T&T PM, Golding to thrash out Air Jamaica deal
Published:Wednesday | July 7, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer
MONTEGO BAY, St James:
Tight-lipped about the preliminary findings of the Air Jamaica-Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL) probe, Trinidad & Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar says the results will not be made available before she meets with Jamaica's Prime Minister Bruce Golding tomorrow.
The prime ministers will meet in Kingston to discuss the agreement that was signed between the two carriers. Education is also on the agenda.
The Air Jamaica-CAL transaction cost the twin-island state US$50 million to acquire and operate six Air Jamaica aircraft on eight of its routes. Jamaica got a 16 per cent stake in the merged opera-tion, with CAL owning the remaining 84 per cent.
Addressing the media at the 31st Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort and Spa in Montego Bay yesterday, Persad-Bissessar said she would be breaching protocol if she were to disclose the findings to the press before speaking with Golding.
She, however, revealed that there were two issues which would be up for discussion.
Even before she was sworn in as prime minister in May, Persad-Bissessar had raised concerns about details of the agreement.
"We had no input, had no information, except for what we received from the media," she told journalists, adding that her government had reservations about the transparency of the agreement. "We felt that we needed to get as much information as possible."
Promise of advantageous deal
The Trinidadian prime minister sought to dispel fears about the merger falling through, stating that the decisions made tomorrow would be beneficial to the peoples of Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica.
"Certainly, I would be very optimistic in respect to those discussions," she added.
A probe into the deal was ordered by the Trinidad government shortly after assuming office. The country's new finance minister, Winston Dookeran, was appointed to a three-member committee to probe the merger.
After the May 24 election that swept aside the Manning administration, Dookeran had said: "The minister of finance is of the view that there is an urgent need to clarify the precise nature and scope of these new arrangements, particularly having regard to the possible significant level of fiscal resources involved, the relative lack of disclosure regarding the details of the new arrangements and the need to ensure that the resources of the country are utilised for the maximum benefit of its citizens."