Codrington, Barbuda – Barbuda’s once-booming sand mining industry, a cornerstone of its economy, is nearing its final days as a parliamentary order aims to bring an end to decades of environmental harm.
The Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda is expected to place a prohibition on sand exports in law. The labour party government says the decision is to finally stop the harm done to the environment by the removal of sand in large quantities from Barbuda.
Cabinet spokesman Lionel Hurst confirmed that experts had calculated the volume of sand removed over the past 50 years, and the numbers painted a grim picture, noting that “the removal of sand must stop”.
“We know that the investment in the mining of sand has been significant. Therefore, what we are doing is hoping that the Parliament of Antigua will place a restriction of that sand outside of Antigua and Barbuda..”
“Sand from Barbuda will continue to be exported to Antigua, but not to other countries in the Caribbean as has been the case recently.”
According to Hurst, efforts to restore sand levels would include placing a ban on fishing for parrotfish, which is responsible for a significant amount of the sand produced in the twin island. The ban on parrot fish will encompass Antigua since fishing for the species was banned in Barbuda by the Barbuda Council in 2013.
Over the decades, many attempts have been made to stop sand mining, but it has always been weighed against the economic benefit of the state. According to a short excerpt from Barbudaful, in 2006, Randolph Beazer, then chairman of the Barbuda Council, confirmed that sand mining operations in Barbuda would continue, but under strict guidelines.
With sand mining soon to be a relic of the past, the labour party government is looking towards high-end tourism as an alternative means of earning income for Barbuda.
What’s next – a green tea factory proposed
In an area called Sand Ground or Coconut Plantation, Devon Warner Chairman of the Barbuda Council says a specialised industry using tea bush is a viable option.
“There are always effects when mining is done and the landmass and so on. I think one of the good things that could happen here is It would be a good base for agriculture programs because the water table is closer which means your production could be better,” he told IPB.
Warner says he knows from experience that vegetation thrives in the area.
Barbuda’s dark sand mining history
The early history of the industry can be traced back to the very same labour party government who is now attempting to end the multi-million-dollar revenue earner.
Discussions about sand mining began around 1979, according to former senator and current Vice Chairman of the Barbuda Council, Mackenzie Frank. He said Barbudans saw it as an opportunity to grow the economy and to construct critical infrastructure like roads and a hospital but in reality, they never benefited from its revenue during the first 10 years of operation.
“That was when Minister [Sir Adolphus] Freeland was in charge of Barbuda. He was the Minister of Barbuda Affairs,” Frank recalled.
“There was no infrastructure in Barbuda to really maintain industry and a good livelihood. There was a generator that supplied electricity to the population, but that was started by a group of Barbudans. So, when this issue of sand came up, people saw it as an opportunity to begin to use the resources of the island to develop the facilities of the people.”
Sand mining in Barbuda became most contentious between 1983 and 1993 when large-scale extraction led to environmental degradation and little benefit for Barbudans. The venture, led by American investor Dave Strickland, reportedly grossed EC$218 million, but most of that profit was retained by three government ministers and businessman Bruce Rappaport.
The industry was the cause of much bitterness and enmity between the then Antiguan (Lester Bird) Government, the Barbuda Council and the majority of the people of Barbuda – who received nothing from the sale of sand. During the height of the mining a road was built and tarmaced on one side only for the trucks to take sand as fast as possible – at a time when Barbuda had no other surfaced roads – such was the hurry to ship as much as possible off the island for maximum profit in Antigua. Litigation to prevent this exploitation was in the High Courts for over ten years and resulted in three members of Antigua Aggregates and Sandco Ltd (the companies responsible for mining the sand) being jailed for one month, but then saved from prison by a last minute ‘pardon’. – excerpt from Barbudaful
In 1993, the Barbuda Council sued the Attorney General, Antigua Aggregates Ltd., and Sandco Ltd. over a breach of an interim injunction that barred SANDCO from mining sand in a specific area. The Ministry of Agriculture had circumvented the court order by selling the sand to SANDCO. The court deemed this an illegal workaround and ruled that the defendants, driven by profits, had willfully defied the order. Custodial sentences of one month were issued.
https://www.eccourts.org/judgment/the-barbuda-council-v-antigua-aggregates-limited-et-al
Before his death in August 2021, Sir Lester Bird who served as prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda during that period denied having an unlawful stake in the business. He explained that the venture to export Barbuda sand was started by Louisiana Red Jacket Mines and that himself and fellow shareholders Robin Yearwood (now Sir Robin Yearwood) and Hugh Marshall Sr only got involved when the company was closing down.
According to Sir Lester, although they were ministers of government at the time, the purchase was in the best interest of the sister-isle. Up to 650 acres of sand was mined then and an additional 400 acres between 1994 and present, according to Council records.
Sir Lester Bird defends involvement in sand mining controversy – Antigua News Room
