considered and the idea was discussed with Richard Corkill, then Chief Minister, Alex Downie and Allan Bell; who he says all supported the idea, particularly Mr Corkill.

The 2010 proposals, in his opinion, would have been attractive to a lot of companies and overall they could have helped stimulate the Island’s economy.

He goes on to say the Communications Commission is supposed to be ‘independent’ of government but suggests in reality this is not so as the Chairman is a member of the Council of Ministers (COMIN).

Mr Ferrer says there was a lot opposition to the MEA’s plans, and this was led by M T and ManStar, a company that had never conducted any business in the IOM.

Mr Ferrer recounts the same ‘funny’ meeting Mr McCallion gave evidence about when he was appearing before the Committee, during which Mr Corkill, Mary Williams and the directors of ManStar suggested the MEA buy ManStar as, among other things, they wouldn’t be allowed to build their own Teleport. This he said was a surprise as he thought planning was a matter for other bodies.

He says it was never explained why they thought the purchase was a good idea and, furthermore, the MEA representatives formed the impression they were being threatened unless they bought the company the MEA wouldn’t get the go ahead for Skyward.

The purchase price was mooted to be about £800,000 when, according to Mr Ferrer, it had no value; and thereafter, once the MEA’s decision was known it was not interested, all their telecoms’ plans were “blocked by Government at every move”.

He wonders how much influence M T, ManSat and supporters had in the blocking; and then he makes his own observations.

He points out Walter Gilbey - who was member of COMIN until he got kicked out by the voters in the General Election in 2001 - was Chairman of M T (appointed to the board in 1986), a shareholder and majority investor in ManSat, ManStar’s 90% parent company; and also names former Chief Minister, Sir Miles Walker as a director of M T (appointed 2003).

He wonders if this had an influence on any decisions of Government Officers, Ministers and politicians opposing the MEA.

Mr Ferrer also mentions that other interests in ManStar include partners in KPMG, who incidentally act as auditors to the government.

He also names Phil Braidwood, the former Chairman of the Communications Commission, and Anthony Hewitt, the former director of the Commission, as forming part of the opposition.

He says he can not understand such “extreme hostility” from government when parliament passed an Act to enable the MEA to get into telecoms; and the DTI requested the MEA to “commercialise the fibre optic cable and e-enable the IOM.”

In concluding his statement Mr Ferrer maintains the Island missed a “wonderful opportunity” by not proceeding with the MEA’s proposals. He even goes as far to say as a result of the failure to grasp the Skyward project the IOM has paid a “heavy political price”. He suggests the IOM could have become a “strategic communications hub” which would have enable the IOM to “assume political influence”; and “punch well above its weight and would have saved the Island from the attack it now faces from the US and UK regulators.”

Terry MacKay also laid into COMIN members in his statement saying none of them had even bothered to read the MEA’s Vision 2010 proposals when they were presented in July 2004 – as they claimed to have been too busy; a “startling admission given its financial potential”.

He pointedly reminded Mr Rodan he had been one of those Ministers who had passed up the opportunity to form an “all embracing Island Utility”; in which members of the public could have acquired shares in a “copper-bottomed Manx indigenous Company providing either a dividend or reduced tariff couple with a huge sense of pride.”

He also pointed out Douglas Gas is now controlled from Australia and MT from Spain; and the Island has lost authority over these “valuable assets”.

Whilst the Manx Herald acknowledges the additional expenditure, and the taking of the loans, by the MEA is an important issue, and needs to be satisfactorily explained, we still maintain the telecoms’ issue has the potential to be a far bigger ‘scandal’; and one that has probably cost the public far more than is being currently investigated.

Hopefully the public will get to find out, sooner rather than later, what the truth of the matter is; and if the public has lost out because of political machinations and private interests we hope that heads, at least once in our life time, will roll.