Submitted by Kammie Holder, Advocacy Director Future Centre Trust

Dear Roy Morris and Nation Reporters as guardians of the masses of our fate and members of the fifth estate can you enquire of the government and especially the cantankerous […] minister of government Dr Denis Lowe how the Waste-to-Energy (WTE) is now $700 million up from $240 million? Personally, I don`t trust this Private Public Partnership (PPP) arrangement in the absence of full disclosure and escalating cost. Perhaps, your report got the cost all wrong. Why all the secrecy and haste in the abundance of sunshine and blue energy? Who would think a government which came to power on the promise of transparency would turn its back on the masses?
It is now apparent the government is not interested in recycling or waste reduction but on waste generation. Any smart Bajan can get an international financier to invest in either solar or blue energy for a decent commission so the question begs why the stubbornness to burn garbage if more environmentally sustainable solutions exist. In addition, our Environmental Protection Department nor Ministry of Health do not have the expertise, manpower or equipment to monitor and enforce air quality, so who will?
Finally, let me remind the public that in the case of Runley Greaves vs Arawak Cement Plant the trial judge in his summation said “the Plant is a public good and the residents must learn to live with it.” Thus, imagine flyash made up of PM10 and PM2.5 raining down on you daily 366 days. Will we see the killing off of the West Coast Reef and tourism on the West Coast? Can the Government of Barbados tell the country of a SIDS where this unproven, expensive, energy hog technology was successfully used with a national waste reduction strategy and recycling industry?
Donville Inniss as a voice of reason, how can you accept this initiative not only from the escalating cost perspective but from the point of view it is unproven technology? The time is not too far off, when Bajans must embrace a new political dispensation to seek a new governance model when politicians will be held liable for misfeasance. Barbados is for all and not only for the enrichment of the capitalist and friends.








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