BUSINESS
NEWS
CARICOM
Heads of
Government
Committed to
Competitive
Transportation
Industry
Heads of Government of CARICOM
are committed to delivering
a competitive transportation
industry, and are looking for the
right model that would be fiscally
appropriate for the provision of
transportation services in the
Region.
The CARICOM Heads of
Government had extensive
discussions on regional
transportation during their two-
day Intersessional Meeting in St.
Kitts and Nevis on March 5th.
Transportation was a main item
on their agenda. The talks were
preceded by a one-day Special
Meeting of the Council for Trade
and Economic Development
(COTED) in St. Vincent and the
Grenadines earlier in February.
One of the steps the Heads of
Government have agreed to is to
look at charges and tax structures
that could have a negative effect
on the provision of air services
with a view to rationalising those
structures as deemed appropriate
by the Ministries of Finance of
Member States.
There is also movement on the
Multilateral Air Services Agreement
(MASA) to which nine CARICOM
Member States have now signed on
to, thus allowing for its provision
application. One country has
ratified the MASA. Assent by all
Member States to the MASA would
give effect to the Community
becoming a liberalised environment
for CARICOM air carriers. The
MASA was opened for signature in
February 2018.
The Heads of Government also held
talks on a regional ferry service
as emphasis is being placed on
improving work in the maritime
area. They agreed to establish
a joint private and public sector
team to review the findings and
recommendations of reports on the
ferry service. The team has been
requested to provide preliminary
estimates for the implementation
of a ferry service following
discussions and negotiations
with prospective ferry operators,
according to the Communique of
the Meeting. The Communique
added that Heads of Government
agreed that the Directors of
Maritime Affairs of each Member
State should meet regularly with
the intention of coordinating and
presenting a holistic approach to
addressing the maritime safety and
security issues of the Community.
Heads of Government have also
agreed to restructure the Regional
Transportation Commission and its
programmes.
At a press conference at the
conclusion of the Meeting,
CARICOM Chairman, Dr. Timothy
Harris, Prime Minister of St. Kitts
and Nevis, said that in order
to boost and facilitate the free
movement of goods and people,
transportation had to be affordable.
The Chairman pointed out that
there was no “magic bullet”, that
the transportation sector was
evolving and that there were
periods of restructuring and
adjustment of regional air carriers.
“We discussed the possibilities
and various options going forward,
vis-à-vis private sector engagement
as against governmental and
public sector engagement in the
transportation sector. We are
committed, by and large, to deliver
44 SL-YOU | Business, People & Lifestyle
a competitive transportation
industry to the Region and to
ensure that in order to boost
and facilitate the CSME, the free
movement of people and goods,
that the transportation would be
affordable,” PM Harris said.
“We have to be careful that our
expectations are reasonable. It is
well known that for a very long
time air transportation within the
Caribbean region has had its share
of problems. And we have had
different airlines – whether it’s LIAT,
BWIA or other airlines – they’ve
gone through their own periods
of restructuring and adjustment.
There is within the Region a
strong commitment to finding an
affordable and efficient means
of transportation that supports
our integration efforts and that
continues to be a work in progress
because some of the issues that
impact upon the outcome, they are
very deep, they are very structural
and they require a thoughtful
approach,” the CARICOM Chairman
added in response to a question on
LIAT airlines.
Acknowledging the importance of
LIAT and other regional airlines to
the Community, Prime Minister
Harris said that the shareholder
governments had provided an
update on the airline “and there
is a lot of solidarity to ensuring
that we can achieve a sustainable
model that would make LIAT – or
any other entity, for that matter
– or put them in a better place to
provide the kinds of services that
our people reasonably expect and
ought to have with respect to air
travel, and the same arguments go
with respect to the ferry service.”
“We are now looking at some
considerations as to what is the
best model, and it is not just a
question in these cases of buying
a ship; in the end how will they
sustain themselves? So you have to
address all the logistics and other
issues pertinent to finding the
model that would be self-financing
or at the very least would not
create a fiscal problem for those
who are going to be contributing to
them,” he said.
www.slyoumag.com | July-August 2019