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Air horror fuelling growing consensus for government-backed intra-region airline

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Searchlight Newspaper Editorial) — From all reports there seems to be growing consensus for the re-establishment of a government subsidised intra-regional airline to serve air transport needs within the Eastern Caribbean. This follows months of virtual “air horror” as passengers, regional and extra-regional alike, are being left stranded around the region with little or no communication from or restitution by the “successor” to the collapsed regional air carrier LIAT.

Let’s just regress a little, for there is an old saying: “Be careful what you wish for”. LIAT had come under tremendous pressure, from the public, its employees, as well as short sighted regional governments which refused to fund its needed fleet regeneration and expansion, while happily subsidizing foreign airlines, and we were led to believe that the private sector would be able to fill the void.

The last few months have brought harsh reality to the region. Each week there are reports, from Barbados, Guyana, Antigua, Dominica and, yes, our own Argyle International Airport of stranded passengers having to fork out thousands of dollars to purchase tickets just to get to a destination though they were holding confirmed tickets on a regional air carrier. It was easier to create the illusion, much harder to make it a reality.

It has reached the stage that on the sidelines of the last CARICOM Heads of Government summit, there appeared to be an emerging consensus that intra-Caribbean air transport needs could only be met by a public-funded airline, as is the case with the University of the West Indies and other regional institutions deemed essential for Caribbean development. It has taken costly disruptions for this reality to be acknowledged and for the “private sector” talk to be proven to be a load of hot air.

Regional air transport in a modern development context is just as important for regional development as modern health care and educational systems. In a region highly dependent on tourism, intra-regional travel must be a key component. Trade and communication cannot prosper without this vital cog, and the chaos that has ensued during this mid-year vacation period and the disruption to sporting and cultural links have emphasized how short-sighted we were in buying the skewed anti-LIAT propaganda.

Of course, this is no excuse for the old LIAT’s well-publicized weaknesses, nor for poor political leadership. But it must now be palpably clear that to believe that the solution is a scramble for some crumbs from a scattered LIAT pie, cannot be the way to go. In the meantime, even our tourism product is suffering as evidenced by the experience of stranded extra-regional passengers, whose story was published by SEARCHLIGHT on Saturday, August 19.

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We can only hope that chastened by our experiences, our political leaders and patriotic elements in the private sector will face up to reality, learn from our costly errors and proceed to reconstruct an efficient regional air transport system based on a model of public-private partnership on which our regional development can depend.

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REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES – INDIVIDUAL SELECTION)

 

OECS MSME Guarantee Facility Project

Loan No.: IDA-62670, IDA-62660, IDA-62640, IBRD-88830, IDA-62650

Assignment Title: Senior Operating Officer (SOO)

Reference No. KN-ECPCGC-207852-CS-INDV

 

The Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have received financing in the amount of US$10 million equivalent from the World Bank towards the cost of establishing a partial credit guarantee scheme, and they intend to apply part of the proceeds to payments for goods, and consulting services to be procured under this project. 

The consultant will serve as the “Senior Operating Officer (SOO)” for the ECPCGC and should possess extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to Micro, small and medium-sized businesses, knowledge of the internal control processes necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk mitigation procedures. The ideal candidate should possess an Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Accounting, Banking or related field, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in lending, inclusive of MSME lending. The initial employment period will be for two years on a contractual basis. Renewal of the contract will be subject to a performance evaluation at the end of the contractual period. The assignment is expected to begin on September 30th, 2021.  The consultant will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer of the ECPCGC.

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be viewed by following the attached link below. 

 

https://bit.ly/3iVannm

 

The Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECPCGC) now invites eligible “Consultants” to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have:

  • An Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Finance, Banking or related field; and
  • Minimum of 5 years’ experience in MSME lending. Applicants should also have:
  • The ability to design and implement risk management procedures 
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to small and medium-sized businesses
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME banking operations
  • Knowledge of the internal controls necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk management procedures
  • Experience developing and presenting information in public, including responding to questions in real-time
  • Experience lending to MSMEs located in the ECCU
  • Knowledge of marketing and communicating with the MSME sector
  • Ability to draft procedures to be used in a lending operation
  • Familiarity with the mechanics of a loan guarantee program
  • Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills, and
  • Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office suite.

The attention of interested Individual Consultants is drawn to Section III, Paragraphs 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers July 2016, [revised November 2017] (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Approved Selection Method for Individual Consultants set out in the clause 7.34 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers. 

 

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours 0800 to 1700 hours:

Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation

Brid Rock, Basseterre,

St. Kitts.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form by e-mail by August 11th, 2021, to [email protected]

 

For further information, please contact:

Carmen Gomez-Trigg                                                            Bernard Thomas

Chief Executive Officer                                                          Chief Financial Officer

Tel: 868-620-8144                                                                  Tel: 869-765-2385

Email: [email protected]                                          [email protected]