KARISMA Hotels & Resorts says it is pleased with the announcement of the lifting of the cessation order on sand relocation by the Government of Jamaica.

“We are pleased that this matter has been cleared up and it has been proven that we acted within the law at all times, with the requisite permissions obtained from Government,” said Ruben Becerra, vice-president of Corporate Affairs & Business Development in a statement yesterday

As a result, he said, work has resumed on the construction of the five-star Karisma hotel in Negril.

Becerra pointed out that his company had maintained a high reputation in the international market for being environmentally friendly in keeping with its “going clean” philosophy.

“We always seek to act in accordance with the laws of the country in which we operate to the benefit of the immediate community, the tourist trade and the nation’s economy,” said Becerra.

Karisma Hotels & Resorts, he added, had plans to construct more than 5,000 hotel rooms in Llandovery, St Ann, over the next 10 years; invest almost US$1 billion in that parish and provide more than 10,000 direct jobs to Jamaicans through the establishment of its brand in that community.

“We trust this will be a successful tourism project in Jamaica, as we work to benefit the Jamaican people and the nation as a whole,” Becerra said.

… Negril Chamber of Commerce unhappy

In the meantime, the Negril Chamber of Commerce (NCC) said it is appalled that the minister responsible for the environment, Robert Pickersgill, has rescinded the stop order for the removal of sand from Karisma’s Hotel in Negril to their property in Llandovery, St Ann.

“We have heard arguments that the [material] is not sand and also that it was owned by the hotel. The Quarries Control Act of 1984 defines quarry material as follows: “Quarry material means rock, stone, sand (including sea sand), marl, gravel, clay, fill and limestone where such material does not contain any minerals in economically workable quantities”. Sea sand is defined as “sand on the seabed, shoreline or foreshore”. It added, in a release, that the excavated sand and soil on Karisma’s construction site is quarry material as defined by the Act and requires a quarry licence to excavate or remove it, which is why one was issued.

According to the chamber, the recently enacted Development Order clearly states the risk of removing the sand from Negril to another location, yet, it has been ignored by the environment minister. “This risks the integrity and stability of the entire beach at Long Bay, affecting those who have invested in Negril for decades.”

At the same time, the chamber said Government’s argument that “the value of the project to the Jamaican economy outweighs all other considerations” is essentially to say that once there is money to be made, the environment does not matter.

“This is a short-term and incredibly ill-informed position to take, particularly in the context of the Government of Jamaica seeking donor funding to protect the environment and mitigate against climate change,” said the release.

The NCC also questioned the logic of having environmental laws and an environmental regulatory body, and promised to lobby all international agencies to cease funding climate change adaptation and protection of the environment projects until our Government stops sacrificing the environment on the altar of expediency.