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The Jamaica Airline Pilots Association (JALPA) has encountered a major hurdle in its quest to acquire the cash strapped national airline Air Jamaica.
The Office of the Contractor General (OCG) on Tuesday sent a letter to the Office of the Prime Minister outlining it concerns.
And Prime Minister Bruce Golding announced on his monthly radio call in programme Jamaica House Live Wednesday night that Contractor General Greg Christie is seeking clarification on JALPA's proposal to take over Air Jamaica.
According to Mr. Golding, questions have been raised whether the pilot's proposal can be considered as legitimate and in keeping with rules governing the sale of state assets.
"The OCG's letter referred to the proposal put forward by the Jamaica Airline Pilots Association and sought to get from the Cabinet Secretary, information about the process that they are pursuing in the divestment of Air Jamaica and I imagine that part of his interest is to see whether we're following the rules of procurement and divestment," Mr. Golding said.
Consideration for JALPA's proposal if Caribbean Airlines' deal falls through
The Prime Minister added that his administration is more inclined to continue negotiations with Caribbean Airlines since it was the initial bidder for Air Jamaica.
However, he noted that if negotiations with the regional air carrier fall through, the government will consider JALPA's proposal.
"Under the government procurement arrangement, once we advertise and people apply and people are short listed, we have to negotiate with those who have applied and it's only if those negotiations fail to reach a satisfactory agreement that we can look elsewhere," said Mr. Golding.
JALPA, which represents Air Jamaica pilots, submitted a late proposal to purchase the airline in a bid to keep the entity in local hands.
orkers at the airline have also been appealing to the government to make sure that Air Jamaica remains under Jamaican ownership.
A spokesman for JALPA told RJR News Wednesday night that the Association presented a copy of its business plan to the Prime Minister earlier this week and is awaiting word on whether it will be accepted.
Air J sale final, Gov't no longer responsible for the airline
And the Prime Minister has made it clear that there will be no turning back once Air Jamaica is placed in private hands.
Mr. Golding has stated that if the airline's new owners encounter difficulties running the entity they will not be able to return to the Jamaican government for support.
"Let it be clear that once we dispose of Air Jamaica, there is no possibility of anybody, whether it be Caribbean Airlines or any other entity that acquire Air Jamaica, to come back to the government and say look we're running into a hard time and we need government support. It's not possible ... the budget cannot take it," the Prime Minister declared.
IndiGo's proposal wasn't best for JA - PM
In the meantime, the Prime Minister also sought to shed light on the circumstances which led the government to scrap negotiations with IndiGo Airlines to purchase Air Jamaica.
Last year, the government started talks with IndiGo which is associated with the low cost United States carrier Spirit Airlines.
However, negotiations broke down and another buyer sought.
Mr. Golding said on Jamaica House Live Wednesday night that a deal with IndiGo would not have been in Jamaica's best interest.
"We couldn't reach an agreement because what they eventually proposed was not what we considered to be in the best interest of Jamaica. It wouldn't have given us the airlift ... those critical routes that are important to Jamaicans who want to travel and to our tourist visitors who we need to come here," he said.
Mr. Golding added that another difficulty with IndiGo's proposal was that the government would have had to continue paying some of the Air Jamaica's bills even after the national airline was sold to US company.
"We weren't into that," he said.
The Office of the Contractor General (OCG) on Tuesday sent a letter to the Office of the Prime Minister outlining it concerns.
And Prime Minister Bruce Golding announced on his monthly radio call in programme Jamaica House Live Wednesday night that Contractor General Greg Christie is seeking clarification on JALPA's proposal to take over Air Jamaica.
According to Mr. Golding, questions have been raised whether the pilot's proposal can be considered as legitimate and in keeping with rules governing the sale of state assets.
"The OCG's letter referred to the proposal put forward by the Jamaica Airline Pilots Association and sought to get from the Cabinet Secretary, information about the process that they are pursuing in the divestment of Air Jamaica and I imagine that part of his interest is to see whether we're following the rules of procurement and divestment," Mr. Golding said.
Consideration for JALPA's proposal if Caribbean Airlines' deal falls through
The Prime Minister added that his administration is more inclined to continue negotiations with Caribbean Airlines since it was the initial bidder for Air Jamaica.
However, he noted that if negotiations with the regional air carrier fall through, the government will consider JALPA's proposal.
"Under the government procurement arrangement, once we advertise and people apply and people are short listed, we have to negotiate with those who have applied and it's only if those negotiations fail to reach a satisfactory agreement that we can look elsewhere," said Mr. Golding.
JALPA, which represents Air Jamaica pilots, submitted a late proposal to purchase the airline in a bid to keep the entity in local hands.
orkers at the airline have also been appealing to the government to make sure that Air Jamaica remains under Jamaican ownership.
A spokesman for JALPA told RJR News Wednesday night that the Association presented a copy of its business plan to the Prime Minister earlier this week and is awaiting word on whether it will be accepted.
Air J sale final, Gov't no longer responsible for the airline
And the Prime Minister has made it clear that there will be no turning back once Air Jamaica is placed in private hands.
Mr. Golding has stated that if the airline's new owners encounter difficulties running the entity they will not be able to return to the Jamaican government for support.
"Let it be clear that once we dispose of Air Jamaica, there is no possibility of anybody, whether it be Caribbean Airlines or any other entity that acquire Air Jamaica, to come back to the government and say look we're running into a hard time and we need government support. It's not possible ... the budget cannot take it," the Prime Minister declared.
IndiGo's proposal wasn't best for JA - PM
In the meantime, the Prime Minister also sought to shed light on the circumstances which led the government to scrap negotiations with IndiGo Airlines to purchase Air Jamaica.
Last year, the government started talks with IndiGo which is associated with the low cost United States carrier Spirit Airlines.
However, negotiations broke down and another buyer sought.
Mr. Golding said on Jamaica House Live Wednesday night that a deal with IndiGo would not have been in Jamaica's best interest.
"We couldn't reach an agreement because what they eventually proposed was not what we considered to be in the best interest of Jamaica. It wouldn't have given us the airlift ... those critical routes that are important to Jamaicans who want to travel and to our tourist visitors who we need to come here," he said.
Mr. Golding added that another difficulty with IndiGo's proposal was that the government would have had to continue paying some of the Air Jamaica's bills even after the national airline was sold to US company.
"We weren't into that," he said.
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