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This one beats the load of ganja that was placed on air jamaica that according to US customs could be smelt a 100m away.
Who would want to steal a beach?
Thursday, July 17, 2008
The theft of an estimated 500 truckloads of sand, an entire beach, as reported on our front page today, would shake even the most stout-hearted developer. It is almost unthinkable.
Excuse us while we empathise with the group of local and overseas investors who were willing to put up US$109 million, or J$8 billion, to develop a property at Coral Spring, near Duncans in the northwestern parish of Trelawny.
We too would want to know who would need this much sand - white sand which cannot be used for construction purposes. Unless someone can come up with a better suggestion, we are also inclined to think that some hotel developer is who would have an interest in that volume of sand.
Whoever it is, one thing is certain: there was no thought for the people of Trelawny who stand to benefit from a development which, in phase one alone, promised 36 six-star, luxury villas with spa, restaurant, amphitheatre and marina. This is a dastardly deed.
The developers have been forced to stop all plans surrounding phase one of the project because the prime asset of the development - the beach - has been destroyed.
We are also told that the extensive high-level marketing and promotion plans for the international marketplace have also been put on hold with immediate effect.
Prime Minister Bruce Golding's orders to get a thorough and immediate investigation going must be followed up with the greatest of dispatch. That quantity of sand cannot be easily hidden.
It is also certain that no small developer can remove 500 truckloads of sand. That therefore eliminates nearly all commercial activities, except for the hotel sector. It is hard to believe that any Jamaican could be involved in such a rape of the environment.
We suggest that the police begin immediately to examine all hotel projects and developers currently in operation in Jamaica and those who are planning future construction.
While the Island Special Constabulary Force, which handles sand-mining problems in Jamaica is to be involved, the intelligence arm of the Jamaica Constabulary Force must also be mobilised to solve this one.
The people of Trelawny are an invaluable source of information, and we suspect that there are many who saw the illegal sand-mining activities. This was no tiny fly-by-night operation. It is the people of Trelawny who will most be deprived of a potential livelihood that could come from such an extraordinary development.
We also hope that the investigators will draw on the expertise of our environmentalists who have a fuller understanding of the crime against nature that has taken place and might be able to give valuable suggestions in tracking down the culprits.
As difficult as it is, we further hope that this wicked and terrible act on the part of cynical persons would not bring an end to this dream that offered so much potential for good.
Felicitas Limited, the consortium developing the project, must not be allowed to die because of the avarice of a few whose motivation is greed, the lust for easy money and the wanton destruction of what is good about Jamaica.
Who would want to steal a beach?
Thursday, July 17, 2008
The theft of an estimated 500 truckloads of sand, an entire beach, as reported on our front page today, would shake even the most stout-hearted developer. It is almost unthinkable.
Excuse us while we empathise with the group of local and overseas investors who were willing to put up US$109 million, or J$8 billion, to develop a property at Coral Spring, near Duncans in the northwestern parish of Trelawny.
We too would want to know who would need this much sand - white sand which cannot be used for construction purposes. Unless someone can come up with a better suggestion, we are also inclined to think that some hotel developer is who would have an interest in that volume of sand.
Whoever it is, one thing is certain: there was no thought for the people of Trelawny who stand to benefit from a development which, in phase one alone, promised 36 six-star, luxury villas with spa, restaurant, amphitheatre and marina. This is a dastardly deed.
The developers have been forced to stop all plans surrounding phase one of the project because the prime asset of the development - the beach - has been destroyed.
We are also told that the extensive high-level marketing and promotion plans for the international marketplace have also been put on hold with immediate effect.
Prime Minister Bruce Golding's orders to get a thorough and immediate investigation going must be followed up with the greatest of dispatch. That quantity of sand cannot be easily hidden.
It is also certain that no small developer can remove 500 truckloads of sand. That therefore eliminates nearly all commercial activities, except for the hotel sector. It is hard to believe that any Jamaican could be involved in such a rape of the environment.
We suggest that the police begin immediately to examine all hotel projects and developers currently in operation in Jamaica and those who are planning future construction.
While the Island Special Constabulary Force, which handles sand-mining problems in Jamaica is to be involved, the intelligence arm of the Jamaica Constabulary Force must also be mobilised to solve this one.
The people of Trelawny are an invaluable source of information, and we suspect that there are many who saw the illegal sand-mining activities. This was no tiny fly-by-night operation. It is the people of Trelawny who will most be deprived of a potential livelihood that could come from such an extraordinary development.
We also hope that the investigators will draw on the expertise of our environmentalists who have a fuller understanding of the crime against nature that has taken place and might be able to give valuable suggestions in tracking down the culprits.
As difficult as it is, we further hope that this wicked and terrible act on the part of cynical persons would not bring an end to this dream that offered so much potential for good.
Felicitas Limited, the consortium developing the project, must not be allowed to die because of the avarice of a few whose motivation is greed, the lust for easy money and the wanton destruction of what is good about Jamaica.
Paul Marin -19 is one thing, 20 is a whole other matter. It gets even worse if they win the UCL. *groan*. 
05/18/2011.MU fans naah cough, but all a unuh a vomit?-Lazie 1/11/2015
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