This home owner in Montserrat writes to the Editor and says, “…I am very troubled about your lack of coverage of the sand mining issue. I have a home in Isles Bay and note the road destruction, environmental degradation and theft of Montserrat Natural resources yet the issue is not discussed in the paper. I would also think that the Montserrat Tourist Board should have an opinion discussed in your paper. Please advise.”
Editor:
This person echoes the feelings and opinions of many. The residents of Isle’s Bay, Old towne, Salem, Olveston, Woodlands and most motorists express very much similar comments. There was recently a Sand Mining consultation with a view to addressing some of these concerns.
The report had been delivered to Government about two months ago. The consultants visited Montserrat to deliver the report, but found it had not been circulated or discussed. The ensuing discussions were held in private, even though DFID and the consultants and promised to make the findings and recommendations public.
TMR has not seen or heard anything since the promise last November. Chief Minister Meade had said in an interview that the ‘crawling’ $15 million road rebuild project, from Salem to St. John’s, was not directly connected to the Sand mining issue, but the trucking from Belham to Little Bay (directly connected to the sand mining) had to be settled before the project could move into full gear.
