See CAL New Board: Flying Low on Finances

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By Sue-Ann Wayow

CARIBBEAN Airlines is in deep financial difficulty.

This was revealed by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on Thursday during her post-Cabinet media conference.

She said Cabinet has approved a new board for the state-owned airline.

“There are a lot of problems at Caribbean Airlines, money wise. Caribbean Airlines sent us many pages of things they say ‘you must pay this now or Caribbean Airlines will go into blacklist, the airline will collapse, it will fall,'”Persad-Bissessar said.

Remembering one of the items, she said was uniforms.

Persad-Bissessar said the airline was basically “jumbieing the government” to make the large payments.

However, she said government was going through each item carefully to determine which ones were absolutely essential.

She also disclosed that Caribbean Airlines took a loan approximately $260 million that was being rolled over annually.

“Not a cent has been paid back on that loan. Caribbean Airlines is in the red,” Persad-Bissessar said.

This was in contrary to public statements made by the airline which usually focuses on the achievements and so called profits of the company, she added.

At the last post-Cabinet media briefing, Persad-Bissessar disclosed that Caribbean Airlines was one amongst several companies who are yet to file their audited financial statements having not done so in almost ten years.

She said that was one of the main reasons the existing board appointed under the People’s National Movement (PNM) needed to resign.

The new persons for the Caribbean Airline board approved by her Cabinet are:

· Reyna Kowlessar (Chairman)

· Videsh Prium (Vice Chairman)

· Darren Ali – Director

· Lauren Perth – Director

· Selwyn Cudjoe – Director

Kowlessar is an attorney at law and qualified company secretary. She is versed in the laws of Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, England and Belgium and has also managed a wide range of corporate commercial transactions which spans due diligence to closing in mergers and acquisitions according to the National Insurance Property Development Company Limited (NIPDEC).