Used Cars, New Telephone Rates and a Culture of Irrationality

by Earl Bousquet

May 28, 2002 - It is well said that there’s never a dull moment in St. Lucia. Over the years, we have developed a kind of political culture that at times allows for irrationality to prevail over sobriety, for opinions to override fact.

Back in the late 70s, there were those who said that no crisis would last long enough in St. Lucia to become a crisis, because the politicians and the press could be counted on to invents a new crisis every day, every weekend.

In a way, that was very true. And in a way, we’re also back to those times when when a crisis a day, a rumour per night and certainly more claims, accusations and denials than we can handle in a week have become the order of each day.

I left the island early last week for Spain and the used car issue was in the headlines. I returned five days later and the new issue was Cable & Wireless’ new rates.

The Prime Ministers of the OECS signed a new temporary agreement with cable & Wireless, but before the ink dried on the dotted line, our professional critics were tearing it up on the air. The Prime Minister gave an hour-long press conference and only five minutes was shown on TV, but by the next morning one talk show host was fuming mad. And by midday, other screaming critics who had no information on the agreement were proclaiming loudly that “Kenny Anthony sell us out.”

I couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about. Here we have a government that in five years has done more than any other government at any time in St. Lucia’s history, to get cheaper telephone services for St. Lucia. Cable & Wireless has been around for more than 120 years. But the critics are behaving as if they wanted the government to simply make Cable & Wireless do its bidding.

But then, can the critics ever be fully satisfied? When a trunk call was 75 cents, they cried for murder for having to pay so much for a ten-second call. Just a few years later trunk calls are eliminated -- and they are still quarrelling.

The critics complained – and rightfully so – that it was wrong to charge both caller and receiver for a cellular call. The government negotiated an agreement in which only the caller pays -- but the same critics are still saying it’s not good enough.

A flat rate has been instituted for calls throughout St Lucia and we will pay 8, 7 and 5 cents per minute, with savings of as much as 50, 60 and 70 cents on some calls -- but still the critics cry. Overseas calls have been made much cheaper; and you can now have as many phones as you want at you home without having to pay rent for lines and receiver, -- but still the critics cry.

So you see: you just can’t win ‘em all.

But the truth be told, the loud critics are conveniently sidestepping the fact that this is a trial period for nine months only, at the most, and subject to review.

The company has published figures saying it will be actually stand to lose in the process of applying the new rates. But once again, as was the case with the government’s disclosures, rather than study what the company said about the new price structure, some of the less capable talk show critics have rejected it outright and called it “a bluff.”

The simple reality is that St. Lucia has extracted the best agreement among the OECS territories that jointly negotiated with Cable & Wireless. And the company will still be forced to lower those rates when more competition comes from the new companies like AT&T and others offering similar services.

Never mind the fuss, we will all be charged less for telephone calls for both local and overseas calls as of the first of June. With the new system, we – each of us -- will be in a position to decide just how much we pay Cable & Wireless. The longer we talk, the more we’ll have to pay; it simply means that if we want to talk for hours, we have to be ready to pay, as nothing is free.

People seem to forget that neither the government of St. Lucia or any local company owns a telephone company. Besides, the contract with Cable & Wireless expired and had to be renegotiated.

Did the critics want the government to simply bully Cable & Wireless and kick them out of St. Lucia just like that?

Obviously, since it was a common agreement between the five member-states of ECTEL, there had to be some give and take. St. Lucia has ended up with the best possible options in the circumstances.

The government insists that the new price structure can result in some savings, if we simply see the telephone as a resource we have to pay for, and not as a luxury that should be free. Remember: it’s not ours.

This is a matter between the government and its critics. The agreement has been signed. The proof of the pudding will be in the eating -- when we get our first set of bills under the new system. How about if we just wait until then, to see how it all works out?

Same with the used car issue. While the new car dealers keep their lips sealed for fear of being accused by their private sector partners and the government’s opponents of being supporters of the ruling party, the insurance industry has summoned the courage to come out and welcome the government’s move, which increases the value of cars on the road.

As with the telephone issue, it depends on which side of the political fence you’re on. Used car dealers are hell bent on selling the argument that the government is out to prevent ordinary St. Lucians from owning a car cheaply, while the government is saying it’s saving the nation from dealing in another nation’s junk.

Similarly, those shouting the loudest are making it appear as if purchasing a second hand car in the traditional way – by approaching someone and making a deal – has suddenly been erased by the levy, which only applies to the purchase of an imported second-hand vehicle.

Besides, with over 10,000 second hand vehicles imported into the country by used car dealers in the past five years, and with almost as many having been imported in the previous five years, there can be no doubt that there are enough sendon hand vehicles on the roads already to be built and sold cheaply without having to pay the environmental tax.

In fact, when these thousands of used cars reach the end of their road life soon, it will be the responsibility of the government to safely dispose of them from the roadsides where they would have been abandoned by frustrated owners after having over-spent on trying to keep them road-worthy.

In all the discussion, however, it is emerging that people are beginning to understand the wisdom of the government’s move. Apart from the need for an environmental tax, the government’s need to plug the holes through which used car dealers have been engaging in under-invoicing is well understood. This has become such a plague that it’s almost treated as legal. One of the island’s best known used car dealers actually went on TV to not only admit its existence, but also sought to justify defrauding of the Treasury as a legitimate way of getting away from payment of taxes.

One of the most telling revelations in this debate is the existence of a sort of deal between the Customs & Excise Department and importers caught and found guilty of under-invoicing by the department’s enforcement division. Despite the fact that these investigations are time consuming and cost much to the Customs Department, the culprit businessmen, when caught, are offered the luxury of simply paying up without the matter going to court.

Honestly, I think this arrangement needs to be revisited with a view to applying the principle of “name and shame” whereby importers who don’t come forward and have to be investigated will be taken straight to the courts, where they will be prosecuted by prosecutors specially trained to handle such crimes of fraud.

Apart from the need for the government to take more similarly strong measures if it is to lick the under-invoicing disease, there are also some other actions that are being suggested by callers to the talk shows who understand what the issue is.

One such issue is the need to ensure that vehicle importers – especially used car dealers – have an adequate and steadily replenished stock of parts for the types of vehicles being imported.

As far as the Japanese second-hand vehicle imports are concerned, it is also being advocated that there be a requirement that such vehicles be fitted with radios programmed and tuned specifically for these parts.

Both these suggestions would address the concerns people have about having to source radios and parts from various parts of the world, as they are not available from the local suppliers of the vehicles.

I still think that despite all the negatives, the debate is healthy. But I can’t help but feeling sometimes that we are becoming too polarized a society for any government to meet everyone’s expectations.

The behaviour of our most well known used car dealer was not altogether unexpected. After all, he’s trying to carry on with business as sweet as it used to be. Only that, like any used car salesman, he was offering a pig on a poke.

Someone said somewhere last week that purchasing a second hand car from our used car dealers in these parts is simply taking a chance, like having unprotected sex with a complete stranger.

I tend to agree.

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