PM Harris Addresses LIAT Issue
(ZIZ News) — St. Kitts-Nevis’ Prime Minister, Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris has called for continued dialogue at the leadership level, on the issue of regional air transport and LIAT in particular.
“What we have done was to signal where our citizens and residents are in relation to the continuing inability of LIAT to show the kinds of improvements that we would like to see and the major challenge to the integration process of having an unreliable air transport available to us and yes deficiency even in relation to transportation by sea and cargo etc.,” he said.
“So what we have done is to signal, we have two stakeholder governments at least, maybe three within the OECS, there are other stakeholder governments beyond and we are hoping that at some point in time, through the discussions that are taking place both within the OECS, within CARICOM and perhaps wider afield, we could certainly move the agenda towards some satisfactory arrangements,” he added.
That call was made at the end of the 62nd meeting of the OECS Authority held this week, in Dominica.
Dr. Harris warned that it will take time before regional leaders arrive at a satisfactory solution.
“Certainly you have to engage in careful conditions of many of the challenges. We have been talking for example the talk of integration for a very long time and that is a talk that must continue as things evolve themselves, so I don’t want the length of time to be taken as diminishing of an interest in this particular topic; in fact, it says that the issue continues to be alive,” he said.
“We have not been able to find the appropriate solution but to continuing conversations like with all and difficult issues, we certainly hope to get there,” he added.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the OECS Authority and Prime Minister of Grenada, the Right Hon. Dr. Keith Mitchell commended the St. Kitts-Nevis leader for his approach during the two-day meeting.
“And I do want to say that the Minister of St. Kitts, he started us off on the right footing on what I consider one of the most informed and uplifting presentation and he challenged us on a number of critical issues, some of which we avoided before. But I think being new, he’s in a position to not being afraid to call a spade a spade,” he said.