Minister: Go ahead, swipe your card

Saying this decision by some dealer could ground the Government’s fleet, “if this is allowed to proceed unfettered, “ Imbert declared, “As Minister of Finance, I will not allow that because the card is issued by the Ministry of Finance and there is an agreement with respect to the use of the card.” As a result, Imbert said, “We have issued instructions to all the gas stations that are owned and operated by NP....that they are to continue taking credit cards and debit cards and so on.” He added this action has, “reduced the number of possible stations that could do this (only take cash payments), to a relatively small number.”

Imbert explained these gas stations operate under a license with NP, “so we will also be looking at the terms of their license...to see if they are allowed to suddenly scrap the Government’s credit card.” Imbert said he would not venture an opinion on this as he needed to seek legal advice on this issue. With this decision now in effect, Imbert said, “It will apply to everybody there will be no discrimination between the general public and the Government’s fleet... that would be unworkable and it would also be a tremendous incovenience.”

On concerns by the Petroleum Dealers Association (PDA) about the profit margin of some gas stations being unsustainable, Imbert said, “As a responsible government, we are looking at that matter but that matter needs careful review.” He explained that the Business Levy and the Green Fund are for companies, “that do not declare profits.” Imbert said he did not understand why some persons are in business “to lose money”.