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February 23, 2021
Government has “largely sidelined” small businesses and entrepreneurs struggling to survive during the current lockdown, the Democratic Labour Party shadow spokesman on business Ryan Walters has charged.
In a statement on Monday, Walters, who insisted the small business community deserve “some level of respect”, pointed to the administration’s handling of the concerns of public service vehicle owners and operators as well as the treatment of small shops.
He said: “It is not at all surprising that the plea for assistance from the Alliance of Owners of Public Transport (AOPT) has fallen on deaf ears. The AOPT has been recently calling on Government to give assistance to its members during the pause similar to what has been provided to other small businesses.”
February 17, 2021
Public transport owners have declared they want a seat at the Social Partnership table, alongside the troika of Government, labour unions and the private sector.
And Mark Haynes, the spokesman for the Alliance of Owners of Public Transport (AOPT) has also called for an urgent meeting with Prime Minister Mia Mottley on the industry’s future, amid complaints from public service vehicle operators that were not included among the small businesses to be compensated by Government for losses during the lockdown, which was extended Monday by another two weeks to month-end.
Haynes told
Barbados TODAY the lockdown had seriously affected the finances of PSV operators who are limited to carrying 60 per cent of their capacity, causing many to withdraw their vehicles from several routes.