Derrick Doesn't Get It

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Monday, 25 June 2012 02:31

By caribarena news

Antigua St John's - Despite having the issue clearly explained and verified in the past, Mr. Winston Derrick, CEO of the Observer Media Group, is once again calling into question the authenticity and validity of the Caribarena photographs. Even though this is an issue which has been revisited multiple times in the past, Mr. Derrick appears to be unconvinced that the pictures are genuine.

On the Big Issues with Shelton Daniel on Sunday, Mr. Derrick said,"This has been a real disappointment, the way this APUA thing has been handled because I thought that when Caribarena first published those pictures, that they (APUA) would have put short shrift, put an end to this thing quickly by having somebody with some credibility go and see it and say, these are genuine pictures, or these are not."

Mr. Derrick also said that he wants to receive a tour as well and "see if the oil all over the floor, or if the people at Caribarena were fudging the pictures".

Firstly, Members of Parliament Robin Yearwood and Molwyn Joseph both vouched for the authenticity and accuracy of the photographs. These Members of Parliament were present during the tour with our photographers. In addition, former Ambassador Max Hurst and General Manager of APUA Esworth Martin were also present during the tour.

When asked for a response to Mr. Derrick's comments on Caribarena's photographs, MP Joseph had the following to say,

"There is no reason why Mr. Derrick should not consider the Antigua Labor Party delegation made up of Max Hurst, Robin Yearwood and myself to be credible. No one can question the credibility of that delegation. Ambassador Hurst functioned as an ambassador for several years with the highest degree of integrity.

"Myself and Robin Yearwood have served for decades in parliament, and we have all reason to, as members of parliament, ensure transparency on these matters and hence, having received permission from Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer to visit the Wadadli Power Plant on the 16th of December 2011, we instructed our office to advise all the media houses of our visit to the plant.

"I recall specifically that observer radio, caribarena, and ZDK were advised of our visit and the time of our visit, and I was quite surprised that only Caribarena showed interest and actually was there when we arrived. I'm not in a position to say or give a reason why observer would not have attended.

"Had they attended, there is no doubt in my mind that Mr. Derrick would have seen the condition of that power plant that the Antigua Labor Party saw and was photographed by Caribarena."

MP Joseph also added that the Government's lack of action following the release of the photographs over 6 months ago is an indication that it is not the credibility of the visiting delegation that should be questioned, but rather that of the Government's when it claims the engines are new.

According to Joseph, if the pictures had been trifled with, all that would have been required is for the Government to open up the plant for all to see, which would have easily discredited Caribarena's photographs, while in reality the exact opposite has happened.

Caribarena also verified that the email alerting all the media houses of the ALP Delegation's visit to the Power Plant was sent to the following addresses (amongst others):

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This email was sent on the 12/16/11. Only Caribarena arrived to accompany the delegation and received a tour of the Power Plant. The Observer newspaper had been emailed at over 8 email addresses, and yet did not arrive.

Caribarena also contacted former Ambassador Max Hurst for his response to Mr. Derrick's comments,"clearly, our view is that those photographs are authentic, and recognize that the engines are in the state that the photographs depict. Mr. Derrick doesn't have to worry about the authenticity of the photographs. He should request access to take his own tour and photographs instead of attempting to cast doubt on the Caribarena photographs. We can vouch for them at any time."

MP Robin Yearwood was not immediately available for a response.

During the Power Plant Press Conference held in February, several members of APUA, as well as the Prime Minister, spoke about the photographs and the condition of the plant as seen in the photographs.

Mr. Esworth Martin said, "I'm not a photographer and I wasn't accompanying the photographers during the tour of the plant. I was with the parliamentary representative for St Mary's North, along with the Honourable Robin Yearwood. Yes the photographers were there and they were taking photographs. I'll say though that the photographs that I saw, and if you were to visit the plant today, you'll see an extreme contradiction."



Mr. Brian Nicholas, engineer of APUA, added to Mr. Martin's comments, "When we're operating from time to time we may have to adjust fuel pumps, we may have to change fuel, and it's just inherent if you're talking about reciprocating engines, and there will be vibration, and while most of the dynamics and vibrations have been accounted for in the design certainly, you're still going to get ruptured fuel leaks."

In his statements, Mr. Nicholas is effectively confirming the various major fuel leaks seen in Caribarena photographs. The Prime Minister also spoke about the condition of the power plant, saying, "We're talking about a power plant with engines, and oil and this and that, and you see some oil on the floor, and you see some parts of the thing with some element of erosion... that does not conclude that these engines are not new," he said. "What you want to see it's a power plant, you're going to see oil, you're going to see black oil we're dealing with. You're going to see these things from time to time around there."

Also during the press conference, Chinese representatives of Beijing Construction Engineering Group (BCEG) apologized for a mistake in one of the engine's casting numbers, a discovery that had been made in Caribarena's photographs. This recognition by the Chinese Contractor adds to the authenticity of Caribarena's photographs.

However, despite the words of MP Robin Yearwood, MP Molwyn Joseph, Former Ambassador Max Hurst, General Manager of APUA Esworth Martin, as well as the acknowledgments of Mr. Nicholas, the chinese contractor BCEG and Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer, Mr. Derrick still feels that Caribarena's photographs may not be genuine.

Caribarena concludes that Mr. Derrick's comments are a deliberate and malicious attempt to discredit and harm the reputation of Caribarena as a media house. Caribarena demands an apology from Winston Derrick for his statements.

*Note to Reader: The first two images in this slideshow are NOT from the new 30 MW Chinese Power Plant. The first image is of an identical engine model to the ones installed in the Chinese Power Plant. It was manufactured in 2007, and can run on HFO (Heavy Fuel) and Gas, as opposed to the Chinese Power Plant, which requires HFO fuel. The second image is of a  new MAN B&W D48/60, the top-of-the-line state-of-the-art engine.

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