By B Roach
In a move that confirms last week’s front page story, and Premier Meade’s explanation that he had authorized the non-revenue to Government removal of valuable material from Government buildings in the Exclusion zone of Plymouth, the Governor issued a press release which highlighted issues in the lack of control on persons who whether under the guise of the authority of being there legally or illegally enter the Exclusion Zone and commit crimes.
The Governor reports somewhat belatedly referring to the material, which the Premier categorize as “similar to having useless unwanted garment, ‘old shirt’ in the closet” as “metal of marketable value,” said in the release, “There have also been a number of reports where it is alleged that persons are indiscriminately removing metal of marketable value from areas in Plymouth including from private properties.”
He notes, referencing the police: “…there have been joint operations between CID and the Salem district police officers to address the allegations of removal of articles from unauthorized areas, the removal of private property and anti-narcotics operations,” and other work carried out by them with Customs Service in a signed MOU to “…provide a coordinated approach to address the exportation of both legally and illegally harvested scrap metals.”
He refers to matters surrounding the further scandal which is about to break, and according to our information he seems is once again misled as to the truth of what really has happened in the matters he refers to.
In news just before going to press last night we learn of a call upon him to initiate an independent inquiry into matters surrounding the matters surrounding the extraction, removal and export of the “valuable materials” from areas not only in Zone V but elsewhere, such as he mentions “in respect of the removal of equipment from the Waterworks estate.”
We are still investigating the matter, and in the meantime have confirmed that MUL’s manager has said they initiated the search of containers exiting Montserrat that contain materials belonging to the company. The manager said that they did give permission to a company from whom obtain some payment was received, some time ago and who are no longer in business.
Other information, unconfirmed, reaching TMR also suggests that huge sums of money are being offered to placate at least one victim of their loss of material of not only metal value, but sentimental and historical. Any inquiry will likely bring this information to the fore.
Further information on the Premier’s ‘old shirt’ and no revenue to Montserrat shows that not only they do not pay for the material gathered, but they received incentives whereby they paid no duty or consumption tax (on the importation of equipment, machines and industrial oxygen for use by Caribbean Metal Pro. Ltd, valued at approximately $100,000. S.R.O. 28 OF 2011) to assist them to carry out their permissive or otherwise acts in the scavenging government buildings.The SR&O is dated 14th June, 2011, six months before the infamous letter of 20th December, 2011, authorising Caribbean Metal Pro. Ltd. to remove scrap metal from Government buildings in Plymouth.
Following our reports in 2011 and 2012, the Governor as we reported back in 2012, had issued a strong warning that persons would be prosecuted if found in the Zone. “If anyone is found in Zone V, apart from those sand miners who have been given permission to do so, they are liable to arrest…”
Related articles:
http://www.themontserratreporter.com/wire-scrap-metal-export-big-business/
http://www.themontserratreporter.com/properties-in-plymouth-stripped-of-windows-wire-and-copper/
http://www.themontserratreporter.com/scrap-wire-metal-scandal-brew/
