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Merge Air Jamaica, Caribbean Airlines, LIAT
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Dear Editor, I refer to a letter by Jason Gardner which appeared in the Gleaner on June 7 and the Observer on June 8 re the sale of Air Jamaica. The writer said he was"very angry at what is going on at the cement factory".
I am the CEO of the TCL Group, which is the majority shareholder of Carib Cement in Jamaica. TCL bought controlling shareholding of Carib Cement at three times the price that was quoted on the stock exchange in 1999 after narrowly beating two other foreign bidders for the company. No Jamaican entity bid for the plant! We did not steal the plant; nor were we given the plant. We bought it after invitation from the government of Jamaica. TCL owns 75 per cent of Carib Cement and the other 25 per cent is owned by 23,000 Jamaican shareholders. TCL is also listed on the Jamaican stock exchange. It is a true Caribbean company. Any interested person could be a shareholder of both companies.
In 1999 Carib Cement was on the brink of bankruptcy, which is why no Jamaican business concerns wanted to buy it. The TCL Group reorganised the company and managed to motivate the highly talented group of Jamaican employees to turn the company around. Today there are only four Trinidadians in a staff complement of over 300 employees.
It would be foolish for Trinidadians to boast that they own Jamaica. I don't know where Mr Gardner heard that.Trinidadian companies have equity interests in the financial services sector, manufacturing and a few hotels. The Jamaican economy is dominated by the bauxite and hospitality sector which is either owned by the state or other foreign interests.
The Jamaican government wants to sell Air Jamaica. Like Carib Cement, no one is forcing them to sell or is stealing the company. Air Jamaica has been losing millions of taxpayers' dollars because, like Caribbean Airlines, it is a national airline. National airlines cannot survive in the current environment, but regional governments are stubborn and do not realise that the only solution is for Air Jamaica, Caribbean Airlines and LIAT to merge, just like the three cement companies: TCL, Arawak in Barbados and Carib Cement in Jamaica.
Trinidad is not blocking any products from Jamaica. Trinidad and Barbados have what are called "phytosanitary" standards for food imports. The strictest phytosanitary rules exist in North America.
Jamaican ackees were banned for years by the US government because of these standards. In a Sunday Observer article on June 7, "Watch that meat" the minister of agriculture is reported to have focused attention on the majority of the 1100 abattoirs across Jamaica which were operating illegally. The article further reported that the minister's vision for centralised slaughter facilities included having veterinary services to check on the health of animals and to allow for traceability of the livestock. This was considered critical to ensure health and safety for consumers.
This is at the root of Trinidad and Tobago's and Barbados's concerns about Jamaican patties -- the potential for public health issues arising from insanitary conditions of meat preparation. The trade dispute has been put into the media as some sort of anti-Jamaican issue, but it really is not.
I hope that I have addressed the concerns expressed by
Mr Gardner. As CEO of the TCL Group representing 75 per cent of shareholding of Carib Cement, we have recently invested more than US$177 million in new plant and equipment. If that is what makes him "very angry at what is going on at the cement factory", then I think he has his priorities wrong. We (the TCL Group) are investing in the development of Jamaica, more so than many Jamaicans who live outside the country. This is the only way that the country can start to show sustained development.
Dr Rollin Bertrand
Group CEO
c/o Caribbean Cement Company Limited
PO Box 448, Kingston
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Dear Editor, I refer to a letter by Jason Gardner which appeared in the Gleaner on June 7 and the Observer on June 8 re the sale of Air Jamaica. The writer said he was"very angry at what is going on at the cement factory".
I am the CEO of the TCL Group, which is the majority shareholder of Carib Cement in Jamaica. TCL bought controlling shareholding of Carib Cement at three times the price that was quoted on the stock exchange in 1999 after narrowly beating two other foreign bidders for the company. No Jamaican entity bid for the plant! We did not steal the plant; nor were we given the plant. We bought it after invitation from the government of Jamaica. TCL owns 75 per cent of Carib Cement and the other 25 per cent is owned by 23,000 Jamaican shareholders. TCL is also listed on the Jamaican stock exchange. It is a true Caribbean company. Any interested person could be a shareholder of both companies.
In 1999 Carib Cement was on the brink of bankruptcy, which is why no Jamaican business concerns wanted to buy it. The TCL Group reorganised the company and managed to motivate the highly talented group of Jamaican employees to turn the company around. Today there are only four Trinidadians in a staff complement of over 300 employees.
It would be foolish for Trinidadians to boast that they own Jamaica. I don't know where Mr Gardner heard that.Trinidadian companies have equity interests in the financial services sector, manufacturing and a few hotels. The Jamaican economy is dominated by the bauxite and hospitality sector which is either owned by the state or other foreign interests.
The Jamaican government wants to sell Air Jamaica. Like Carib Cement, no one is forcing them to sell or is stealing the company. Air Jamaica has been losing millions of taxpayers' dollars because, like Caribbean Airlines, it is a national airline. National airlines cannot survive in the current environment, but regional governments are stubborn and do not realise that the only solution is for Air Jamaica, Caribbean Airlines and LIAT to merge, just like the three cement companies: TCL, Arawak in Barbados and Carib Cement in Jamaica.
Trinidad is not blocking any products from Jamaica. Trinidad and Barbados have what are called "phytosanitary" standards for food imports. The strictest phytosanitary rules exist in North America.
Jamaican ackees were banned for years by the US government because of these standards. In a Sunday Observer article on June 7, "Watch that meat" the minister of agriculture is reported to have focused attention on the majority of the 1100 abattoirs across Jamaica which were operating illegally. The article further reported that the minister's vision for centralised slaughter facilities included having veterinary services to check on the health of animals and to allow for traceability of the livestock. This was considered critical to ensure health and safety for consumers.
This is at the root of Trinidad and Tobago's and Barbados's concerns about Jamaican patties -- the potential for public health issues arising from insanitary conditions of meat preparation. The trade dispute has been put into the media as some sort of anti-Jamaican issue, but it really is not.
I hope that I have addressed the concerns expressed by
Mr Gardner. As CEO of the TCL Group representing 75 per cent of shareholding of Carib Cement, we have recently invested more than US$177 million in new plant and equipment. If that is what makes him "very angry at what is going on at the cement factory", then I think he has his priorities wrong. We (the TCL Group) are investing in the development of Jamaica, more so than many Jamaicans who live outside the country. This is the only way that the country can start to show sustained development.
Dr Rollin Bertrand
Group CEO
c/o Caribbean Cement Company Limited
PO Box 448, Kingston
Im cuss 'wi' aff tuh!
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