Walker lambastes authorities for high energy costs

Mark Titus, Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

COMMISSIONER OF Customs Danville Walker has chided the country's policymakers for failing to implement a solution to the high energy cost now facing the country.

"If you leave our leaders alone without the right pressure, we will talk about LNG (liquefied natural gas) till when our children are running this country. We had made a decision a couple years ago for LNG, by now we should have had some LNG building or something going up," he said.

"We seem to focus so much on minor issues when it comes to implementation, that even if we would have saved money, by the time we get it in we would have lost so much money that the savings won't count anymore."

Walker was addressing the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry's quarterly luncheon at The Palmyra Resort in Montego Bay, St James, on Wednesday.

Government decided on LNG as the replacement for imported oil, on which Jamaica spent US$1.3 billion last year, and even selected a consortium led by Belgian firm Exmar to build the Floating Storage and Regasification Unit needed for the project.

The project was said to be in limbo after the Office of the Contractor General swooped down on the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica and seized documents, after the Greg Christie-led entity launched an investigation into the process used to select the winning bidder.

Meanwhile, the Jamaica Customs Department has collected $147 million more in revenues than it did for the corresponding period last year, despite the reduction in motor-vehicle duties that took effect in May.

"We are not losing revenue," said Walker, and also disclosed that his agency is $1.4 billion ahead of its projected collections. "It was a courageous move and I want to commend those that took it, because we need to know that we can take these decisions and be successful."

Government announced a reduction in motor-vehicle duties during the Budget presentation in April, which saw the common external tariff on motor cars (including sport utility vehicles) from 40 per cent to 20 per cent; while motorcycles with engine sizes below 300cc and 600cc fell to 10 and 20 per cent, respectively.

mark.titus@gleanerjm.com