Transport Co-Ops Merger Proposed

Contact: John Emmanuel

Tuesday, July 31, 2001 – A merger of St. Lucia’s three transport co-operatives seems to be in the making. The Co-operatives Department of the Ministry of Community Development, Local Government and Culture is pushing the idea.

According to Registrar of Co-operatives, Lucius Ellivique, such a move would greatly enhance the ability of the three co-operatives to deliver quicker, more efficient service to members.  “We think that would make good business sense, it would make better use of whatever human and financial resources that are available, and so we are proposing to the three societies that they merge and form one co-operative,” Ellivique told reporters.

Ellivique said the Department of Co-operatives was willing to facilitate and finance the initiative through the services of a consultant who would develop a strategic business plan for the possible merger.

Plans for further consolidation within the cooperative sector are still very much on the table, he added.

“The much-talked-about south-western societies merger was being looked at in order to set the precedence,” he pointed out. “However, we seem to be so insular and territorial that unfortunately it did not bear fruit as we would have liked.”

He went on:  “Still,  the rationale exists and presently the department is looking at continuing with a project called ‘The Rationalization of the Cooperative Movement In St. Lucia.’ We are of the view that in order to gain competitiveness in the market, the co-operatives have to align themselves and respond appropriately to the change pressures and the environment in which they operate. If one  was to look at SLDB (St. Lucia Development Bank) and NCB (National Commercial Bank), we’re saying that they understood the pressures that are being exerted by the market and so they chose that form of response.”

The Department of Co-operatives is discussing consolidation within the sector with the directors of various co-operatives around the island.

[ Home ] [ Up ] [ Search for 2001 Press Releases ] [Site Help]

© 2001 Government Information Service. All rights reserved.

Read our privacy guidelines.