By Leonardo Blair, Staff ReporterEXTORTIONISTS ARE demanding that they be paid a permit fee of $5 million before major rehabilitation of the Tinson Pen Gully in Kingston can be carried out.
The Sunday Gleaner has been reliably informed that a contract to correct the malfunctioning gully, which is prone to massive flooding whenever it rains, was awarded four months ago but the contractor has been unable to start any work because of the $5 million which extortionists are demanding.
"This money is not for security or anything, this is just money to allow the contractor to start the work," explained The Sunday Gleaner source.
But this is just one of the major construction projects that have been affected by extortion. Several contractors have had to suspend operations on a number of roadwork projects across the Corporate Area as heavy extortion fees, along with political demands for work, continue to choke their progress. And the National Works Agency (NWA) is reporting that so far this year, close to 50 persons have lost their lives due to the extortion and political activists' involvement in projects.
Just last week, work on a section of the Sandy Gully Bridge, in the vicinity of Riverton Meadows on Spanish Town Road, was forced to a halt after contractors refused to pay up a monthly fee of $1 million to extortionists.
The contractors were not available for comments, however, according to Vando Palmer, manager of communications and customer services at the NWA, following a recent meeting involving parties concerned, an assurance was given that no extortion money will be demanded and anyone employed to work on the $30 million project would be employed on merit only.
A permanent replacement bridge is being constructed to replace the structurally unsound bridge, sections of which were closed in April. Work on the bridge resumes tomorrow, Mr. Palmer said.
Rehabilitative work on the stretch of road between the Three Miles area and Maxfield Avenue and Maxfield Avenue to Darling Street in Kingston was stalled for some four months, due to the demands from extortionists of up to $400,000, fortnightly, explained Mr. Palmer. That contract was valued at $50 million.
The murder of three men in Temple Hall, St. Andrew, over work on a $100 million roadwork contract in West Rural St. Andrew last Tuesday forced the Incorporated Master Builders Association of Jamaica (IMAJ) and the National Works Agency (NWA) to devise a plan to tackle extortion and construction site violence last week. The groups bemoaned the fact that extortion had become so institutionalised across the country, "that there are persons who are willing to kill to ensure how work is distributed".
The Consultative Committee, which is charged with overseeing the implementation of the recommendation of the National Committee on Crime and Violence, also expressed concern about the growing problem and effects of extortion in the country, which according to one source, is costing the industry an estimated $5 billion annually.
The police, however, would neither confirm nor deny those figures. Deputy Superintendent Cornwall 'Bigga' Ford at the Office of Criminal Investigation Division (OCID), which has among its mandate, to end extortion, explained that he was hoping to have information on the matter this week as investigations into reports of extortion continue.
"We have been getting some reports and we know that it (extortion) does exist," said Mr. Ford. "If the persons involved (victims) come to the police we have the mechanism to deal with it. If we are kept out of the loop we can't do anything."
As players in the construction industry and political leaders attempt to come up with a solution to the extortion problem it has been agreed that it will not be easy.
Member of Parliament for West Rural St. Andrew, Andrew Gallimore, said he was described as a 'backward' thinker last week, for suggesting that contractors work with area leaders and politicians to ensure that violent outbursts such as the triple murder in Temple Hall is avoided. He suggested, however, that at this point it is better to be called a dinosaur than an ostrich.
"When I looked at the paper this morning (Friday), I would have been more offended if instead of being called a dinosaur, I had been called an ostrich. I was curious to understand how it is that many people who have been here a lot longer than I have are detractors of what I am saying.
"What I am saying is not particularly attractive but the fact of the matter is that it deals with reality."
The NWA, however, dismissed Mr. Gallimore's ride with the tides approach.
"How can you work with the people like this. This approach is not the way to go," said Mr. Palmer.
"A contractor some time ago was paving Mountain View Avenue and over a length of road of about anywhere between four km, the contractor changed 62 persons. Once you cross a certain point you have to drop off at least 20 workers and take on another 20 and some of them are not even skilled," added Mr. Palmer.
Efforts to contact several contractors this week for comment in this story were unsuccessful. Many of them were said to be fearful for their lives.
