A final draft report has been published for comment on the Anguilla Government’s website relating to the way forward for the financially-strapped Air and Seaports Authority.
It is understood that the report, prepared under the European Union Programme for Anguilla, resulted from a request made by Chief Minister Hubert Hughes for a study to be undertaken to determine the future of the Port Authority. The matter was reportedly raised by Mr. Hughes at the Overseas Territories and Countries meeting in Greenland late last year.
Mr. Hughes has been of the view that the British Government, or the European Union, should have responsibility for the funding of the Port Authority until it could generate its own financing. His comments came as he indicated that, as Minister of Finance, he was appropriating 2.5 million dollars of the Government’s 2013 budget to the Authority whose Acting CEO is Remington Lake (whose substantive post is Airport Manager).
The final draft report on the study, undertaken by the European Union, has set out a series of findings and recommendations which include the following:
A new, competent, CEO should be appointed as soon as possible. The Board membership should be limited to six plus a Chairman. The Board should confine itself to ensuring that the Port Authority operates in accordance with Government transport policy; should provide fiscal plight oversight and should not be involved in day-on-day micro-management issues. There should be an Airport Users Liaison Committee, and a Seaports Users Liaison Committee both chaired by the new CEO, which would manage the interface between the Port Authority and important stakeholder groups.
Other findings and recommendations are that the Blowing Point ferryboat operators should be organised into an Association; wages paid should be similar to those paid by Government and/or as required by the market to attract suitably qualified persons; and managerial staff have, in the most part, the skills required to run the organisation.
In terms of legislation, it has been recommended that the Air and Seaports Authority Act should require one Board member with qualifications/experience in each of the air transport, shipping and tourism sectors – and one with a legal background.
In order to reduce the scope for conflicts of interest among Board members, there should be clauses to effect the following: before appointing a person to be a Board member, the Governor in Council shall require the proposed appointee to provide a declaration of interest. If the proposed appointee declares an interest, the Governor in Council shall not appoint him/her as a Board member unless he/she is satisfied that the declared interest is not likely to prejudicially affect his/her performance.
The report also sets out recommendations for the Port Authority to submit a business plan to Government before the beginning of each new financial year; the right to collect user charges including those relating to passenger and freight, terminal and security charges; revenue collection at the Road and Blowing Point ports and taking over from Customs the job of tallying cargo entering the transit shed at Road Bay.
The findings and recommendations continue as follows: That the Port Authority, using its own Authority under the Act should introduce a Passenger Service Charge. It should, in parallel, decline to accept Embarkation Tax revenues from Government. Government might then reduce the Embarkation Tax to the level it requires for generating revenue for its own purposes.
That the Port Authority should investigate an immediate increase of 35% in all its user charges. This would imply, in the case of the new Passenger Service Charge, a charge of US$35 for tourist departures and for Anguillians using Blowing Point. This would however be a temporary measure until the Port Authority’s accounts are in a state to reveal more precise costs of providing services to different customers and separately at the Airport, Blowing Point ferry terminal and Road Bay freight terminal.
It was suggested that the above all-round increase could be reduced to 25% if the Port Authority implemented the new security charges and levies on ferryboats departing Blowing Point that were agreed by ExCo in October 2012; and that in the long term the Port Authority should investigate a detailed study with the intention of more closely aligning its charges with costs – with a view to determining tariffs that recover costs and reasonable profits only.
In the area of technical assistance: the report stated that there was a need for assistance to mentor any new CEO that the Port Authority may appoint – possibly for 12 months in total over a period of two years; to draft new non-air-side regulations for the airport; to draft regulations for important international maritime conventions and codes which, because of a lack of regulations, have not been implemented in Anguilla; and to assist the Port Authority with a detailed revision of its tariffs. This would involve examination of both the structure and rates.
A final recommendation is that opinions should be sought from the Attorney General in regard to whether, or not, the Port Authority has the right to unilaterally impose the security charges and ferry pier dues approved by ExCo in October 2011; and the implications on relationships between the Port Authority and the Government of Anguilla. This is a result of the 2012 amendment to the Air and Seaports Authority Act which imposed on the Port Authority the duty to ensure commercial viability.
The Port Authority Board is expected to meet in the near future to discuss the findings and recommendations of the final draft report and other related matters.
