Suggestive of a split in domestic air policy and a clash of portfolios, Transport Minister Michael Henry scolded Airports Authority of Jamaica (AAJ) boss, Earl Richards, saying comments he made to this newspaper were counter to the direction his ministry had chosen and a trespass on his role and that of Cabinet.

On Thursday, Henry said through ministry spokesman Reginald Allen that he requested a report on the assertions, not from Richards, but the Airports Authority board to explain the stance taken by the AAJ in the March 20 story.

Henry has not asked for Richards' resignation, but will be studying the report first before deciding how to proceed.

Said Allen: "The board has since responded to the minister. The minister is now examining the board's response to determine what, if any, measures may be necessary thereafter."

Targeted missive

The minister not did not name Richards in a letter sent earlier to The Gleaner, but targeted his missive at a March 20 exclusive in the Financial Gleaner based on an interview with the AAJ boss that referenced the Ken Jones and Duckenfield aerodromes as unlikely to make it off the drawing board.

Richards said then that Ken Jones was not technically feasible because of "mountainside obstacles" and was being replaced by Boscobel, and that it was too early to make a call on the Duckenfield project because assessment of its environmental and financial feasibility were still at preliminary stages.

But the minister railed that those calls were his and Cabinet's alone to make, further countering that the two aerodrome projects were scheduled for roll-out within five years and entrenched in a long-term plan his ministry was finalising.

"It should be clear that the assertions in the article that the Duckenfield aerodrome has been shelved, and the Ken Jones facility has been bypassed, which formed the critical planks of the Financial Gleaner article, were incorrect," Henry said.

Minister closed ranks

The minister, who took office in late 2007 with a change of political administration, not only closed ranks around policy as his purview, but also insisted the responsibility for aerodrome development was his, though the function has long been carried out by the AAJ.

"It is the Ministry of Transport and Works, under whose purview the Airports Authority of Jamaica falls, that has overall responsibility to implement airport policy nationally, and it is the Cabinet of Jamaica that sets the policies and changes these when deemed necessary," Henry wrote (see text of letter on Page 9).

Richards, who has run the AAJ for a decade, since 1998, did not respond to invitations for comment on this story.

"I am, as transport minister, responsible for aerodrome development," Henry declared to the Financial Gleaner.

"In that regard, I am fully cognisant of the fact that after 18 years of one administration, there are a number of persons and organisations who/that will need to be reminded of where the ultimate decision-making lies … as we seek to correct the errors of the past 18 years and recover from the missed opportunities … ".

'Multi-modal' policy

Henry is developing a new 'multi-modal' transport policy that is segmented into five-year blocks up to year 2030.

The first five-year plan, covering 2009-2014, though incomplete and must have the imprimatur of Cabinet before execution, includes four aerodromes: Duckenfield to serve eastern parishes; Ken Jones is to be redeveloped to accommodate jets; Boscobel will accommodate mid-size jets; and Vernamfield will host a flight school and double as a cargo facility.

The plan lists as its immediate task "reassessing the inherited missed opportunities and seeking expansion to recover ground with mid- and long-term planning for road, rail, sea and air", to be done over the period 2009/10.

"Although still a work in progress in terms of refinement, the plan has been keeping to the timetable, with constant reviews of the impact of factors like globalisation, which is something that is not understood by all, including how it has produced today's financial crisis," Henry said.

business@gleanerjm.com