By Omar Anderson, Freelance WriterDEAN PEART, the Minister of Land and Environment, has admitted that there has been a Government foul-up resulting in the non-implementation of an environmental tax the Finance Minister announced in Parliament last year.
According to Mr. Peart, the implementation of the proposed tax was not properly explored, as the idea was carved out by a Finance Ministry official who lacked the required expertise.
The tax on plastic or polythylene terephthalate (PET) drink bottles was expected to rake in approximately $200 million.
Following the announcement by Dr. Omar Davies, the Minister of Finance, in his Budget presentation in Parliament in April last year, a recycling company, Recycle for Life, was virtually forced out of business, as several soft drink manufacturers made significant cuts in their contribution to the project in anticipation of the impending cess.
Yesterday, Mr. Peart acknowledged that the Government had been tardy in implementing the tax, but noted that efforts were ongoing to get it enforced as soon as possible.
"We can't just impose a cess on big people like that," he said. "We have to be careful, we might do more harm than good."
According to the Minister, the idea to impose an environmental tax was not properly explored, as the proposed tax could have been widened to include other materials used to litter the country.
"When the announcement was made, I don't think officers at the Finance Ministry did a proper research on it," Mr. Peart told The Gleaner, adding they did not have the "expertise" to do a proper job.
"They (Ministry of Finance) have asked the Ministry of Land and Environment to look at it properly and make a recommendation," the Minister stated.
He said his Ministry, under the direction of Permanent Secretary Jacqueline DaCosta, established a sub-committee involving private sector interests and other stakeholders.
SEVERAL RECOMMENDATIONS
The sub-committee has made several recommendations which have been sent to the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), which is to study them and report back to the Minister.
"I hope that by next month I will get those recommendations and then send them to the Ministry of Finance which will implement the cess," the Minister told The Gleaner.
On Tuesday, Bevon Morrison, executive director of Recycle for Life, said some 1,800 plastic bottle collectors islandwide had been dislocated. Roughly 50 of the collectors used the recycling of PET bottles as a constant source of income. Ms. Morrison said 17 full-time staff members also lost their jobs. Recycle for Life usually received total annual support of $20 million, while generating $7 million yearly.
"Schools are still collecting bottles because the programme was a direct source of income for inner-city youths, community groups and schools," Ms. Morrison explained.
She added that while she has not had formal dialogue with the four soft drink companies regarding the discontinuation of their funding, she had been told they were trying to reach a formal arrangement with the Government. The companies are: Pepsi Cola Jamaica Ltd., Coca Cola Jamaica Ltd., Jamaica Beverages Ltd. and Jamaica Drinks Company Ltd.
