Don’t blame Jamaicans for T’dad fiscal policies – Frankson

Chief executive officer of EdgeChem, Doreen Frankson, has described as an insult to the Jamaican people a comment by Trinidad’s transport minister that taxpayers in that country were paying for the luxury of Jamaicans flying on a subsidy on Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL).



She was responding to an article published in the May 8, 2012 edition of The Gleaner under the headline, “Trinidad paying for Jamaicans flying on fuel subsidy”, and attributed to transport minister Devant Maharaj.



Maharaj’s comments were made against the background of controversy in the twin-island republic surrounding the finances of CAL, which is said to have racked up losses in excess of TT$50 million (US$8.3 million) last year.



“If the Trinidadian government cannot set policies that are of good fiscal sense then Jamaicans cannot be blamed,” Frankson said in a statement.



She said CAL advised that the Trinidad & Tobago government changed some arrangements and that the airline had to pay retroactively as the subsidy was adjusted.



“When projections are planned and based on agreements, any negative change in that agreement would lead to unprofitability,” the statement said. “If this is how the Trinidadian government treats its own, then undoubtedly Jamaica can expect no better.”



Frankson also asked whether it was only Jamaicans who use CAL to fly between the various Air Jamaica destinations.



“I am sure Trinidadians fly at this subsidy in and out of Jamaica. Or is a case that we are so well loved that the Trinidadians discount the flight costs to Jamaicans alone?” she asked.



Frankson said it must be clear that while a large majority of Jamaicans were unaware of the details of the deal which led to the sale of “our beloved airline, Air Jamaica, many have boycotted the airline because they are still hurting from the sale."



She added that many Jamaicans do not support CAL as "our national airline, particularly in the diaspora.”



Maharaj was also quoted as saying that the burden Trinidad & Tobago had to endure because of Air Jamaica arose out of the "imperialist ambitions of former prime minister Patrick Manning, as he attempted to become the colonial master of the Caribbean".



According to the EdgeChem CEO, bringing Jamaicans into the mix, when they never supported the deal "is ... vengeful on all levels, as the rivalry and strife in Trinidad is no business of Jamaica.”



She said “Trinidad needed Air Jamaica to expand CAL in the global arena, as they would gain the ability to use our flight routes legally. They got a better trade than what the Jamaican population received, as the service declined significantly when CAL took over operations,” Frankson declared.



EdgeChem, a wholly Jamaican-owned company founded in 1990, is engaged in the automotive refinishing, furniture, industrial and decorative finishes market.



According to information posted on its website, in 1998 EdgeChem expanded its distribution network into the wider Caribbean exporting to Barbados, Antigua, Trinidad, Belize, St. Lucia and Dominica.



business@gleanerjm.com