BU has no issue with the private sector leading development especially if the result will translate in benefits for a wide cross section of Barbadians and not a few. The news that a new cement company to be called Rock Hard Cement is to be built at the Flour Mill, Spring Garden has generated valid questions by the public. Bear in mind the citizenry has been taken for granted under successive government when approving large private sector projects, the Greenland landfill comes to mind. Town Planning Department stipulation which requires Environmental Impact Assessment Studies and Town Hall meetings have long been accepted as a checklist item. Always the 9-day noise erupts from the population and abates until the next project.
One of the principals behind the project is the omnipresent Mark Maloney, a member of the Bjerkhamn/JADA consortium, who on the 24 January was quoted in the news as saying, “ …We are at the stage now where we are going to be building a plant at the Flour Mill. We have all the land identified and we are going through the regulatory processes and all that now but, in the interim, we are building a temporary plant [adjacent to the Flour Mill site], which is in construction right now, and we hope to be able to have the cement to market by the end of March, early April”. We have subsequently observed a pullback from Maloney’s position after questions were raised by the public of the level of Town Planning involvement. What Maloney’s statement confirms however is that the tail continues to wag the dog.
BU notes public concern about the potential impact on the environment, a valid concern for citizens of a small tourism based economy to have. Let us hope in the days and weeks ahead Barbadians are able to be informed about the downside risks associated with a cement blending plant located next to a flour mill. Another observation is the lack of robust enforcement of standards in Barbados by successive governments especially when it comes to environmental encroachments.
BU’s concern remains firmly anchored in the lack of transparency that shrouds public and private public transactions. It is no secret the Bjerkhamn/JADA consortium of which Maloney is a member replaced Leroy Parris’ CLICO as the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) campaign financer for the last general election. It is payback time. The elevation of Bjerkhamn (not to be confused with his son who shot his son) to the Board of Directors of the Central Bank and the award of several contracts like the Adopt a KM project, the restoration of the Old Empire Theatre to house a mini beer distillery (what is the status?) among many project support the point.
We note the vested interest of the Bjerkhamn group in a cheaper cement, after all they are in the business of construction. What BU and likeminded citizens do not want to surrender is our right to know to ensure the best decisions are taken in the national interest and not those of a few.
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.