MINISTER OF FOREIGN Affairs and Foreign Trade Senator Maxine McClean thinks Government should maintain control of the transportation sector to ensure the “public good” is met.
She addressed the issue this morning while participating in a Cave Hill School of Business breakfast conference.
She used the example of regional carrier LIAT, and said if the private sector got its hands on the airline it would likely cherry pick the “juicy routes” while some destinations would suffer.
“If that were to happen in the case of our national transport system, if we were to leave that to the private sector, we may find that serious elements of our community will be under served or not served at all, and it is the same thing with regional air transport,” she said.
“The question, however, is how you distinguish between inefficiency and the need to perhaps subsidise? . . . because in the absence of the subsidy the private sector will not have access to certain resources. In the absence of a subsidy for LIAT a Barbadian engineer or architect or management consultant flying from Barbados to Nevis on a given day may not get there and what does mean? It is an opportunity lost for earnings.”(SC)
