PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – The time has come for the Corporation Sole as represented by Finance Minister Larry Howai to step in and rescue the public interest from the politics and mismanagement at Caribbean Airlines (CAL). With red ink running across the airline’s balance sheets, Minister Howai needs to invoke his authority as the representative of shareholding taxpayers and assume his responsibility for taking the airline in hand. That he has already allowed so much wrong to continue without acting is unacceptable. Given his vast experience in banking, Mr Howai of all people should understand the importance of financial prudence and strict accounting controls, all of which are clearly lacking at CAL.
If ever there was a classic case of the damaging impact of politics on business, CAL is it.
With the abysmal state of affairs at CAL now going public, it seems everyone involved has someone else to blame. The appointment of UNC financier Mohan Jaikaran as deputy chairman of the board is just another state board mistake to be laid squarely at the Prime Minister’s desk. The fact that Mr Jaikaran is still on the board despite the question over his fitness after he was successfully sued over dealings involving his television station is unfathomable. Mr Jaikaran, however, is not the only misfit on the CAL board. To address CAL seriously, the Government must abandon its penchant for rewarding party supporters and immediately assemble the best expertise available to guide the airline out of the storms into which it has been flown.
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