By
Andy Johnson
The Trinidad Express
Port
Spain
Petroleumworld.com
02 26 06
WHATEVER
transpired in the discussions at the recently held 17th intersessional
meeting of Caricom Heads of Government to promote the "accord"
among member states on the "PetroCaribe" arrangement,
it does not settle the issue of Trinidad and Tobago's commitment
to support the region in meeting the economic pressures brought
on by high energy costs.
"There
is no question that Trinidad and Tobago must shoulder some of
the responsibility for this in the sense that for some time
now the islands have been clamouring for support and assistance,"
St Lucia Prime Minister Dr Kenny Anthony said in an interview
on the TV6 Morning Edition on February 10.
This
was just moments before the signing by St Lucia and other Caricom
member states of the deal with the Venezuelan Government to
accept energy products, an arrangement which was said to have
upset the regime of assistance put in place by the Government
of Trinidad and Tobago. This arrangement was initialled by 12
Caricom member states in late June last year, just days before
the last regular meeting of Caricom Heads of Government. This
took place in the first week of July, in the St Lucian capital.
Following
that meeting, Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Patrick Manning
was mandated to negotiate details of the Venezuelan offer with
representatives of that Government, on behalf of the Caricom
member states which signed. The issue was one of the hot topics
at the St Lucia summit, and was scheduled to be further discussed
at the Port of Spain meeting earlier this month.
It
was expected that a review of the arrangements over this period
would have revealed short-comings in the details, such that
they were not going to meet the expectations of those who signed
on. But at the end of the meeting on February 10, an announcement
was made that an "accord" had been reached. Prime
Minister Manning told reporters later that the leaders had worked
out all their problems with it, and that the matter was now
settled. This, however, on the basis of the fact that no real
discussions had taken place in the interim between himself and
the Venezuelan authorities on it.
Going
in to the February 10 meeting, however, the St Lucian Prime
Minister said his government had established a task force to
consider the real implications of the arrangement for the economy,
and for the public in St Lucia. He said earlier that while his
government signed the original agreement it had not yet entered
into a bilateral arrangement with Venezuela, "because we
have taken a different approach. My view is that we need to
evaluate this agreement carefully and to understand the broader
environment. But there can be no question that this is a huge
issue."
And,
he insisted, most of the countries who went for it had done
so because of the lack of satisfaction with what had been on
the table from Trinidad and Tobago.
"For
sometime now the islands have been clamouring for support and
assistance from Trinidad and Tobago," he said. "Basically,
there has been the feeling that Trinidad and Tobago has been
having its cake and eating it all on its own. Because on the
one hand it is able to subsidise its own sector here, Trinidadians
are able to get the benefit of their own resources, their manufacturers
have been able to become very competitive, not only because
of retooling, but also because they are able to enjoy cheaper
energy costs, and the general feeling is that Trinidad and Tobago
should have come up with a programme a long time ago to assist
governments in the region to cushion the costs...The facility
that is in operation is really not assisting where it should.
"That
is to say, to cushion the budgetary deficits that have arisen
as a result of the higher oil prices. The governments have had
no choice but to increase petrol prices for the ordinary individual
and indeed to cope with the inflationary pressures it has caused
in the production of goods and services. We have no safeguards
except to turn to the people constantly and one is saying, certainly
St Lucia is of the view, that the best way Trinidad and Tobago
could assist the islands is to perhaps cushion the deficits
that are arising in the oil sector."
Dr
Anthony was asked whether and to what extent was the petroleum
facility made available to Caricom member states by Trinidad
and Tobago meeting the needs of those countries.
The
problem with it , he said, was this. "No country has been
able to benefit directly because most of that facility has gone
primarily to Grenada and that is understandable because of the
events in Grenada following the hurricanes (in 2004). Then a
large chunk went to LIAT to keep it afloat. Then, of course
Guyana received a substantial chunk because of the floods (in
January 2005).
"So
none of the governments have been able to secure direct assistance
to counter the inflationary consequences of higher oil prices.
So that I personally believe that Trinidad and Tobago has to
take a more robust and a more realistic look at this thing.
It is not good enough to say to the islands that the petroleum
sector (in Trinidad and Tobago) is owned by the private sector
and there is nothing you could do about it. I personally believe
there are some things you can do about it. But certainly no
one is arguing that the people of Trinidad and Tobago should
not be enjoying the benefits of their resources. That would
be unfair.
"We
have to concede and to recognise that Trinidadians need to benefit
from their own resources, but that the needs of the region ought
to be taken into consideration."
And
apart from the petroleum facility, Dr Anthony said there was
also a fund established by Trinidad and Tobago to assist trade
between this country and Caricom member states. It is aimed
primarily at the private sector, he said, but here again, evidence
suggested it was not deriving the required benefits.
"I
know for example in the OECS it is not well known and I am not
sure there have been many firms which have made use of it. Perhaps
it is a problem with the marketing, but there is also a deeper
problem and it comes with success, I guess. Trinidad has been
remarkably successful. Trinidad has been the major beneficiary
of the Single Market of Caricom, and of course with the CSME
to come they are going to be a primary beneficiary. But there
comes with it not necessarily reactions of hostility or unfriendliness,
but of suspicion that, I mean, are you doing this primarily
to benefit yourselves?
"We
have to take all these factors into consideration, but I believe
some effort must be made to reach the private sector (in the
region).
This
Regional Development Fund, he said, was a clear example of what
he acknowledged was Trinidad and Tobago's continuing efforts
to assist the region. "There can be no question about that,"
he said. "Trinidad and Tobago has attempted to reach out
to the region. The administration has been generous with the
region. But the problem, I suspect, sometimes is where they
pitch and how they organise the facilities that are available
because I don't think it is really providing the assistance
where it is most needed."
Back
to the original question about feelings in Trinidad and Tobago
as to why so many of its Caricom neighbours went for the Venezuelan
offer, Dr Anthony said it had to be revisited.
"There
are new realities that Trinidad and Tobago must adjust to, and
part of that adjustment must be a more responsive mechanism
to assist the plight of the islands."
