CHARLESTOWN, Nevis -- The Nevis Island Assembly passed The Nevis Cable Communications Corporation Repeal Ordinance 2011 on Monday. The Repeal Ordinance was brought to the legislature by Minister of Communications, Robelto Hector.
The Ordinance repealed the law that had previously acquired the Caribbean Cable Communications (CCC) in 2009, in an attempt to pave the way for the historic geothermal project.
In giving a brief history of the acquisition of Nevis Cable Communications, Premier Joseph Parry said that in 2007, the Nevis Island Administration objected to an increase in cable rates while the island was faced with a global recession and the closure of the Four Seasons Resort.
The premier maintained that the actions by the NIA were provoked after CCC unilaterally increased rates without the necessary consultation and approval with and by the appropriate regulatory bodies.
?The island of Nevis has had its own government since 1983 and yet there was never a Public Utility Commission until the Nevis Reformation Party led Administration set up one in 2007,? he said.
According to the premier, the Public Utility Commission did have discussions with CCC but they broke down.
When the Nevis Island Administration realized that the matter was getting out of control and that the CCC were determined to increase the rates, the NRP-led Nevis Island Administration took what it felt was the right decision and sought to acquire the Cable Company by going to the Assembly in 2009.
The premier noted that the government never sought to confiscate, seize or steal CCC. It was the plan of the NIA to pay the cable company for their business once a mutual agreement could be met.
Meanwhile, the NIA, which was developing geothermal energy on Nevis at the time and seeking funds from the US Treasury, came up against a wall when the CCM and the Caribbean Cable Communications joined together to bring the development of geothermal on Nevis to a halt.
The premier added that representation was made by the opposition and the cable company to Congress in the United States, the US Embassy in Bridgetown, Barbados and EX-IM Bank, in an attempt to block foreign direct investment into Nevis.
He noted that the US Embassy in Bridgetown and other US entities told him to settle the matter; otherwise Nevis will not get financial backing needed for development of the natural energy source, which would reduce electricity bills by 40 percent.
In light of the matter and ensuring that the Nevis geothermal project gets the financial backing needed, the administration decided to renegotiate the cable matter in an attempt to resolve any dispute that acquisition may have caused.
?The government has made a mature decision,? the premier said.
He went on to say that the Ordinance is being repealed not because it is bad or wrong, but because according to the premier, ?In the long run, Nevis will have geothermal energy in this country and it must be done sooner, rather than later.?
Source: http://www.caribbeannewsnow.com/headline-Nevis-repeals-cable-communications-ordinance-8310.html
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