Kingston, Jamaica -- Feb. 4, 2008 -- Prime Minister, Bruce Golding,
while noting the value of Air Jamaica to the national economy, said it
is costing the country too much to maintain the airline and the
Government is looking to remove it from the national budget.
Mr. Golding, who was responding to
a question during his first one-hour radio call-in programme on
Wednesday (Jan. 30) from Jamaica House, said it is costing the country
more than US$100 million to maintain Air Jamaica. "It is poor people's
taxes we have to be using to maintain it and that cannot continue," he
stated.
"We have given instructions to the Ministry of Finance
and Public Service to have discussions with private interests that will
be prepared to come in and still run it, as Air Jamaica still employs
our pilots and flight attendants.
"But take it off our books so
that the money we are spending to keep Air Jamaica going, we can spend
that to improve our education and try and improve our hospitals and try
and fix some roads," the Prime Minister said.
According to Mr.
Golding, Air Jamaica is of utmost importance to the country as it
provides a significant number of airlifts, which is important to the
tourism industry.
He pointed out that if tourists are having
problems coming to Jamaica "they will get flights somewhere else and we
will lose the business."
"It is also important because Air
Jamaica is like a piece of Jamaica that has wings. Jamaicans abroad
have an affinity, a passion about Air Jamaica, because we regard it as
part of our heritage so to speak," he stated.
He noted further that "Air Jamaica
has value and has routes that are valuable routes and in addition to
that, as our national carrier, it has a certain brand value."
The new one-hour radio call-in
programme 'Jamaica House Live' is part of the Government's thrust to
open the lines of communication and to hear suggestions, comments and
general feedback from Jamaicans at home and abroad.
Additionally, it will provide a
forum for Government to report on its stewardship in implementing
policies and programmes to improve the lives of citizens.
'Jamaica House Live' with Prime
Minister, Bruce Golding, will be aired on the last Wednesday of each
month, and will be carried live between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on RJR
94 FM, Nationwide Radio Digital AM; Love 101 FM; Hot 102; KLAS FM and
Roots FM.
Source: jis.gov.jm
