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Posted: Wednesday 18 November, 2015 at 11:06 PM

LIAT needs to come better...says PM Harris

Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris
By: Stanford Conway, SKNVibes.com

    BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – PRIME MINISTER of St. Kitts and Nevis Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris today (Nov. 18) implied that management of the Caribbean’s major intra-regional airline industry, LIAT, needs to provide a better quality of service or alternative means of transportation should be sought.

     

    He was at the time delivering his Address to the delegates at the Opening Ceremony of the 62nd Meeting of the OECS Authority in Roseau, Dominica.

    “I heard the distinguished Head of Government of the BVI, Dr. Smith, speaks to the challenge of transportation and I want to endorse that we have to either get LIAT right or transportation arrangements right. Because, for me, I have been delayed in Parliament yesterday after at two o’clock, never possible to get to Dominica if I were to leave St. Kitts after two; but to get here I had to charter the plane to take our delegation to Dominica.”

    Dr. Harris intoned that something better must be demanded of LIAT. 

    “And whatever the views we hold and whether or not we are shareholders, and some do believe that unless you are shareholder you shouldn’t talk about it. Well, I am speaking about it not as a shareholder; I am speaking about it as a simple customer of LIAT demanding better quality service.

    Despite calls for more regional Government to invest in LIAT, Dr. Harris, in early September of this year, categorically stated that the Federation was not eager to sign on to the cash-strapped airline.

    He declared that the persistent financial problems experienced by LIAT do not make it an attractive investment option for the Team Unity Administration.
    “At this moment in time, the Cabinet has not made a commitment to invest in LIAT. In fact, it is not on the table before us. And with regard to the challenges facing inter-island travel, we certainly would have to be convinced that an investment in LIAT at this time makes sense.”

    The Prime Minister had indicated that though LIAT had brought a number of strategic plans to the fore, none of them had taken it out of the red. “Therefore it is not a tempting proposition for us at this time. But in the context of a regional effort, we will give serious consideration to a proposal.”

    He had however stated that his Government was encouraged to support the cause and was visited by a delegation to do so, but a formal document on the request was yet to be received.

     “Yes, we have had colleagues saying we need to invest in LIAT. We have had a delegation that came some time ago and spoke to a number of Ministers and myself regarding LIAT and its future, but we have not been written to formally.”

    Commenting on the Prime Minister’s stand on the matter was Grenadian trade unionist Chester Humphrey, who said Dr. Harris’s position was short-sighted and his arguments on international airlines are more profitable to St. Kitts and Nevis did not take into account the intra-regional travel aspect of LIAT.

    For the longest while many customers of LIAT have been complaining about the service they received, ranging from delays to rescheduled flights and late arrival of baggage, among other problems.

     
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