Victor Swift: Canal & River Trust shambles

SO AT last the Inland Waterways Association has woken up to the shambles that there will be a desperate shortage of money when the Canal & River Trust, or CART, as it will be known, eventually comes into being.

I just wonder if it hadn't been for narrowboatworld 'telling it like it is' for the past months, the Inland Waterways Association would have bothered at all, as it seems strange that this most important matter that has been there for all to see for months, yet only now the association is getting interested—and in a panic.  It really should have been on the case from the very start.

However, in a crafty move, British Waterways appointed one, Clive Henderson as an 'observer' to its Board, the Chairman of the Inland Waterways Association no less. So poor Clive was is a somewhat tentative position, as I suspect was intended, for he was in the unenviable position of being in both camps, but we put the association under increasing pressure to 'come clean' about the finances of the Canal & River Trust, so eventually it  had little choice but to do so—with the resulting panic!

The other one

But what about that supposed custodian of the boaters' interests—the National Association of Boat Owners?

Ner a word. Yet here we have the biggest threat to our waterways ever—but nothing from that worthy band regarding the state of finances foisted upon us by the shenanigans from Ivory towers.

Even its NABO News tells little of the future problems.  Its editorial is flogging itself, whilst the rest of the publication seems mostly concerned with residential moorers, from which I gather its committee must contain quite a few.

Its only concern about CART is that, and here I must quote: 'One clear intention is that private boaters will be represented'.

Eh?  Five private boaters out of a committee of 35 its idea of 'well represented'—I don't think so.  Surely as major contributors we boaters should be exceptionally well represented, not just a perfunctory five.  It's our cash that is being decided.

In its favour

One thing I did find whilst trawling the National Association of Boat Owners website, was a list of Freedom of Information Act requests and responses, and was pleased to see our own Allan Richards well portrayed.

Perhaps here, one thing is in the association's favour—like narrowboatworld, it was very much against Canal & River Trust opting out of complying with such Freedom of Information Act requests, as British Waterways is finding it a little too revealing of its rather dubious activities.

What really did happen to that much vaunted 'openness and accountability' British Waterways was so fond of telling us about, that now makes Freedom of Information requests so necessary?  Disappeared  with the veg pledge no doubt.

Worth it?

At a nice little earner of 1,346 quid a week, Ruth Ruderham, she appointed to raise the cash for Canal & River Trust, has come up with a scheme to do just that—get British Waterways staff to pedal to Brussels, give up their two days off, forfeit three more days and cough-up 145 quid out of their own pockets.

If this us the best you can think up dear Ruth, I reckon you will be hard put to even cover your rather excessive salary.

Never fails to amaze

Our Allan Richards joins me in never failing to be amazed at who reads narrowboatworld, with him pointing out that the influential Wall Street Examiner refers its readers to his article on Ruth Ruderham's Biking for bonuses...

We certainly get around.

Victor Swift