Prime Minister Gaston Browne has renewed his push for the creation of a regional airline serving the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), urging fellow heads of government to back the initiative and move past what he described as resistance from lower-level officials.
Speaking Sunday during his inaugural address as chairman of the OECS Authority, Browne said improved air connectivity is essential if the region is to deepen economic integration, facilitate trade and strengthen ties among OECS member states and the wider Caribbean.
“On air connectivity, I have already advanced a proposal for OECS Air, a dedicated sub-regional carrier leveraging the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank’s unclaimed deposits and possibly the EU Interreg funding,” Browne told regional leaders gathered in Antigua.
The Prime Minister said approximately US$50 million in unclaimed deposits held within the Eastern Caribbean banking system could help finance the venture.
“In fact, I’m told that we have about US$50 million in unclaimed deposits,” he said. “These are deposits that people have not requested for over 20, 30 years. They’re sitting there, they’re not being employed. These should be invested for the joint benefit of the OECS people.”
Browne argued that inadequate transportation links remain one of the biggest barriers to regional integration and economic development.
“A region that cannot move its people efficiently and effectively cannot integrate commercially,” he said. “I want my colleague heads to understand the importance of having a reliable airline so that we can move people and even move goods within the sub-region and beyond.”
The Antigua and Barbuda leader used the occasion to appeal directly to fellow OECS leaders to support the proposal, suggesting that opposition from within government bureaucracies should not prevent action.
“There should be no more hesitation in acting for what we know is right,” Browne said.
“I am aware that there are low-level individuals in their respective governments who are fighting this proposal. But you need to lead,” he told the heads of government. “This should be a decision of the heads.”
Browne said previous generations of Caribbean leaders created institutions that continue to serve the region decades later and challenged current leaders to demonstrate similar vision.
“Our forebears made decisions and created institutions that are sustaining,” he said. “Why can’t we, in the 21st century, with far more resources, establish a sustaining airline, OECS Air, for the benefit of OECS people and the Caribbean region in general?”
The Prime Minister insisted that the region possesses the financial and technical capacity to establish such an airline and said the main obstacle is a lack of political commitment.
“What it requires is political will,” Browne said. “And I have no doubt that the will is there.”
He urged leaders to ignore criticism and focus on what he described as the broader benefits of regional transportation links.
“Notwithstanding all of the chatter that will come from low-level officials, let us avoid the noise and make the best decision in the best interest of the people of the OECS,” Browne said.
According to Browne, a successful OECS airline could also serve as a model for wider Caribbean integration.
“On the basis that we are able to connect our people, we will be able to show the broader CARICOM how it’s done,” he said. “And I think we can achieve it.”
The proposal formed part of a wider vision outlined by Browne as he assumed the OECS chairmanship from St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Godwin Friday. During the address, Browne called for deeper regional integration, stronger economic cooperation and the creation of new institutions capable of addressing modern challenges facing small island states.