Robert Pickersgill should not be allowed to part of GOAT Island project.

Robert Pickersgill in my opinion has been one of the worst performers in any PNP government between 1989 and today and is one to be wary of ,when it comes unto signing of contracts.

Robert was the Minister  of transport during the time when HIGHWAY 2000 was conceived and was part of the group that negotiated and signed that contract with NROCC for the development of the various rd networks.

I happened to have come across a copy of the agreement and was very surprised at the time at the terms and conditions to which , this particular minister agreed, with NROCC.  One section that struck me and which I found offensive, yet heard nothing from civil society was the following.

The contract basically said, the Jamaican Government could not revive the railway service to carry passengers and also could NOT expand Mandela Highway or any other rd that offers an direct alternative to highway 2000. In addition, if the Government decided to go ahead and develop any of these , then the Jamaican Government would have to compensate the developers and operators of Highway 2000 for all revenues lost as a result of this development.

I am still baffled at how a minister who also happens to be an attorney at law could have signed on such a contract document.

Fast Forward to 2013 and this minister who now has the portfolio responsibility for climate change, environment et al has indicated to  cash rich China that, serious consideration is being given to the development of GOAT island for their transshipment hub.

Personally I support the development in principle, but I shudder when I think that Bobby will have oversight responsibility for signing of of this agreement in many respects. Personally I would NOT want Robert Pickergill to play any substantial role in any such negotiations and or sign off. I just don’t believe he pays attention to the finer details and in so doing could land us in serious trouble.

In a previous piece I note that no development can ever take place without disrupting the environment and that is a fact. I am using this forum to urge JET and other NOT to move to stop the development, but instead they must lobby to be part of the process at the negotiation stage to ensure that their concerns are not only aired but addressed.

For eg I am suggesting that JET ensure that as part of the agreement for the development, the Chinese company must agree to the creation and relocation of these endangered species to a new habitat that closely represents where they were. In terms of fish sanctuary this must also be a part of the consideration and funding must be included to ensure that this is achieved.

This will allow Jamaica to get this much needed investment, which certainly should bring some economic wealth to the country, while at the same time offer preservation of what should be protected.

I dare say Bobby is not the man you want at the negotiation table for this, he just wants to sign, to boast how much billions dollars worth of investment, he brought into the country, without recognizing who is is dealing with and their back ground.

The Chinese are aggressive and will exploit any perceived weakness on the part of our leaders who are eager to get money into this country and in so doing miss out the subtle yet, very important details.

Next… Why are the Chinese coming ?