‘Politics choking waste-to-energy industry’
CANADIAN INVESTOR Michael Mosgrove has directed blame at the Government for the slow pace at which it has moved to create profitability out of the recycling and waste-to-energy industry.
Mosgrove believes that foreign investors waiting in line to receive the nod of approval may soon lose interest in setting up such businesses locally as certain members of Government continue to drag their feet. He said that a proper industry could be the answer to preventing the unhealthy practice of burning garbage.
He said that two years ago, he attended a meeting with Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie, and National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) Chairman Dennis Chung. “We all agreed to privatise a pilot project in the western end of the island, but nothing happened,” claimed Mosgrove.
“The only thing holding up progress is politics. A few of the potential investors looking to divest Riverton are my associates out of Canada. They are so [turned] off that they [may not] be doing the US$1 billion deal because we can’t get anything done down here,” he told The Gleaner yesterday.
Managing Director of the NSWMA Audley Gordon, who is one of the members of a committee responsible for divesting the Riverton dump, took a defensive stance yesterday, explaining that the correct procedures must be followed in the divestment process.
“The process is taking very long, but we have to follow due process,” said Gordon. “The Government appointed an enterprise team. The Government is very excited about divestment, but there has to be a process. It is difficult for some foreigner guy to come accusing the Government of being lax. I am not going to support that,” the NSWMA managing director declared.