Public Defender to probe scrap metal industry shutdown

The decision by government to ban the scrap metal trade is being investigated by Public Defender Earl Witter who says the decision may have caused a great deal of inconvenience to honest people in the trade.

He says the probe will be completed in a few weeks.

Acknowledging that there are unscrupulous exporters and dealers in the trade, Witter said the honest ones should not be punished because of the illegal actions of others.

“We are interested in the honest dealer, gatherer, and honest exporter who plays by the rules and who may have been, by this act of the minister, greatly inconvenienced,” said Witter. “A way has to be found to suppress effectively that kind of activity, and under our present system of government it is the duty of the government to do that and to put in place the system which can work the results that we seek.”

“It needs to be determined that in the prevailing economic and social environment in our country it, in all likelihood, is not fair and therefore unjust and therefore is substance of injustice for the honourable minister, by the stroke of a pen, to lock down a trade and thereby punish the honest dealers that play by the rules,” he added.

Witter questioned whether the decision to ban the trade represents “the effectual discharge of the responsibility of the executive arm of the state”, or an abdication of that function.

Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Dr. Christopher Tufton (pictured), said last week that Cabinet had taken the decision to effect the ban following widespread pillaging of metal over the past three years, particularly in the last few months, as well as failure by industry stakeholders, despite warnings, to implement measures to help to curb the thefts.

He said the theft of scrap metal has cost government and the private sector more than $1 billion over the past few years.

Source: Caribbean360