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St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Dr. the Hon. Denzil L. Douglas addressing representatives from Caribbean ports attending the 8th Annual General Meeting of the Port Management Association of the Caribbean (PMAC). Photo by Erasmus Williams |
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, JULY 4TH 2005 St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Denzil LO. Douglas said that adequate human resource, revenue generation and proper security to deter terrorism are among the challenges facing ports in the Caribbean.
Declaring open the 8th Annual General Meeting of the Port Management Association of the Caribbean (PMAC) at the Royal St. Kitts Marriott, Prime Minister Douglas said that while globalisation is generating a certain degree of competitiveness among ports, particularly those that can facilitate significant international trade, the same process was placing significant difficulty on small ports that want to expand and facilitate greater economic activity.
For us in the Caribbean, where ports are generally operated by Governments and their statutory infrastructure, and where 90 percent of the regions imports and exports are done by sea, the issue of globalisation has driven our response towards higher levels of efficiency and the enhancement of port services, as well as improved interface with our customers. Added to this situation are the requirements of security designed not simply to protect cargo, but rather now to deter and reduce the potential for terrorism, said Dr. Douglas.
He said the issue of revenue generation was no light matter for todays Caribbean ports and as Minister of Finance with responsibility for the local ports, he has consistently challenged the managers and the various members of the Boards, that the Port Authority must become self sufficient in terms of bringing in enough revenue to sustain its own development rather than having to continue to rely on the Central Government for continued handouts in its own financial structure and development.
That must come to an end, said Prime Minister Douglas, who added: The key is to derive substantial income in a manner that is fair to all concerned and facilitates continued economic activity rather than impede its own progress.
He said the income derived will continue to be vitally important in the support of port expansion and port enhancement, but it is easier said than done in a region that is characterised by port tariffs that compare unfavourable with the world average.
Prime Minister Douglas noted that when general inefficiency in port operations are factored in, when high sea freight rates are included in this equation, when trade imbalances are added to the mix and when the issue of economies of scale are factored in, one would realise that Caribbean ports are faced with a tremendous challenge to a problem that is felt by every consumer in all of the Caribbean countries.
Since the emergence of the Port Management Association of the Caribbean (PMAC) increased emphasis has been placed upon human resource development, and quite rightly so, to fuel the change that was, and still is quite necessary in a busy modern-day Caribbean port. For the reasons indicated before, tackling the matters impacted by human resources is, perhaps, our only way of achieving some respectable level of global competitiveness, said Prime Minister Douglas.
He said that in achieving some respectable level of global competitiveness, ports must concentrate on the human resource development.
It is critical that ports management be very responsive to developing trends in global and regional trade, and that administrative systems are up to the mark to facilitate effective work flow, communications, data collection, and the other array of information that is vital in port operations. In short, the institutional framework must lend itself to the pursuit of excellence in service, all aimed at reducing cost to our Caribbean consumers, said Prime Minister Douglas.
He also emphasised that port security is no longer a run-of-the-mill matter to be dealt with casually as it has grave implications for the regions ability to trade and to trade efficiently and it was for this reason that so much emphasis was placed on getting CARICOM ports ISPS compliant with enormous sums of money expended to bring facilities to the required standard.
Expressing thanks for the assistance received from regional and international agencies, Prime Minister Douglas pointed out that from the up front cost, there will be additional medium to long-term costs involved in maintaining an acceptable standard in port operations in the Caribbean region.
This has further unfavourable implications for our own selves in one of the areas that challenges the cost factor in our port operations. It is an area that needs close monitoring, as escalating security cost could have detrimental effects on future port viability, said Prime Minister Douglas.
