SOUTH West St Ann Member of Parliament Ernest Smith has reiterated his threat to sue the commissioner of mines on behalf of his constituents, claiming damages because of the alleged failure of bauxite companies operating in the constituency to reclaim mined-out pits.

Under the Mining Act, Smith said, companies mining bauxite are obliged to reclaim the land from which ore has been extracted within three years. It is this alleged breach that has prompted the MP to issue the threat.

"The law states that every bauxite pit must be reclaimed by three years, failing which you pay US$25,000 per acre (as fine)," Smith told a constituency conference at the Aabuthnott Gallimore High School in Alexandria Sunday night.

According to Smith, failure by the bauxite companies to pay the US$25,000 per acre fine, would mean additional penalty of US$2,500 per day for every acre.

Smith claimed that there are pits in the constituency that had not been reclaimed for 45 years and as such, by his calculations, about US$300 billion is owed to the people of South West St Ann.

Smith, who is also an attorney-at-law, first raised the issue in parliament in June 2005 at which time he invited other members of parliament with similar concerns to join him in the action against the commissioner of mines.

On Sunday, Smith again accused the government of sabotaging the constituency, saying it was the only area without a water supply system and a housing scheme.
However, the housing situation should change soon, Smith told the gathering, as the St Ann bauxite company has pledged several acres of mined-out land for housing development.

The Opposition Jamaica Labour Party MP said he would be approaching the Ministry of Housing, the National Housing Developing Corporation and the National Housing Trust to commence the process.

Smith also threatened to march on Jamaica House with his constituents, and to "block the highway from Ocho Rios to Falmouth" in an effort to have the concerns of the residents addressed.

Smith used the meeting, attended by several hundred supporters, as a launching pad for his campaign for the next general elections, as he seeks to retain the seat he won in the last general elections.

gilchristc@jamaicaobserver.com

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