The Government of The Bahamas has decided to withhold making any decision on the Petrocaribe initiative, which became the centre of controversy in The Bahamas several months ago amid soaring fuel costs, The Bahama Journal has learnt.
Over the summer, Minister of Trade and Industry Leslie Miller signed an initial agreement with Venezuela along with other Caribbean states, but the government has held off on signing the final agreement.
In fact, following that meeting, Minister Miller had told The Bahama Journal that a National Energy Corporation (NEC) would have been established by September 2005 so that Bahamians would begin seeing “significant and immediate” benefits under Petrocaribe.
But at a meeting of energy ministers and Caribbean heads of government in Montego Bay, Jamaica in September to finalize the various bilateral agreements within the framework of Petrocaribe, Minister Miller was unable to sign on, on the country’s behalf because Cabinet had not yet made a decision on the matter.
Under the plan, Venezuela has promised to sell fuel and fuel-related products to Caribbean governments under special payment arrangements.
But concerns about Petrocaribe persist, both locally and regionally.
On Friday, CARICOM Secretary General Edwin Carrington reportedly stated that member nations moved too quickly to sign onto the agreement launched by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
Mr. Carrington told reporters that there ought to have been regional discussion on Petrocaribe before members went ahead and signed the deal.
“It was a sad thing there was no regional decision among [us] as to how we would respond to this initiative,” he was quoted as saying.
The Trinidad and Tobago Express reports that Mr. Carrington said the deal has angered Caricom member Trinidad and Tobago, which has historically been a major oil supplier in the Caribbean, and that some ministers didn’t understand the details before signing the agreement in September.
He reportedly raised concerns regarding the fact that some governments will have to acquire additional debt to cover costs associated with Petrocaribe shipments, whose initial payments would be cut.
It’s the same concern some observers have raised locally, saying that the cost down the road may end up putting the country at a disadvantage.
But during the debate, Independent MP Pierre Dupuch, who is a member of the government-appointed fuel usage committee, said, “We’re looking basically at two aspects of this thing. The first is BEC, which is rather easy to look at and then the consuming public, that is gas stations and this kind of stuff.
“This exercise is not to hurt anybody. It’s only to help the Bahamian people and if everyone works together, I think it can be accomplished.
It remains unclear when – and even if – the Government of The Bahamas would sign onto the Petrocaribe deal.
Source: The Bahama Journal
