Gov't clamps down on illegal dumping in St Kitts

 BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CMC):

Prime Minister Dr Denzil Douglas has warned citizens that given the destructive impact of global warming, his administration will be getting tough with persons engaged in illegal dumping.

The prime minister said that for decades, people were dumping old fridges and other appliances indiscriminately across the island.

"As far as the owners of these appliances are con-cerned, no one can see these old fridges, stoves and air conditioners after they go tumbling down the ghaut-side, and so, for them, (the owners), it is a case of out of sight, out of mind. It is not as simple as that, however," warned Douglas.

"Nature, however, knows nothing about appliances. Nature only knows that when there is heavy rain in the mountains, this water urgently has to find its way to the sea so that we, on the land, can be spared the dangerous, costly, and indeed, life-threatening floods that we have all seen, both here and abroad, over the years," he added.

He said the ghauts were essential to nature's will and wisdom in times of massive downpours, raging storms, and hurricanes, and when the watercourses that have been established from the mountains to the sea become clogged by hundreds of appliances we end up with serious problems.

"We end up with a potential for real disasters because the water coming down from the mountains, with such a phenomenal force, has nowhere to go. But yet it keeps coming, forcefully and furiously. And blockages can lead to disaster.

"I know that it is possible that many may not have thought about the impact of their actions before. I know that many have not stopped to imagine what is happening when they and 51,300 other people all dump their appliances into the ghauts," said Prime Minister Douglas.