Bahamas Petroleum Retailers Association President Raymond Jones said yesterday retailers are set to take "decisive action" to cut their operating costs within the coming week after the government failed to live up to its word and address concerns regarding inflexible margins within a stated time frame.

"The government appears to be unwilling to make a change," Jones said.

"They promised to sit with us to make a change but a week and a half has gone by and we haven't heard anything from them as to when we are going to meet to finalize any margin change or margin increase that we've been asking for."

Prime Minister Philip Davis and senior government officials met on March 13 with association representatives "to discuss the industry's ongoing issues and challenges and the need to find a balance that sustains their businesses while not negatively impacting them and the Bahamian consumer", the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) said after that meeting.

OPM said, "While the government is sensitive to the plight of petroleum retailers, who have primarily asked for an increase on the currently fixed margin of 54 cents per gallon, it is also a priority of the Davis administration to act in a manner that does not impose a further financial burden on consumers.

"In light of this, the government has agreed to explore other avenues to bring some relief to the retailers.

"The government and retailers have agreed to further discussions with other stakeholders to ensure the best possible outcome to resume talks and arrive at a conclusion in a week and a half from today."

Jones said yesterday there has only been silence from the government since they met.

"We are at the end of the rope," he said when contacted by The Nassau Guardian for an update.

Jones expressed disappointment that there has been no communication from the government in recent days.

Asked how soon retailers expect to cut operating hours to save costs, he said, "Whatever we're going to do we're going to do within the next week because it's important. This is the end of a month and we have to sit down and agree this week to take action to minimize our operating costs.

"We have to get it done now. Time is beyond an acceptable point."

Jones was also asked whether he was hopeful after the March 13 meeting with the prime minister that a resolution was in sight.

"I was very hopeful," he said.

"The prime minister seemed very sincere. He didn't want to add any extra cost on the taxpayer, but unfortunately the world of economics is what we live in and no one can just afford to eat costs indefinitely. Like I've said before, what they did with BPL (Bahamas Power and Light) and passing the cost on, this is an item that has to be passed on.

"It's not significant (for consumers). We're talking pennies on the gallon of gas, but those pennies on the volume are significant to the retailers."

On March 14, even after his office said the government agreed to "explore other avenues to bring some relief to the retailers", the prime minister told reporters the government was "rethinking" the retailers' plea for a margin increase.

"A lot of the challenges they face I'm sympathetic to and I understand their need to survive," he said.

"... We think that we will be able to arrive at a solution that serves the common good of all."

While his office said in its statement a day earlier that a resolution was expected in "a week and a half", Davis said, "I've asked them to give us another two weeks to assess to see how we can help them."

The two-week mark since the meeting is today.

Jones said he still hopes the government will realize that it needs to finalize an agreement to allow for a flexible margin.

"But in the absence of them not saying anything beyond the date we were supposed to reconvene, then it doesn't look hopeful, unless they come out and say something," he said.

"In the meantime, we can't take the promise of the government to the bank. We've been talking about this now, April is going to make a year, so we have to take action now in the absence of any action by them."

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