“Have you no conscience?” That was my question to Mr Rodney George, Advisor to Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell, during a recent meeting with community residents in Woodford, St. John.
Perhaps a more fitting reference for the occasion is the famous rebuke from Boston lawyer Joseph Welch to U.S. Senator Joe McCarthy in the 1950s: “Have you no sense of decency?”
On Saturday, March 8th, members of the Woodford community convened to discuss the implications of the Rayneau project. Rayneau had avoided any form of community consultation regarding what they were constructing in the neighbourhood, however, they suddenly appeared eager to attend this meeting.
The Government, which had remained silent on the issue until now, was represented as well. Coincidentally, both Rayneau officials and government representatives appeared to echo the same messaging.
A Curious Sequence of Events
At the meeting, we learned that Rayneau Gajadhar, the owner of the Rayneau Company, had been summoned. As Mr. George explained: “When the Prime Minister asked me to look into this private development, I summoned the owner of Rayneau … he arrived last Wednesday.
The Planning and Development Authority is supposed to be handling this but of course when this controversy bubbled up…the Prime Minister asked me to investigate.”
It was indeed a fortuitous summoning. In just a few days, Mr. Gajadhar seemed to accomplish a great deal – chiefly, legitimising past indiscretions. On Friday, March 7th, he hosted several government officials at his industrial site in Woodford, despite a recent enforcement order from the Planning and Development Authority (PDA). Notably, this was not the first order issued to the Rayneau Company, and so far, none had been obeyed.
While these officials were meeting at the Rayneau plant, the Chief Technical Officer (CTO) in the Ministry of Infrastructure Development, Mr Kevin Blache – also present – was attempting for about the third time to arrange a meeting between Wilton Hector and Rayneau Gajadhar.
Hector and Blache had been on the Bubb Report where Hector publicly voiced his criticisms of the Rayneau company for erecting an industrial plant in the community and failing to consult the residents.
Blache was seeking to bring Hector and Gajadhar together, in a private meeting. It is worth noting that Mr. Blache sits on the PDA board.
On that same Friday, Rayneau met with the PDA. Barely two weeks earlier, February 24th, Acting CEO, Ms. Janis Lessey, had appeared on Beyond the Headlines where she labelled Rayneau’s action of “ignor[ing] everything that Planning has done so far” as an “attack on our community”.
She more than hinted then that court action against the Company was imminent. However, at the Woodford residents’ meeting, on March 8th, the Government, as well as Rayneau was talking a great deal about an EIA.
Rayneau announced that they had hired someone to conduct an EIA and Mr George, Advisor to the Prime Minister strongly urged the community to “wait on the EIA”.
Science or Strategy?
George spoke at length about relying on science to determine the fate of the plant. When asked about runoff from the concrete batching facility, he suggested that contaminated waste water could be treated.
However, the Rayneau official present did not indicate that the company was prepared to implement such measures. This is significant – treating industrial runoff is costly, and given Rayneau’s track record of ignoring PDA directives, the question is – who will ensure compliance?
In an unfortunate choice of words, Mr. George dismissed the community’s concerns as “emotional”.
From Court Action to EIA
Many residents questioned the legality of this sudden shift. How can a company that has repeatedly ignored planning mandates now in a few days be talking EIA?
History provides a troubling precedent: in 2022, Rayneau started constructing a quarry in St. Vincent and, despite national opposition, never conducted an EIA. Yet this quarry is in operation today.
The larger issue is not just the legality of conducting an EIA after the fact but why is Rayneau being allowed to continue construction while the EIA is in progress.
Based on the Physical Planning Control Act, there seems to be no provisions for an EIA to be conducted while the development is in progress, in fact the EIA is the determinant of whether the project will get off the ground.
If the PDA has switched from court action to EIA, as can well be, has it mandated that Rayneau comply with the stop-work order?
A Growing Fear
Residents have sent a letter to Prime Minister Mitchell and several government ministers, along with the PDA Chairman, urging an intervention to halt the project pending a full review. However, it seems clear that no such action will be taken.
Rayneau’s presence at the community meeting was problematic. They failed to consult with residents before constructing the plant, and it is quite clear that they are now exploiting any opportunity to justify its existence – after the fact. To suggest that this community-convened meeting could be part of their EIA process would be disingenuous.
During the meeting, Sunil Pal, the Operations manager for Rayneau in the Caribbean, revealed that the company had purchased Woodford Estate which he claimed was 300 plus acres. He disclosed plans for quarry mining and the construction of a jetty on Woodford Bay.
This revelation sent a wave of anxiety through the community. If that does not disturb the Government, it is a source of nightmares for that woman whose house is on the ridge and who was looking down last Friday at all those officials visiting the Rayneau plant – against the backdrop of the Perseverance Dump.
She is already affected by the constant and loud noise of the plant working at arbitrary hours. Even more scary, she has experienced structural vibrations to her house. She is shaken, both figuratively and literally, especially when Sunil Pal, Operations Manager for Rayneau – spoke the quiet part out loud – a quarry added to concrete batching and asphalt production.
In the meantime, while the woman on the hill shivers, our MP for St. John, it seems, is considering taking up the offer from Rayneau Operations Manager – made at the meeting – of a tour of the plant at any time.
And, the question Joseph Welch once posed to McCarthy finds an unsettling resonance in our society.
Have you no sense of decency?
Christelene Henry is a member of the Woodford community