| CHALLENGES
FACING CARIBBEAN PORTS HIGHLIGHTED BY PRIME MINISTER
DOUGLAS |
BASSETERRE,
ST. KITTS,
JULY 4TH 2005 (CUOPM) |
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 region’s 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 today’s 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 region’s 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.
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