…the islands
Hot on the heels of LIAT’s announcement that it is throwing in the towel comes the operationalization of the agreement to start a ferry service connecting Guyana, Trinidad and Barbados!! As one gangway closes, another drops, eh?? Well, LIAT (Leeward Islands Air Transport), as an airline, focused more on ferrying bodies between our Caricom territories. And in an industry that’s being challenged worldwide after the Covid crisis, it appears that model just ain’t viable.
For quite a while now, LIAT’s inefficiency has been a joke, with wags snickering about the name meaning “Leave Island Any Time”; “Luggage In Another Town”; or “Late, If Ah Tal”!!
So, here we are – with a ferry service that’s supposed to be moving goods as well as bodies in the Southern Caribbean. Almost two years ago, at the Agri Investment Forum held in Guyana, T&T and Guyana had signed an MOU on a “Cargo Plus Ferry Facility”. By the middle of the year, there was an announcement that Barbados was coming on board the venture. Last year, the Caricom HoGs launched their Vision 25 by 25 – committing to reducing their food imports, amounting to some US$5 billion, by 25% by 2025. That’s next year!!
With land-rich Guyana taking the lead in the production of food that would substitute for the foreign imports, the ferry’s supposed to facilitate the transportation of our produce to the other islands; where, in addition to their local colonial-induced penchant for foreign foods, they have hordes of tourists descending like locusts year after year. But your Eyewitness has always wondered how come the tourists weren’t being served with local Caribbean foods, to begin with. When he goes as a tourist to NYC, you can bet your bottom dollar he doesn’t order chicken curry at the restaurants he frequents!!
But how about the other islands?? Don’t they want to cash in on the deal, and bring down their costs of food imports to satisfy their commitment to “25 by 25”?? Or doesn’t it make logistical sense? So, how do they “get with the programme”? Then there’s the announcement by Rowley that Trinidad’s gonna be providing the ferry to get the programme on the way. Is one dinky old ferry gonna be enough?? 25% of US$5B is US$1.25B – which buys a helluva lot of food to ship!!
But your Eyewitness has another question: Are we revisiting the days of indentureship, when they brought some of our foreparents in ships loaded with cargo?? Then I always assumed we’d need refrigerated ships to transport all the broccoli, cauliflower and other “foreign foods” we’re now producing here in ole Mudland!!
Anyhow, your Eyewitness says, “Good Luck” to this venture, because Granny used to say, “Nothing ventured; nothing gained”!!
…the Mid-East dots
Did you assume the Israeli war against the Palestinians in Gaza would remain a local affair?? Now, remember we’re dealing with an area that’s been in turmoil for a century, and we’re only talking about modern times!! With all the wars that have been waged in that confined space – Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Iraq, Iran, Egypt etc – the interconnections and loyalties run deep and wide!!
So, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Houthis of Yemen have decided to support the Palestinians by hurling missiles at ships in the Red and Arabian Seas carrying Israeli goods. The Houthis are supported by Iran, as is Hamas, and view Israel as their implacable enemy. But by shooting at shipping in one of the biggest naval thoroughfares, the Houthis aren’t only taking on Israel, but are giving Israel’s allies a reason to enter the fray.
So, we have the Old British Lion – and several of its old colonies, like the Aussies – showing some teeth in support of Uncle Sam by bombing the bejesus out of Yemen!
…agricultural products
The Police and GDF have just destroyed $3.2B worth of ganja, and this from only 10 acres of cultivation. Now, can’t we become certified to supply medicinal marijuana to a world at war, that’s crying out in pain??
