‘Is new transport association a dictatorship?’ – asks Karl 'Dub' Scatliffe
“As a company you are responsible to the people that work with you in the order that you work. But apparently they want to be a company and still try to dictate for independent taxi drivers and associations and that’s the only problem that I have,” he said in an interview with this news site.
The new company which seems to be misunderstood, misguided or causing some levels of uneasiness among the taxi industry is one called Virgin Islands Transportation and Alliance Inc. (VITA). This was officially launched with the blessing of the Minister for Communications and Works Honourable Mark H. Vanterpool on October 29, 2014 at a general meeting of taxi drivers and associations.
It was at that session an invitation was opened to members of all the other associations across the Territory and those operating independently to join the association but persons feel that the way the presentation was made leaves lots of open and loose ends.
“The way they made the presentation we figured it would have been [that] we have this new company formed, these are our benefits, this is what you could have by joining us and stuff like that but then when I read what they were offering it was totally different. It was like they telling you plain up this is what you have to do,” said Mr Scatliffe.
That is being seen as strongly resembling a dictatorship. “As independent taxi drivers that’s dictatorship. There are taxi associations that follow the same rules that these guys are demanding from people that they say they are trying to invite. I think that’s where they are going wrong,” he added.
VITA is no doubt having the strong backing of this current administration through its related arms and taxi drivers feel that their heads are being swollen because of that backing. “They feel because they have the backing of these entities they can dictate for other drivers and other associations. To me that’s where they are going wrong,” said the taxi association president.
“Your responsibility is to go over there, hold your corner, deal with your clients and leave anything outside of booked up stuff for the independents and from what I gather from what they are saying that’s not what’s happening,” he said.
Many independent taxi drivers and association members said that they are not clear as to what is behind VITA as their formation was done in secrecy, they never field tested what they wanted to do by sharing their thoughts with the very persons that they are inviting to join.
“Something fishy about that and with the person who they have up there as the head makes you wonder. We were never told about this VITA thing until they invite us to a general meeting through government and we saw this name (VITA) and when we listen to them it sounds to be like Fidel Castro on stage,” said another taxi driver who opted not to be named.
He too said that persons are free to form whatever ever company they want.
Another taxi driver, Mr Skeete said that they were told that the Hon Vanterpool was going to be present at that October 29, 2014 meeting and they all turned up in numbers so they could have had certain questions answered.
“But lo and behold when he was done talking he left, when ports man done talking he left and those who remain couldn’t answer our questions so they wasted our time in that boiling hot place of a culture centre,” said Mr Skeete.
This was a general consensus of the feelings toward VITA by non- members. However everyone said that they have no intentions to be appeared to be fighting with VITA. “We are not fighting them. What we are saying is that you must toe the line, you are not the first but you can’t come and tell us who are not part of you what we must do,” said at taxi driver.
Several efforts to reach executives of VITA to shed some light about the concerns of the taxi drivers were futile.
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