By Gerrino J. Saunders
Journal Staff Writers

When Members of Parliament return to the House of Assembly on Wednesday
September 18 th they will be greeted by a group of frustrated members of the
Bahamas Petroleum Dealers Association led by their president Raymond Jones and
vice president Vasco Bastian who say they are terribly disappointed that the
government has yet to address their concerns regarding their request for a margin
increase on gas and diesel.
The dealers say they can hardly keep their doors open as they try to offset rising
operational cost including the cost of electricity, an increase in minimum wage,
increasing customs and shipping fees and rent, among other costs.
Currently gas station owners earn .54 cents per gallon on gas and want an increase
to .84 cents per gallon. The government earns $1.16 per gallon in taxes plus 10%
value added tax. As for diesel the profit margin for the retailers is .34 cents.
The government has been reluctant to approve such a margin increase which would
likely be passed on to the average consumer.
Asked about the pending protest Keishla Adderley press secretary in the Office of
the Prime Minister said talks are ongoing to find a solution.
She said, “Yes we understand there are some grievances this is an ongoing matter
the gas retailers are seeking increases and I can tell you that talks have continued
with the Ministry of Finance to come up with a formula.
“Obviously the government is concerned about the health of those businesses, but
it is equally concerned about placing any undue burden on consumers, so the focus
continues to be on coming to a consensus creating a formula that would be
mutually beneficial without over burdening either party,” she said.
Talks between the government and the retailers have been going on for nearly three
years with Michael Halkitis the Minister of State for Finance representing the
government.

In May this year Mr. Halkitis said the government is sympathetic to their plight
and continues to talk with retailers with the view of moving closer to a solution. He
said he understands that the gas retailers are very anxious.
Mrs. Adderley was asked if there is any end in sight for the negotiations. She said,
“It has been tough I would be the first to admit that but the discussions are
continuing I think what has led to it being so hard to move on this is the focus on
making sure that both the retailers and consumers are satisfied.
“I wouldn’t want to put a time on it, but it is something that we do want to come to
a resolution for obvious reason,” she said.
Earlier this year retailers have threatened to close their doors and “shut down the
country for a day or two” in order to apply pressure on the government to make a
favorable decision, according to Mr. Bastian.
In 2023 some of the retailers refused to sell diesel which caused a brief panic
among commercial vehicle drivers like public buses who scrambled from one gas
station to the next and queued on long lines to get diesel at the few stations that
were selling.
In lieu of the requested margin increase, the government in the past has assisted the
gas station owners with rebates in the millions of dollars.
In June this year Opposition leader Michael Pintard called on the government to
respond to the gas retailers and make a determination on their proposal for a
margin increase and end the more than two and a half year impasse.