Transport Bureau (DSAT) Director Wong Wan told lawmakers Thursday that he was willing to take responsibility for Macau’s public bus service fiasco, acknowledging that he is in charge of matters related to transport in Macau and that he is the one who, with his team, makes the decisions and then proposes them to his superior.
Wong’s superior is Secretary for Transport and Public Works Lau Si Io.
Wong made the remarks in a debate about the current state of affairs of Macau’s public bus services in light of bus company Reolian’s bankruptcy in October.
The debate came as the result of a motion proposed last month by directly elected legislators Jose Pereira Coutinho and Leong Veng Chai. The motion was accepted by the duo’s fellow lawmakers.
Coutinho and Leong, both directly elected, are leaders of the Macau Civil Servants Association (ATFPM).
Wong restated that the main intention of introducing the city’s new bus service mode in 2011 was to better serve the public by planning and adjusting bus routes in a more flexible way. He admitted that he and his team had misinterpreted the laws when the public bus service contracts were drafted.
“If you ask me who should be held accountable, I should be the one who takes the responsibility first because matters related to transport are handled by me and my team. We made legal and technical analyses and looked at the public’s reactions,” said Wong. “After that, I took the proposal to my superior.”
Lau and Legal Affairs Bureau (DSAJ) Director Cheong Weng Chon told Thursday’s debate that they accepted the Commission Against Corruption’s (CCAC) hard-hitting report in November about the public bus contracts, with Cheong saying that the government will draft a new concession for a new bus operator in three months.
The CCAC report claimed that the new public bus service system was illegal. It also urged the government to change the three operators’ service provider contracts into concession agreements.(macaunews)
