Telecommunications Ministers of OECS nations set to meet in Dominica

The meeting of the Telecommunication Ministers from the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) has been marred by issues due to intra-regional travel in the region, which has become a reason for concern.

Chekira Lockhart Hypolyte from Dominica, Chair of the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL) Council of Ministers, used the opening ceremony to highlight the issues being witnessed in intra-regional travel.

An example of this was seen when the Finance Minister, Camillo Gonsalves, of St Vincent and the Grenadines was unable to travel to attend the 45th meeting of ECTEL.

Chekira Lockhart Hypolyte stated the following, “I am really hoping at some point that CARICOM can address the issue of intra-regional travel and put it at the top of their agenda item because we are really struggling at this point to meet,” she said, noting that Gonsalves’ flight was cancelled “but we are really hoping that that matter can be addressed with haste”

Camillo Gonsalves attended the event via video and expressed that St Vincent and the Grenadines has been affected significantly by the complications seen in intra-regional travel.

“I want to echo your call for our brothers and sisters in CARICOM to prioritise the issue of intra-Caribbean travel. In the case of St Vincent and the Grenadines, LIAT used to move about 3,500 passengers a week in and out of St Vincent and the Grenadines.”

“That number is now under 1,000 using the alternatives. So we are less than one-third of what we did in terms of intra-regional travel prior to the demise of LIAT…”

The formerly dominant air carrier, LIAT (1974), based in Antigua, had a remarkable 50-year run in the Eastern Caribbean, becoming synonymous with intra-regional travel.

The airline’s court-appointed administrator, Cleveland Seaforth, stated, “As a result of the foregoing, you are hereby notified that your employment with LIAT (1974) Limited (in administration) will be made redundant effective February 4, 2024.”

The airline is the joint property of the governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica and St Vincent and the Grenadines. However, Prime Minister Gaston Browne of Antigua and Barbuda took charge as his nation accepted the responsibility of restructuring and refurbishing the airline.

This is being done to ensure that LIAT can return to its task of flying through regional skies and facilitating convenient and comfortable intra-regional travel for the people in the region.

The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) will cement arrangements between these nations and help them collaborate with Air Peace, a private Nigerian airline founded in 2013.

This is expected to allow LIAT 2020 to build up and secure intra-regional travel in the near future.

Prime Minister Browne has earmarked an estimated EC$30 million to ensure that LIAT 2020 has the aircraft, maintenance facilities, and operational arrangements needed to bring the airline to full functionality.

The airline is looking to provide the region with reliable, secure and efficient services which can help the region prosper in more ways than one, while also reestablishing LIAT as the primary provider of intra-regional travel services.

Lockhart Hypolyte was quick to highlight the fact that the telecommunications industry has been a significant contributor to the economic growth experienced by the region, adding that the Eastern Caribbean nations must approach this sector in a collaborative manner and develop strategies which allow the sector and the region to prosper in the future.

“I urge all of us to approach our discussions with a spirit of collaboration and openness for establishing ECTEL as a transformative and outward-looking telecom regulator.”

“Each of us brings valuable expertise, experiences and perspectives to the table and it is through constructive dialogue and cooperation that we can identify common goals and develop strategies to achieve them.”

“As member governments, we are committing to creating a new and robust regulatory framework …that fosters a competitive, dynamic and consumer-centric telecom market. We recognise the need for smart regulation that strike a balance between promoting investment and innovation.”

The governments of five Eastern Caribbean States, which includes Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts-Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, came together in Grenada to sign a treaty which led to the establishment of ECTEL on the 4th of May, 2000.

ECTEL is a regulatory body that watches over the telecommunications sectors in its member states. It comprises three primary components: a regional Directorate and a National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC) in each member state.

Through this organizational setup, ECTEL has been able to build a coordinated effort between Eastern Caribbean nations, allowing them to achieve greater heights in the telecommunications industry than they could have hoped to achieve individually.

This principle is the basis upon which the organisation promotes a collective approach among member states, thus enhancing the scope of the economic and social benefits for citizens in its member states.