My fellow Citizens and Residents of Antigua and Barbuda:

Steeply rising oil prices on the world market continue to drive up the price of gasoline and diesel oil.

Antigua and Barbuda, like all other fuel-importing countries, is now confronted with additional increases resulting from the significant damage Hurricane Katrina caused to America's oil refining facilities on the Gulf Coast.

The current position is that the price of oil on the world market has more than doubled since last year.

In the face of sustained increases in the price of fuel delivered to this country by West Indies Oil Company, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda has been intervening for over a year, in order to keep the price of gasoline and diesel from rising at the pump.

This has required the transfer of funds committed to other areas of government in order to provide an effective subsidy that has now reached the level of over One Million Dollars a month.

To deliver this level of relief to consumers, the government has reduced the consumption tax on gasoline by forty percent in the past year.

The effective government subsidy on the price of gasoline is therefore now well over One Dollar a gallon.

This subsidy will apply to prices on the new shipment of fuel with effect from tomorrow.

With an effective government subsidy of an estimated One Dollar and Ten Cents, the price of gasoline at the pump will be Eleven Dollars and Eighty-Nine Cents, with effect from tomorrow, October 6.

The price of diesel fuel at the pump will be Ten Dollars and Forty-Four Cents, effective from tomorrow.

As things now stand, we have to anticipate a continuing spiral in oil prices, and consequently, in the price of fuel at our pumps.

The time has therefore come for everyone to shoulder a share of the burden of increasing fuel costs.

In this context, particular responsibility falls to bus operators and gas station operators.

Any increase in bus fares will hurt the most vulnerable members of the society; particularly the elderly and our children.

I therefore urge bus operators to hold the line on bus fares, while the government considers a mechanism that will deliver targeted relief to bus operators providing transport to the public.

I also urge gas station operators to agree to hold the line on their mark-up on gasoline and diesel prices.

I urge all other suppliers of goods and services to resist any move to increase selling prices because of the increases in fuel prices.

The country cannot afford a general hike in the price of goods and services because of the rising fuel prices.

The Government is committed to containing the impact of taxes as a percentage of the prices of fuel at the pump.

Tax as a percentage of the price of fuel at the pump now averages Thirty Three percent in the Caribbean.

In Antigua and Barbuda, tax as a percentage of the price of fuel at the pump is approximately half of the average in the Caribbean.

If we are to continue to enjoy this kind of advantage, all stakeholders will have to contribute.

To this end, I convened a meeting this morning with executives of West Indies Oil Company.

My purpose was to explore options for cushioning the population from continuing increases in gasoline and diesel prices.

Those discussions continue next week.

The Government expects eventual benefit from other sources of supply.

One of those sources is Venezuela, under the PetroCaribe arrangement.

We will continue to investigate all possible options to cushion Antiguans and Barbudans against the forecast increases fuel prices.

The most urgent, the most vital option, however, is that all who have a stake in this country be prepared to contribute to keeping the price of fuel at pump to the most practicable minimum.

Faced with crises that affect the entire nation, solidarity is our only option.

Thank you. Good night. God Bless you all.