Barbados Greenland Garbage Dump Way Over Budget, Way Behind Schedule and Still Way Too Dangerous

How Much Will The Greenland Landfill Site Cost?

Originally it was $20 million, then it doubled overnight to $40 million. Now? Hey… with a government project you know how it is – a million skimmed here and a million wasted there and pretty soon, you’re talking real money.

The Nation News is carrying a couple of stories about Greenland today and to give them credit, they gave a call to Professor Hans G. Machel, the author of BFP’s exclusive Greenland series of articles. (listed at the end of this article)

But in a statement reminiscent of the best stand-up comedy we’ve seen at the Lamplighter, one of the stories at the Nation News leads with the “fact” that the $20 million retrofitting project “will come in under budget”. This “retrofitting” is to replace the original $20 million dollar construction that fell apart after a few rainstorms. No mention if the yet-to-be-built leachate plant and transfer station are included in that $20 million dollars.

So, no, the Greenland landfill site is not “under budget”. I’m trying to think of a single “under budget” government project and I can’t. Perhaps some of our BLP readers might be able to help out with some examples?

Meanwhile, the Greenland landfill story is one that should be of interest to each and every citizen. It shows the worst of government mismanagement, over-runs and pig-headed commitment to a flawed concept simply because no one in government dares to say “I guess we made a mistake”.

Professor Machel says that putting a landfill site at Greenland is a major disaster in the making.

Here is part of what he said in his series written for Barbados Free Press…

Greenland Site Is Unstable

A garbage dump at Greenland will be an environmental, ecological, and economic disaster for a number of reasons, chiefly because the ground in the entire region is highly unstable, because of ground water and toxic waste leakage, and because of torrential rainfalls. I have demonstrated this in several public presentations and news paper articles over the last 5 years, and in an informal environmental impact assessment dated January 18, 2006, which the Barbadian press and the Government of Barbados have received.

Everything that had to be said on a technical level has been said. Yet, Government ignores the overwhelming evidence and goes ahead anyway, against all warnings, against all common sense, and against overwhelming public opposition.

In The Years To Come, Ricardo Marshall’s Legacy Will Be A Toxic Waste Disaster

Now that the retro-fit is underway, one conclusion is inevitable: Ricardo Marshall and his cronies, that small group of people who is orchestrating the Greenland fiasco, are either stupid or callous, or both. This is because anyone who does not understand the reasons for the unsuitability of Greenland as a landfill is stupid, and anyone who denies these reasons is callous. These people just do not give a hoot about the environment, nor do they care about the welfare of Barbadians. All they care about is themselves. Barbadians will have to pay a very high price for this, and for generations to come.

Hans G. Machel
Professor
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
University of Alberta

Further Reading On The Greenland Fiasco

Nation News: Landfill Ahoy!

Nation News: Greenland Still In Limbo

BFP… (In reverse date order)

April 4, 2007 Greenland Dump Construction Problems – Landslips, Deviating From Plans, Runoff Diverted Into River

March 9, 2007 Rape Of A National Treasure Continues At Greenland Dump

February 27, 2007 St. Andrew MP George Payne Highlights Land Slippage In Area Of Greenland Dump

February 24, 2007 Barbados Town Planner Announces National Park From Consett Bay to Archer’s Bay

February 2, 2007 Greenland Dump Project Doubles In Cost Overnight – And That Figure Is Still A Lie!

January 31, 2007 Island Vulnerability.Org Website – Fabulous Resource For Barbados Greenland Dump Research

January 23, 2007 The Great Barbados Landslip Of 1901 – Will It Be Repeated At Greenland Dump?

January 21, 2007 Vancouver Sun Newspaper Links To Photos Of Greenland Landfill Site

January 17, 2007 Greenland Fiasco Dooms Barbados – Professor Machel Names The Liars, Thieves & Incompetents

December 31, 2006 Greenland Fiasco Dooms Barbados – Professor Machel Replies to Comments

December 22, 2006 BFP Article “Greenland Fiasco Dooms Barbados” Hits #80 On WordPress TOP POSTS List – Out Of Millions Of Posts Online!

December 20, 2006 Greenland Fiasco Dooms Barbados

December 15, 2006 Greenland Dump – A Disaster In The Making: C.O. Williams Bulldozers Start Work

August 21, 2006 Barbados Sand Fingers Poke Through The Clay At Greenland Dump

April 17, 2006 After Barbados Greenland Waste Site Is Full – Then What?

March 22, 2006 Barbados Public Works Minister Gline Clarke – What Has He Been Smoking?

March 22, 2006 Barbados Greenland Dump Had “Technical Flaws In Design” – Prime Minister Arthur

March 9, 2006 Barbados Government Silences Own Greenland Experts

March 1, 2006 Barbados Greenland Consultancy Fees

February 17, 2006 Barbados Greenland Landfill Tenders: Let The Graft Begin!

Canadian Dollar Rises Above US Dollar – What Does This Mean For Barbados?

The Canadian dollar rose above the US dollar for the second day in a row. What does this mean for Barbados?

A friend wrote us…

“What this means for us is, that as the value of the US dollar sinks, so too does our currency, which then pushes up the cost of our imports. So that our prices will continue to climb.”

That’s true, but might it be better for our business dealings with Canadians and Europeans? At least perhaps for our tourist sector?

As Pull! Push! says… I ain’t no econamister!

What do you think, folks?

Barbados Taxes, Skyrocketing National Debt: Same Old Situation, Just New Masters

‘From Sun to Sun the Negro toils
No smiles reward his trusty care,
And when the indignant mind recoils,
His doom is whips and black despair’

I found this bit of anti-slavery culture on the web some time ago. The lines came from the pen of abolitionist poet Fanny Holcroft in 1797. I’m in a mood for poetry tonight, so I’ll leave you with two pieces. The first is the entire poem “The Negro” by Holcroft – with the exception that she would not take credit for the lines in italics. You can read the story about the poem here.

The second is an excerpt from a Who song that I began to appreciate after George told me to really listen to the words. George and his music are pretty old – but there is some life left in both!

THE NEGRO

by Miss Holcroft

(The Lines in Italics excepted.)

TRANSPIERC’D with many a streaming
wound,
The Negro lay, invoking death :
His blood o’erflowe’d the reeking ground
He, gasping, drew his languid breath.

His sable cheek was ghastly, cold ;
Convulsive groans their prison broke :
His eyes in fearful horror roll’d,
While thus the wretch his anguish spoke:

” Accursed be the Christian race ;
Insatiate is their iron foul :
To hunt our sons their fav’rite chace
They goad and lash without control.

” Torn from our frantic mother’s breast,
We bear our tyrant’s galling chains ;
Deny’d e’en death, that lulls to rest,
The keenest woe, and fiercest pains.

” From sun to sun the Negro toils ;
No smiles approve his trusty care ;
And, when th’ indignant mind recoils,
His doom is whips, and black despair.

” Yet Christians teach faith, hope, and love :
Their God of mercy oft implore ;
But can barbarians mercy prove,
Or a benignant God adore ?

” Hear then my groans, oh, Christian God !
Thy curses hurl but, no ! forbear.
Let Christians wield Oppression’s rod,
Spread hatred, woe, and wild despair.
” While I a nobler course pursue,
Yes, let me die as I would live !
Yes, let me teach this Christian crew,
The dying Negro can forgive.
” And if, indeed, that pow’r be thine,
O Christian God! In mercy move
Thy people’s hearts, by pow’r divine,
To justice, gentleness, and love.”

The suff’rer ceas’d, death chilled his veins ;
His mangl’d limbs grew stiff and cold ;
Yet whips nor racks inflict the pains
Men feel who barter Man for Gold.

And Because We Appear To Be In Election Mode…

Just like yesterday
Then I’ll get on my knees and pray
We don’t get fooled again
Don’t get fooled again
No, no!

Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss

Excerpt from The Who, Won’t Get Fooled Again

Mia Mottley Returns From China With Promises Of Money In Exchange For Continued Silence On Laogai Slave Labour Camps

Christian Pastor Cai Zhuohua Spent Three Years In Chinese Laogai Slave Labour Camp

His Crime… Distributing Bibles

His Slave Labour.. Making Olympic Footballs

Pastor Cai Zhuchua is one of thousands of Christians who have been beaten, imprisoned and even murdered by the Communist Chinese government in the last few years for crimes such as saying prayers with friends, possessing a bible or singing Christian hymns. You can read about Pastor Zhuchua’s story at China Aid (link here).

The camp where the Pastor was imprisoned and forced to make souvenirs for the upcoming Beijing Olympics is part of Communist China’s huge Laogai slave camp system. The slave camps are an integral part of the Chinese economy. Over a thousand slave labour camps hold an estimated over 3 million slaves. The slave labour camps’ connection with the Chinese trade in body parts of executed persons is well established and certainly there to be seen by anyone with a few minutes and a connection to the internet.

What Would Bussa Say To Mia Mottley?

What would he say to us all…?

In the following Barbados Advocate article Miss Mottley says there is really no difference in investment dollars coming from China and those coming from Canada, the USA and the U.K.

I wonder what would Bussa say to that statement?

$1 Billion Sweet Deal

BARBADOS is in line to benefit from a large slice of the $1 billion in Chinese investments expected into the Caribbean by 2011.
Additionally, the island and its regional neighbours, who have diplomatic relations with Beijing, will also share in a comprehensive assistance package aimed at stepping up co-operation between China and the Caribbean like never before.

Deputy Prime Minister Mia Mottley made it clear, however, that no political conditions are tied to the massive deal, neither should Barbadians fear that the expected large inflow of Chinese capital would be matched with a similar influx of labour from that country.

The Minister of Economic Affairs and Development, who recently returned from a two-week trip including China, Hong Kong and London, yesterday, met with key investment stakeholders and a tourism team headed by Minister of Tourism, Noel Lynch, at her Warrens office to inform them of these developments. She then brought members of the media up to date immediately after during a news conference.

Mottley, who was in China to attend the second China/Caribbean Forum, said that country’s package sought to improve links in trade, investment, agriculture and fishing, tourism and tr ansportation, finance, and human resource development.

A major part of this would the new US$500 million preferential loan aimed at encouraging Chinese companies to invest in the Caribbean in host of areas including tourism, telecommunications, infrastructure construction, and agriculture.

Other significant parts of the Chinese offer to Barbados and the Caribbean included:

- 2 000 training opportunities for regional government officials and technical professionals over the next three years.
- Chinese business delegations visiting to inspect the trade and investment environment and seek co-operation opportunities.
- Implementing memoranda on tourism co-operation and encouraging more Chinese travel to the Caribbean for bus iness and leisure.
- The hosting of Caribbean product exhibitions in China to promote regional products there and increase exports to that country.

Mottley said: The ball is in our court. We have not been given a package of assistance to sit down at home and receive it, but we have been given opportunities to be able to make something of it. I do not know when last a Government has placed before the region a potential of US$500 million in preferential loans to fuel Foreign Direct Investment into the region as a whole.

She said it was up to Caribbean players … to identify key investment opportunities, make contact with the Chinese, let them know that they have a cheaper source of capital than would otherwise be available to them.

It is up to us to learn and to develop the efficiency and the knowledge for market access into China. We will obviously never be able to have a trade surplus in goods with China but we can certainly improve our exports in goods, and we can certainly more than improve our export in services to China and it is in that context that we need to be able to do it, she noted, adding that the language barrier would be remedied through joint ventures.

The Deputy Prime Minister said Barbados was alread y moving to access what was on offer from the Chinese including a strong technical assistance frame work for co-operation in agriculture that would be pursued aggressively by the relevant ministry, submitted plans in order to access a loan for improvement s to the Fairchild Street market, and targeting Chinese tourists mostly through cruise as well as potentially investment or working with those one or two hotels that are willing to step outside of the traditional mould.

With a recent raging debate about the use of Chinese labour here and throughout the Caribbean, the minister said local and regional labour would always come first, saying Barbadians had nothing to fear where the new China assistance and an influx of labour from that country was co ncerned.

Is it any different than the investment that is coming from the US Canada or the UK? The reality is that once you start diplomatic and commercial relations with people you are going to get a cross border flow of money, a cross border flow of people, a cross border flow of product; that’s what engaging other countries is about, she asserted.

… above from the Barbados Advocate $1 Billion Sweet Deal

Further Reading On China’s Slave Labour Camps

Slave Labour Camps “Vital Part of Chinese Economy” – Should Barbados Take Gifts From Communist China?

Barbados Prime Minister Holds His Tongue About Slavery, Torture, Imprisonment, Forced Abortions Of Chinese Christians

Reader Reports Large Police Presence At Barbados Queen Elizabeth Hospital – People Being Turned Away

“Just came from the hospital at 9.45 p. m., there is a large police presence in the A&E and they are preventing persons from entering or leaving A&E. I do not know what is going on. A lady arrived with her son who is suffering with asthma and they would not let her in either.” … posted by a BFP reader on Thursday, September 20, 2007 at 10:04pm Barbados time.

Does anyone have any further info?

Can our reader tell us how many police officers? Were they in a defensive posture as if something was happening or perhaps guarding a prisoner? Can you share any  other details?

Story From Silicon Caribe Blog: 12 Year Old Gamer Starts Company, Raises US$6.5 Million In Venture Capital

I knew there was something I missed doing in the 6th grade…

For the story of Arjun Mehta check with a new technology blog out of (I think) Jamaica.

Silicon Caribe describes their mission as “A news and trendwatching blog about Web and Mobile products and companies, Caribbean, Latin America, World.”

The blog carries a blend of original articles and interesting pieces from the web. They are just getting started but I hope they make it because I enjoy their mix of stories that deal not only with technology itself, but also with the societal impacts.

Check them out… Silicon Caribe

Cliverton