Several weeks ago, a respected Jamaican scientist sought my support in condemning the provision of a lease to mine in the Puerto Bueno Mountains of St Ann. I knew very little about the matter at the time and decided to inform myself. Two days later, a doctor called me. He was annoyed. He made some comments about the prime minister’s decision to make that lease available and did not wait for a response. His statements were not flattering. That Thursday, a man who is given free rein on a radio station in the afternoons made some comments about those who made the lease possible. I suspect a first-year law student could successfully bring a defamation lawsuit against him.
The fight to block mining in the ecologically sensitive Puerto Bueno Mountains on Jamaica’s northern coast is heading to the Supreme Court as residents are suing the Government and the mining company for alleged breaches of constitutional rights.
The eight claimants filed their claim in the Supreme Court on Thursday against the attorney general, the Natural Resources and Conservation Authority (NRCA), and Bengal Development Limited, the owners of the 569-acre property in St Ann.
They are also seeking a permanent injunction against mining on the property.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness has been at the centre of the controversy after overturning, in his capacity as environment minister, the May 2020 decision of the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) not to grant a permit for the mining of limestone because of the land’s ecological value.