Delroy Williams, the opposition Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) elected representative for the Providenciales Wheeland district, has taken to the airwaves to address the production of charcoal by suspected illegal Haitian immigrants.

Delroy Williams

The burning of wood in this process is resulting in acrid smoke blowing over the Providenciales international airport, irritating the eyes of visitors.

However, neither the Department of Maritime and Environmental Affairs (DEMA) nor any other government department has taken action to stop the practice and round up the culprits.

This, Williams said, is surely wrong.

“This is not a complicated issue… I know it is difficult to access these bush areas of Provo but the people doing the burning are there. Immigration needs to take action,” he said.

He went on to say, “They are talking about dropping water on the sites to extinguish the fires… this is silly; soon it will rain. It is simply a matter for immigration to address.”

In an earlier televisions phone interview from Grand Turk, Kathleen Wood, who heads DEMA, said this issue affects immigration, the police, and the fire department. However, no one in the present government seems to be addressing the problem, including Wood herself. DEMA has environmentalists on staff, who could shut the kilns down due to unlawful deforestation.

Meanwhile, it appears that, after a controversial statement encouraging residents to track down illegal Haitian migrants and make their lives “unbearable”, immigration minister Don-Hue Gardiner and his ministry in general have since gone silent on these issues.