The recent discussion of so-called throughput fees in Parliament (see Monday newspaper) was interesting. These are applied on goods moving through coastal facilities, including fuel.
The latter not only raises prices at the gas pump, but drives up tariffs of utilities provider GEBE. In general, it significantly increases the cost of living, although the country’s reported 6.8% inflation is still relatively low compared to last year’s average of 14% for Latin America and the Caribbean.
The lack of import duties on most products is probably helpful in that sense, while having expanded the list of basic goods for which government sets maximum rates six-fold in 2022 probably helped create a balance. Nevertheless, the request from caretaker Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Grisha Heyliger-Marten for Port St. Maarten, GEBE and fuel distributor SOL Petroleum to assess the throughput fees’ impact on consumer prices is not without merit.
A lot has been said about the charges, including that these serve to fund the construction of Simpson Bay Causeway. They last went up by 4% in 2014 but were first implemented long before 10-10-10 by the then-Island Council and, according to the minister, enabled the harbour to pay up to 5 million Netherlands Antillean guilders annually in concessions.
Still, since the volume subject to this levy has undoubtedly grown, it might be possible to reduce such without affecting the bottom line too much. If so, that certainly seems worth exploring.
