A view of the eco-landfill in Grandes Cayes, Cul-de-Sac, in 2018. (Roger Masip photo)
MARIGOT--The Laurence family, owners of the land occupied by the eco-landfill located in Grandes Cayes has once again accused the Collectivité and recycling company Verde SXM of operating at the site without a valid legal contract, effectively taking advantage of using the land for free, family member Keith Laurence claims.
Laurence was reacting to the latest news that Verde SXM plans to implement a 30-million-euro project to convert waste at the site into electrical energy. The family originally rented out 64,000 square metres of the land deemed non-constructible for use as an eco-landfill site.
“The company says it is going ahead with its plans to do this and that, but is avoiding resolving this long-standing issue over the land,” he said. “The land contract was up in 2013 (five years) and has never been renewed. That was the last time we were paid for the use of the land. We (family) raised the issue with the then politicians at the time Guillaume Arnell and the late President Aline Hanson, but nothing came of it, and now, with a new administration, it’s the same thing again.”
According to Laurence, Verde SXM’s contract ended in 2017. A new one was made up, but not in Verde’s name. It was in the name of the previous company Sofunag Environment and was not signed by all the family heirs.
“In a nutshell, the company doesn’t have any legal contract to operate on the property. We have lawyers trying to regulate the matter, but it ends up being a run-around each time.”
Laurence says there are some 20 heirs and even though they are spread out, some living overseas, he insists there are no problems within the family. The family has a lawyer on the French side working on the issue.
“The Collectivité does not want to lease the land, which is what the family wants and says it has no value. They offered to buy the land for 1.50 euros per square metre which is ridiculous and now you see 30-million euros is going to be invested in it. It is a money-making venture for Verde for sure.
“It’s the only piece of land that is zoned to specifications for having a dump. As for the rest of the family property they want to make it part of Réserve Naturelle. I do not see where the justice is in all this. For nine years we have been in this tailspin. It is an abuse of power. The Collectivité says it has no money to buy the land, but it is happy to do business with Verde SXM and not with the family.”
Steven Patrick, formerly the elected official in charge of Delegation Cadre de Vie that includes urbanism, development and the environment, says the issue with the family is “very complicated.” He disagrees that the family is united in their demands.
“There are contractual issues to be resolved, that is for sure,” Patrick agrees. “But part of the family is willing to sell the land to Verde SXM; then you have the other side of the family that is not satisfied with a sale. There are disagreements within the family which is making the situation difficult to resolve.”
Patrick acknowledged the Collectivité has been operating there for at least six or seven years without a valid rental agreement contract.
“There haven’t been any payments issued for the same number of years. In fact, payments to the family were suspended for legal reasons,” he explained. “The rental contract the Collectivité had with the family expired and it wasn’t renewed because of the pending sale that was ongoing.
“The Collectivité had a contract with Verde SXM and Verde has been negotiating with the family to buy the land,” he continued. “The Collectivité won’t buy the land for the price the family is asking for. However, Verde SXM is willing to pay more for the land. That is where the negotiation has been for the last couple of years.
“The last I heard on this file, was that, late last year there was a verbal agreement on a sale that would have been finalised this year, but I think part of the family was not in agreement with that. So, yes, neither Verde SXM nor the Collectivité have an “actual” contract right now, because of the on-going process of the matter being resolved.”
Managing Director of Verde SXM Patrick Villemin, currently in France, initially agreed to an interview with this newspaper on the matter, but at the appointed time was then unobtainable by phone, on Tuesday. He has alluded previously to some Laurence family members being more “open” than others.
The Collectivité argues Verde SXM is operating with a valid contract. Contacted Tuesday, President Gibbs declined to discuss the case, as he said he did not have all the facts at hand at short notice.
