WOMEN AT Alert on gasoline price gouging
THE HELM IN
CARICOM
political, geographic and gender spread
in terms of who runs the daily affairs
of a region stretching from Guyana and
Suriname on the South American mainland
to The Bahamas as well as Belize in
Central America. This is the first time
that a Belizean will be the regional secretariat
head and also the first time that
she is female. LaRocque is from Dominica.
He had had the widespread backing
of the nine-nation Organization of
Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) when
he was picked by heads of governments
back in 2011. Previous secretaries generals
had come from Jamaica, Trinidad,
Grenada and Barbados. Barbadian Lolita
Applewhaite had also acted as secretary
general back in 2011.
The 2011 effort to select a replacement
for LaRocque was also the first time
that the appointments process was made
to be fully transparent with candidates
being publicly invited to apply, being
interviewed and approved by the tier system
that includes the Community Council
and later the heads of governments.
In this case as well, the council which
had met about two weeks ago, examined
both candidates and later recommended
Caribbean L 12 ife, MAY 14-20, 2021
that Barnett be the chief executive.
Both candidates hold academic PHD’s
and have enormous experience in things
CARICOM. Barnett had been deputy secretary
general for five years from 1997
and had also served at as a vice president
at the Barbados-based Caribbean development
Bank (CDB) allowing her to
maintain a high profile in the 15-nation
bloc and to interface with governments
and officials at high levels.
In its announcement statement, the
leaders said” heads of government in
congratulating Dr. Barnett on her selection,
recognized the historic moment for
the community,” noting that she “ is the
first woman and the first Belizean to be
selected for the post.”
Continued from Page 1
the COVID-19 public health crisis, the
last thing their wallets can afford is the
price gouging of fuel from those seeking
to unconscionably take advantage
of another crisis,” James said.
“To be clear, the price gouging of
fuel in New York state will not be tolerated
for a moment,” she warned. “If our
office sees profiteers take advantage of
consumers by boosting prices to excess
levels, we will not hesitate to take legal
action.
“Last year, the state granted our
office additional authority to stop
those seeking to unlawfully profit off
an emergency,” James continued. “So,
we will use every tool at our disposal to
stop illegal actors and secure relief for
consumers who have been overcharged
for gasoline.”
The Attorney General noted that
New York law prohibits sellers of fuel
and other vital and necessary goods
from excessively increasing their prices
during an abnormal market disruption,
including disruptions caused by
energy shortages.
During such times, she said sellers
may be allowed to increase prices
to cover their own cost increases, but
stressed that it is illegal for them
to unconscionably raise prices simply
to profit from increased consumer
demand.
Additionally, last year, in response
to an influx in price gouging as a
result of the coronavirus disease 2019
(COVID-19) public health crisis, James
said a law was passed that substantially
strengthened her ability to bring
charges against those violating New
York state’s price gouging statute, as
they sought to excessively increase
prices on essential goods and services
during pandemics or other emergencies
.W
hen reporting price gouging to
the OAG, James said consumers should
report the specific increased prices,
the dates and places that they saw the
increased prices, and the types of fuel
being sold.
“Consumers should also provide
copies of their sales receipts and photos
of the advertised prices, if available,”
she said. “Gas stations that appear
to have engaged in price gouging must
have evidence to justify their price
increases.”
The OAG also advises consumers to
buy only as much fuel as they need and
not to stock up out of fear of a potential
future shortage, as such panic buying
may reduce the supply of fuel available
for other consumers and could
encourage sellers to engage in illegal
price gouging.
In addition, the OAG advises consumers
that it is not price-gouging for
gas stations to limit the amount of fuel
they sell to individual consumers.
Continued from Page 1
Belizean, Dr. Carla Natalie Barnett
appointed 8th CARICOM secretarygeneral.
caricom.org
/caricom.org
