'It's for the greater good'- Tufton defends move to halt scrap-metal trade

Despite claims that the temporary ban on the scrap-metal trade in Jamaica will adversely affect thousands of families, the Government has insisted that its first duty is to the national good.

Dr Christopher Tufton, the minister of industry, investment and commerce, conceded that the families of legitimate scrap-metal dealers will be impacted, but sought to make the case for the families that have been affected by the increasing theft of equipment from other legitimate businesses.

"If the greater good is served by suspending the trade, then even with the hardships that will be encountered by those who are involved (the legitimate dealers) we have to let the process take its course until we can work it out," he said.

"But I cannot allow the system to continue as is when it is undermining and compromising the activities of thousands of workers and hundreds of entities out there. It doesn't add up," he added.

Yesterday, the Scrap Metal Federation of Jamaica reported that the suspension of the trade, which Tufton announced on Monday, has created a lot of uncertainty for legitimate players in the industry.

The federation, through its president, Jonathan Aarons, predicted that it would have a "devastating" effect on the industry.

"It will affect the livelihood of many people and a lot of us will become bankrupt," said Aarons, adding that more than 2,000 people are directly employed in the scrap-metal trade.

Parasitic in nature

He said the federation, which met yesterday, would not discuss the issue publicly until Tufton outlined to them the way forward for the industry.

During a press conference at his ministry's St Andrew offices yesterday, Tufton said the scrap-metal industry had become "parasitic in nature" and warned that a permanent shut down was one of the options to be discussed by the Cabinet next Monday.

Tufton, who is just over two weeks into his new role, said "there is no doubt in my mind" that the scrap-metal trade was too loose and had become a free-for-all.

He said the rules governing the sector became difficult to enforce because of the rapid growth in the number of players in the industry.

"At that point, the Government has to step in and find a way to cure that situation by restructuring it or eliminating the problem totally," he added.

Monday's Cabinet discussion will be centred on a submission now being drafted by the ministry.

Tufton said the submission would provide an overview of the trade and its impact on other legitimate businesses that have suffered losses.