First COVID19, now volcano ash threatens businesses

By Kareem Smith

As if three consecutive months of COVID-19 shutdowns weren’t bad enough, the outlook for business has become even more bleak as uncertainty looms following numerous violent eruptions at the La Soufriére Volcano in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

President of the Barbados Private Sector Association (BPSA) Edward Clarke noted that while the eruption impact may seem relatively minor, it is unfolding as scores of businesses are preparing to re-open, some for the first time after months of dormancy.

The vast majority of this country’s non-essential enterprises remained close after the weekend as Barbadians embarked upon a massive clean-up of dense ash that has been raining down for the last 72-hours.

On Monday evening, Home Affairs Minister Wilfred Abraham announced that village shops, supermarkets, pharmacies, hardware stores, gas stations and essential services will open subject to weather conditions.

Experts are predicting that the phenomenon could continue for weeks, presenting serious concerns for health, infrastructure, and even visibility on the country’s roads.

Clarke is however adamant that even if the current activity continues for weeks on end, businesses must remain open to claw their way out of the current situation.

“We have to keep the retail sector open, we have to keep the banks open and the engine of business must continue to work so that people can earn a living and earn funds to support their families,” Clarke told Barbados TODAY.

“We have been cooped up in our houses as a result of COVID trying to protect our families, ourselves and now here we are again with another Act of God and we are once again cooped up in our houses protecting ourselves from this volcanic ash.

“The economy is an open economy and we have to make sure that businesses remain open during this crisis and we have to ensure that people can earn an honest living and get the economy working. I don’t see this as a shutdown period.

“We shut down partially [Monday] for the necessity of clean up, but we have to find ways of continuing business operations on a daily basis. This is not a situation where we can shut down the country because of this volcanic dust. We need to find ways and we have been discussing ways that we can operate, he added.

According to the BPSA president, agriculture, construction, tourism and hospitality are among the industries facing an uncertain future as they contend with the impact of the volcano.

This is only adding to an environment in which experts are predicting that businesses will be set back as many as two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Clarke however added that the tourism industry, which is among the most critical on the mend could also be among the most badly affected if the volcano situation drags on.

Among those businesses already affected is Williams Industries Inc., whose chairman Ralph ‘Bizzy’ Williams explained that the group, which has operations in manufacturing, renewable energy, retail and the retail business, will lose significant revenue from the clean-up effort alone.

Williams Solar, for example, the country’s largest producer of solar energy had practically ground to a halt because of the limited sunlight due to the ashfall and the solar panels now have to be cleaned for production to resume.

“The only people in my office today are the CEO and myself. We didn’t bring out anybody else and the only people who are working are the cleanup crew. But it is very simple and it is only commonsense that you can’t just throw your hands in the air and play dead. So we will get out there and continue doing everything that we can,” the businessman told Barbados TODAY.

“My son this morning has been delivering pressure washers to businesses all over the country including hotels and that is what we are going to do.

“We are going to do everything we can possibly do to return the country to normality and pray that the volcano has had enough and stops erupting. We can’t do anything else.

“Our tourism business was shut down as a result of COVID-19. All of the equipment is nasty and has to be cleaned, but we all just need to get on with it. My message to my colleagues is just to get on with it. Face the fact that you cannot do anything about it and get on with it,” Williams urged.

(kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb)