Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, has issued a clarion call for Caribbean Community (Caricom) heads to consider regional sea travel as a more affordable option for passenger movement.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 49th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of Caricom at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James on Sunday, Mottley, the outgoing chairman, urged leaders to prioritise the matter.
“I anticipate that at this meeting at Montego Bay, we will have the presentation of the entire regional ferry from the private sector. And at this point, it is up to us to determine whether we have the political will to finally ensure that we can democratise travel through ships yet again in this region,” she said.
“Knowing full well that with the Federal Maple and Federal Palm, there were examples of it many decades ago, and that we have allowed ourselves to become purely at the mercy of air travel without recognising that as islands in the Caribbean Sea, we have the ability to reach each other in good time and cheaper fares than if we only use air to connect our region,” she added.
Mottley noted that at least two Caricom countries are now seeking to secure cargo planes to address the region’s pressing logistics challenges.
“On the major issue of logistics, I’m happy to report that there are at least two Caricom member states that are now in the process of looking to acquire cargo planes to help us overcome this very critical issue of logistics within this region,” she announced.
Jamaica’s Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness is the newly minted Caricom chair.
The theme of the conference is “People, Partnerships, Prosperity — Promoting a Secure, and Sustainable Future”.
