The issue of whether or not Belize Roadway Construction needed a license for a quarry blast in Santa Cruz, Santa Elena, is still controversial. As we told you, the head of the Mining Unit says that a license is needed to blast - especially when it's in a residential area. Well, Works Minister Rene Montero and his team maintain that no license was needed and they referred us to a section of the mining act that speaks to their position. Chief Engineer Lennox Bradley also added that under this act, the construction company had every right and freedom to blast wherever they see fit to ensure the success of the road works.
Hon. Rene Montero, Minister of Works
"As far as I know every single individual who was affected was adequately compensated."
Reporter
"Do you still maintain that no license was needed?"
Hon. Rene Montero, Minister of Works
"According to the mining act, there was no need for any license."
Courtney Weatherburne, reporter
"We spoke to the head of Mining Unit and she mentioned that the unit did know about this, they were not aware of any activity in this area and according to the law, there should have been some license issued by the Mining Unit and they did not issue that license."
Hon. Rene Montero, Minister of Works
"Well I can re-iterate that there was no need for a mining license according to the mining act."
Reporter
"You have houses around, you have residents around, you should have used your discretion better to prevent this from happening."
Hon. Rene Montero, Minister of Works
"Yes but we took all the necessary precautions to ensure there was minimal damage."
Lennox Bradley, Chief Engineer, Ministry of Works
"A requirement in the contract is to ensure that materials compliant with the specifications are used on the project. The contractor have the right to explore all avenues to get material that will satisfy the specifications in the contract. That was what the contractor was doing, BRC - Belize Roadway Construction. They identified that path, Ministry of Works has had access to that site from the late 1980's and we gave the go ahead to do exploratory works there."
"We will not hinder their progress if they identify a site that is granted to the Ministry of Works for use, it is a public road. I have two laws of Belize; the Public Roads Act that gives the Minister of Works and the chief engineer the authority to sourced material from any land. That is the public roads act. Then you have chapter 226, the mining act that also makes provisions which the Honorable Minister made reference to that once it's a public road and it's a government department we do not need to get that mining act to do exploratory investigations there."
That section of the mining act which you saw in the story, was taken from a document entitled "Report on the Countrywide Investigation on Burrow Pits for the Ministry of Works Government of Belize." As you heard from Montero, all the residents have been compensated for the damage that the botched quarry blast caused.
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