Published On:Thursday, September 02, 2010

EDITOR, The Tribune.

MEDITERRANEAN Shipping Company, better known as MSC, has now taken the ill-advised decision, effective 20th September 2010, to commence delivering, within Bahamian territory, all those containers arriving by their shipping line for and on behalf of clients within the Commonwealth.

This back-firing, ill-advised and not so smart, corporate, decision will mean the demise of most, if not all, of the independent truckers' (certainly in Freeport) business.

The government should now step in to save the Truckers' business and not allow this corporate giant to come here to this country and do as they please. These independent truckers have been performing this "docks to client's premises" service, very efficiently I might add, for years; besides all the domestic services industry, including all local domestic trucking, should be exclusively, by policy if not by law, reserved for Bahamians; even under this Bahamian-unfriendly FNM government. What pray tell me will be next? In making this decision, it should be noted that, they are proposing, in addition, to increase the delivery fees, certainly within the environs of the city of Freeport, by $45 per unit from $150 to a whopping $195. Outside of the city limits of Freeport, it is my understanding that the fees to East End is being proposed to be increased to at around $500 from the now $300-$400 and to West Grand Bahama at around the same.

I would venture to suggest that MSC, in following the FNM government's lead, has concluded that since the government can increase all their fees on the littlest Bahamians, so can they; and throw us under the proverbial bus besides.

2010 is turning out to be a real dozy of a year and a nightmare for the small man trying to make ends meet here in Grand Bahama. It's a hell of a nightmare, as well, for Grand Bahama's business community which has been hard pressed, since experiencing all the increases in government taxes, to keep track of all the price adjustments which had to be made, in an effort to ensure their businesses suffer no unnecessary losses.

When I received the e-mail on this matter I had to come to the defence of my friends in the trucking business; many of whom I've done business with over the years.

This is simply not right what is happening to them, but will this FNM government intervene and respond to their plight? I doubt it.

FORRESTER

J CARROLL

Ft Lauderdale, Fla.

August 2010.