JET not in support of call to boycott Trade Winds Citrus products over Rio Cobre oil spill

By Kimone Witter    

 

Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) is not in support of a call to boycott products of Trade Winds Citrus Limited.

 

Members of the group, Friends of the Rio Cobre, announced on Wednesday that it is calling for the public to join in the action as part of renewed pressure to hold the company accountable for the December 2023 oil spill in the river.

 

There has been outrage since the National Environment and Planning Agency dropped criminal charges against Trade Winds Citrus in relation to the incident.

 

The government indicated that there was no fish kill, therefore an environmental impact assessment was not required.

 

Dr. Theresa Rodriquez-Moodie, Chief Executive Officer of JET, says it is the right of residents to take the action they deem appropriate, but the focus on the company is misplaced. 

 

"It is not the direction that we would have chosen because the reality is that when we look at what private sector, private companies are allowed to do, they really are allowed to do what the law allows and what government entities, the different regulatory authorities, allow. And so this is why we have really been focused on the system, the regulatory framework and having improvements there. And this issue with Trade Winds and how it was dealt with really highlights a lot of the systemic changes that are needed," she sought to explain.   

 

Dr. Rodriquez-Moodie was speaking Wednesday on Radio Jamaica's Beyond the Headlines.