A curious silence has descended on the issue of the disappearance of the Coral Spring sand. Since the fire-breathing Minister Samuda belched out threats against the guilty parties before the investigations were launched, there has been an uncomfortable absence of any responses to the questions a concerned public continues to ask.
Like the Trafigura affair of the Simpson-Miller administration, the mystery of the disappearance of 500 truckloads of sand is haunting. It was expected that after the grand announcements of concluded investigations were made, a report would be compiled to inform the public of its findings, allaying any suspicion that the Golding government would tolerate the skullduggery associated with the past administration.
It is also noteworthy that Felicitas, that elite group of investors who were also “chawing iron” when the heist was first made public, have whittled down their protests to little more than the obligatory whine.
What is going on? Weren’t we assured that “no stone would be left unturned” to bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice? Is the silence yet another belligerent and contemptuous stare in the face of an enquiring public? And where are our environmentalists whose strident voices were powerful enough to derail plans for bauxite mining in the Cockpit Country?
If any lessons are to be learnt from 18 years of the Patterson/Simpson-Miller regime, it should be that the absence of agitation on the part of the public empowers our leaders to act only in their best interests, and not according to those they claim to represent.
Public sentiment has oftentimes been expressed that self-professed Chief Servant Bruce Golding is no different from his predecessors. He has yet to prove the public wrong.
Update: Industry and Commerce Minister Karl Samuda has revealed in a statement that there was no confirmation that the sand found at hotel developments along the island’s north coast was removed from the Trelawny beach. There has also been no further word from the Felicitas group, owners of the mangled coastal property.
Jack Mandora, mi no choose none.
