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Charting a course forward for LIAT

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Ever since the news broke that Owen Arthur, the former Prime Minister of Barbados, will be the new Chairman of LIAT, there is an air of expectancy of better times for the airline.

On Monday, Lisa Gale said she was confident that there will be a turnaround at LIAT since this remains the only option for the island-hopping carrier. Indeed, she is adamant that LIAT has to be improved, which amounts to a task for the Chairman and the members of the airline’s board of directors.

A couple weeks ago, Arthur was quoted as saying that LIAT had played a pivotal role in Barbados’ tourism industry. One is left to conclude that since tourism will continue to be the main breadwinner for Barbados, LIAT has to be right there to maintain that role, failing which the industry will face setbacks in the regional market, which is very crucial.

The optimism demonstrated by Gale could indeed be shared by several others who believe that the only way for LIAT is up, having been subjected to many difficulties over the course of the last several years.

Arthur is quoted in the press as suggesting that the high airport and airline ticket taxes imposed by regional governments are pushing LIAT further into debt.

One can imagine that this will have to be tackled, even if governments in the Caribbean do not have much elbow room in raising more revenues given their economic challenges, and the fact that people are taxed up their neck.

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Pundits and other commentators and even Gale have called for strong action to be taken in charting a course forward for LIAT. They have called for a complete rationalisation of the carrier and to trim costs, even if that means shedding some of the labour employed by LIAT.

In addition, they have gone so far as to suggest that the same way some Caribbean governments continue to give international airlines what amounts to financial support (subsidies) to enter their countries, the same can be done for LIAT, which flies to those same destinations.

It is an important point, which deserves consideration, since in these times there is no such thing as a free lunch. Gone are those days and countries have to get their priorities in order.

Currently, the governments of Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines are the main shareholders of LIAT. As such, others are invited to come on board and the commentators believe that failure to do should result in a cut off in services to those destinations.

Running an airline is not cheap as we in this region have seen the management approaches undertaken by several of those companies, which operate services to our countries. We have seen airfares between this region and the North Atlantic countries continue to increase while the provisions for luggage are scaled back.

There are many among us who complain, and quite rightfully so, that it is even cheaper to travel between Barbados and Miami/Fort Lauderdale than it is to do so from Barbados to Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica.

The coming weeks are to be important for the new board and how they go about positioning the airline. It won’t be easy, but it can be done. (Barbados Advocate)

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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]