Nothing is happening at the Richmond Quarry in Northern St Vincent, months after a St Lucian company was given the green light to commence operations.
The quarry which is being operated by the Rayneau group of companies out of St Lucia has not seen a single stone mined and aggregate exported.
The entrance to the quarry is blocked by two huge boulders. Trucks and other heavy equipment which was used to cut pathways through the land, lay waste and overrun with vines.
Framers who till lands in Richmond told St Vincent Times on Tuesday 6 September that no work has been taking place since the opening and that the owners have returned to St Lucia.
In a telephone conversation on Thursday 8 September with Rayneau Gajadhar CEO of Rayneau Group of companies, he said; “At the moment nothing is happening at Richmond Quarry”.
“At the moment nothing is happening at Richmond Quarry. In the beginning, many of the issues that sprung to life were caused by politics and people must understand that politicians do things that are in their best interest and not the interest of the people”
Gajadhar told St Vincent Times that he could have come in and bulldozed the place, however, he gave everyone time to remove their produce, and when he returns he will do what is to be done to push the operations forward as there is much preparation work to be done before the mining process takes place.
“The port project has called me a number of times for the material, so ill have to come sooner than I would have come. There is a lot of preparation work to be done before you start to take materials out”.
“As you go along you might get a few stones here and there, but there is a lot of preparation work to be done. And let me say the preparation has not even started. Remember we started and people made noise, we started again and people made more noise, so that’s where we are”.
Gadjadhar said Vincentians will have to decide whether they want the project or not.
In February, the leader of St Vincent and the Grenadines opposition party Dr Godwin Friday called on the government to halt the quarry project stating that full disclosure and transparency were warranted in the matter as the country and the people of North Leeward do not appear to be the biggest winners in what he described as a shady arrangement.
Friday, also following a visit to North Leeward in February said back then;
“It is simply unacceptable to sell Vincnetians lands for “pennies” and then secretly begin work, without consulting the local community who face all of the downsides like the devastating impact on local tourism, noise, dust, flooding risk and possible explosives.”
St Vincent’s Minister of Urban Development Julian Francis on Thursday 10 February said the Richmond Quarry will not encroach on Richmond Beach, except in the area where a jetty/pier is being built close to Cavali Rock, which is south of the river mouth.
Francis said Rayneau Construction Limited will have to ensure ecosystems and restoration effects at a scale equivalent to any damage done and along with monitoring of nearshore ecosystem.
All farmers who occupied lands have been paid.
Rayneau Construction Limited has a leasehold for 30 years and has made an investment of 30 million dollars in the first instance.
St Vincent and the Grenadines has been importing aggregate since 2001.
