Energy Minister Says Businesses Must Adapt to Change

Minister of Science, Energy and Technology, Hon. Fayval Williams, says businesses must be flexible and adaptable to change, in order to stay relevant.

The Minister, who was speaking to petroleum dealers at Total Dealers’ Convention 2019, at the Melia Braco Resort, Trelawny, on July 3, said companies should also see themselves as “living breathing systems” that adjust and are able to evolve with the unpredictable and rapidly changing times.

She said that agile companies are ever customer focused, open, inclusive and not afraid to embrace uncertainty and ambiguity.

“Today I encourage you to embrace ambiguity in all of your business practices. I want to also encourage you to look as far into the future as you can and push for change, so you can remain relevant to your customers for many… many decades to come,” the Minister added.

Mrs. Williams said she is very happy with the state of the petroleum sector, and that the Convention “shows the seriousness that is placed on what is a very important industry for the consumers”.

“I would give the petroleum industry a high grade. When you look at the institutions that manage or interact with the industry, we have a very good standards-setting body and also a major purchaser of the fuel. We also have a refinery here in Jamaica, where there are safety standards,” she said.

The Minister pointed out that great care has been taken to maintain the standards, citing the petroleum industry’s high level of safety and the regulations in place for the entities that haul the product to where it gets to the consumer.

“You can see in conventions like these that the marketers who are responsible for the dealership network, that they do put in the effort to ensure that there is continuous training and that the industry continues to serve the people of Jamaica,” she said.

The Convention was held under the theme ‘Winning together; Safety for All’.

Total, which has acquired the Epping gas franchise, now has a total of 74 gas stations across the island, giving it the largest market in the country.