THE controversial scrap metal trade — which was suspended 18 months ago amidst widespread theft amounting to $1 billion over the past four years — is to resume in the third week of January under far more stringent regulations, Industry Minister Anthony Hylton announced yesterday.

Under the new measures, restrictions will be placed on the type of scrap metal to be exported and all containers must be loaded under the supervision of the police, custom officers and in some cases the military, at

three designated sites in Clarendon, Riverton City and Hagley Park Road.

Hylton, who made the announcement at the weekly Jamaica House press briefing in Kingston, warned that there will be appropriate penalties for non-compliant exporters who could be fined up to $2 million and relieved of their licence.

“It cannot be a laissez-faire, ad hoc approach where traders and exporters do as they please. That will not happen under my watch,” Hylton insisted. The trade generated some US$100 million in its peak in 2006 and provided employment for 10,000 persons.

Under the new regime, Hylton said there will be a distinction between industrial scrap generated by companies from their manufacturing operations and non-industrial scrap, which is purchased from individuals, and which have posed the major challenge in monitoring the trade.

All exporters, individuals and companies will now be required to post a $7-million bond, a portion of which will be used to compensate victims of theft.

Additionally, scrap material will be on display at the sites for five days to facilitate public viewing before the loading of containers can commence.

“Anything remotely suspect will be detained for investigation by the police and customs for an additional 10 days, to allow for viewing by the public,” Hylton said, adding that a website will be set up for the public to view and lodge complaints of theft.

Restriction has also been imposed on the exportation of copper, irrigation pipes, manhole covers, I-beams, railway lines and sign posts.

Although Cabinet had approved the use of a Government-owned central site for loading and processing of scrap metal, Hylton said that at a subsequent meeting with the Scrap Metal Federation, concerns were raised about the time it would take to construct such a site.

As such, he said, the federation proposed the use of private sites in the interim.

Hylton said only three of the 30 proposed sites were selected based on the ability of the police and customs personnel to properly monitor and control these sites.

Yesterday, President of the Scrap Metal Federation Jonathan Aarons said traders were awaiting a meeting with the minister before endorsing the new measures.

“We have not yet seen the statement that the minister made yesterday and so we cannot comment until some time after 1:00 pm

tomorrow (today) after we have met with him,” Aarons told the Jamaica Observer.

However, the move was welcomed by telecommunica-tions company LIME, which suffered great losses at the hands of scrap metal thieves, as well as the former industry minister Christopher Tufton — who imposed the ban on the trade last July, following rampant theft of metal from companies and individuals.

“LIME has never been opposed to the resumption of scrap metal exports. What we want to see are the appropriate regulations in place to properly monitor the gathering and export of scrap metal,” said Vice-President of Service Support and Delivery at LIME Jamaica, Howard Mollison.

The company is said to have lost some J$300 million to theft.

“We are pleased to note that the Government has decided to maintain restrictions

on the export of copper by operators within the trade,” Mollison said.

Meanwhile, Tufton, who is now the co-executive director of the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CaPRI), said he welcomed Government’s inclusion of the Ten Steps to a Scrap Metal Solution — published by CaPRI in May — “in its new framework”.

“Among the recommenda-tions incorporated in the new framework is a move to improve existing legislation governing the trade and institute better regulatory mechanisms, the establishment of central sites for the loading and exporting of scrap, instituting video surveillance at packing sites, the expansion of the inspection teams to include the police force, customs department and military, when necessary, and the institutionalisation of more stringent licensing regimes and harsher penalties for operators in breach,” Tufton said in a statement.

“The organisation also acknowledges and views positively the establishment of a bond to deal with the compensation of the victims of the trade and the establishment of standardised viewing procedures that will allow for proper scrutiny of that which is for sale,” he added.