By Chantalé Fletcher
POLITICAL Leader of the Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) David Abdulah says the Scrap Iron industry is very important and valuable to Trinidad and Tobago.
Speaking at a zoom conference on Wednesday, Abdulah joined the Trinidad and Tobago Scrap Iron Dealers Association (TTSIDA) to desist the government from moving forward with the six-month ban on Scrap Iron exports.
He added that the industry earned foreign exchange which can be said to have developed a diversified aspect of the economy, as persons turn something of no value into something of tremendous value.
“When containers leave this country to go abroad to steel mills, we earn foreign exchange. And therefore to shut down this industry whether it is for a week or six months was to shop the foreign earning exchange for T&T which has to be an economic crime as a decision by this Government,” Abdulah said.
The meeting followed a national security conference on Monday where Attorney General Reginald Armour announced Cabinet authorised a Prohibition Order pursuant to Section 44 of the Customs Act to ban the exportation of old scrap metal and scrap metal generally last Friday until February 23, 2023.
Abdulah added the scrap iron industry created employment which also had a multiplier effect that allowed the community as well as other businesses to benefit.
He added the ban on scrap iron exports would create a negative effect on everyone who was dependent on those in the industry to purchase goods and services from them.
Abdulah said, “The decision to shut down the industry is totally wrong and unjust. People are going to lose their work because those who were supposed to do their jobs, did not do their jobs.
“This Government is punishing people, van men, those who work in the scrap yards, owners, and all these people because it as a Government has failed to do its job.”
He added that the legislature in which the industry operates was very old and the TTSIDA for the last 11 years has attempted to the law and regulations updated.
“Successive Governments have failed but for those 11 years, the Rowley PNM Government has been in charge for seven of those years. And So for seven years, the Government did absolutely nothing to update the law and its regulations for the industry which has been growing during that time,” Abdulah said.
He said, “As a result of it failing to do its work, they are now coming and shutting down the industry, so they have been failing to act in a timely way.”
