Houston, we have a problem

THE EDITOR: I must concede that I couldn't reconcile the deep-seated stupidity and sheer desperate malice of the Cabinet to shut down the entire scrap iron industry.

The last time citizens checked, a solution to the problem of copper theft, vandalism and hooliganism (national traits), which were at the level of a threat to national security, was being sought through law and order. That part I agree with, since someone could lose their life if they cannot call the police or the ambulance because the lines were stolen and, more so, the errant hooligans were just out of control.

If they were going after WASA and T&TEC installations, then it would not be long before they go after radio towers in the mountains (hint – national security alert). But, true to form, the Government has thrown the baby out with the bath water.

Let’s consider an analogy: the vehicle industry is plagued by thieves, from fraud to larceny to corruption (hint – public officials who flip tax breaks for personal wealth and don't transfer). A car theft can be as brass-faced as a car-jacking, and can be as cunning and violent as a home invasion, or just like a thief in the night. The vehicles they steal are used in robberies, in killings, for spare parts or just for PH. But I don't see the Cabinet banning the importation and sale of cars.

What’s the difference with thieves cutting wires in your face and those stealing the zabocas from your tree and threatening you?

So why ban the scrap iron trade outright? This will do irreparable harm to the poor people who make a living collecting debris from citizens, ie old cars, appliances (otherwise used in blocking the roads) and general waste. So the bulk of the trade is a source of employment for any unemployed person who can link with a van and go around collecting basically metallic debris.

It is a given that the industry is a source of environmental relief as many a green space has been restored with the removal of unsightly metals, which were thereafter legitimately monetised. What will we do with debris collected in the next six months, like old AC units, fridges, stoves, galvanize, bed pans, etc? Do we fill potholes with them or maybe use them in a roadblock? Or how about if we do what comes naturally and just throw them in a river. Nasty citizens some of us are, as it’s plain to see from the litter on the Beetham?

Will the regional corporations collect the fridges, stoves, etc and then sell their heap whenever the industry reopens? No sirs, the industry has a lot to offer.

In shutting down the industry for six months, what relief has the Cabinet considered for those who may be out of a job for at least the next few months or more, because no one has confidence in the AG to regulate an industry in under three months, or six months, or nine months...or, well, just no confidence in the AG.

If the answer is none, then Houston, we have a problem. The people who have been deprived of an income are those who had no choice. More so, it will result in depression among abled-bodied men who feel fulfilled when they labour in the hot sun to pile a load of metal and get a good return from it...and I don't mean steal.

They may have been people with criminal convictions and can't work in your home or in the chicken-and-chips places and certainly won't be in the Prime Minister's office filing things, so it’s another door closing on them. What are they expected to do?

Maybe they can sell market produce at the side of the road, because most markets are dying or dead. Most of these people – and they are men by and large – will tell you they have to go back to planting marijuana, poaching, illegal quarrying and crime, plain and simple.

This Government really knows how to take one den of thieves and convert it into another den of thieves.

LINDA CAPILDEO

St James