by KARIN DEAR

PRIME MINISTER DAVID THOMPSON has received strong and unsolicited support for his recent announcement of steep hikes in oil and gas prices from a Barbados Labour Party (BLP) stalwart.

"I really think there was very little, if anything, he could do," said his former political arch-rival at the polls in St John in 1994 and 1999, then Pat Thorington, now Dr Pat Alleyne.

"Don't forget that these are international prices and there is absolutely nothing that Barbados can do about the prices unless they remove some of the taxation – which they can't do," said Alleyne, whose contract as managing director of the Barbados National Terminal for the past decade ended on April 30 and was not renewed.

"This Government really can't do that because the oil price hits everything else and Government is going to need the taxation to keep this country going," said the executive who twice challenged incumbent Thompson in his St John constituency and was defeated the first time round by 2 548 votes.

Undaunted, she narrowed the gap considerably in 1999, tasting defeat by 1 369 votes.

Her comments came in a recent interview but prior to Opposition Leader Mia Mottley's suggestion on Saturday that Thompson should restore the subsidies on diesel and remove the taxes on gasoline and diesel to give an ease to consumers.

'The best way'

"There is always more than one way to do something," Alleyne said, adding "but the choice of this Government was to pass on the subsidies, and really I believe that it might have been the better thing to pass on the subsidies."

Subsidies owing to the Barbados National Oil Company top $80 million "while the subsidy at Barbados National Terminal was about $30 million", said the former managing director.

"What Mr Thompson has done is moved the artificial price because when you subsidise, that is an artificial price. He has moved that and he has put the true price of the product, as far as you can call it true, on the consumer. He has brought us up to date, basically," explained Alleyne.

"The only thing that is driving oil prices is the money market, the speculation in money markets," she said. "Absolutely nothing has changed to take oil out of the ground and to send it to people."