The Barbados Association of Retailers Vendors and Entrepreneurs (BARVEN) is condemning the sale of illegally acquired sugarcane and has called for the full weight of the law to be brought down on anyone found engaging in the practice.
President Alistair Alexander made his association’s position clear on the heels of complaints by Chairman of the Barbados Sugar Industry Limited (BSIL) Patrick Bethel that people were stealing sugarcane.
“It is a crime against the state. It is a capital crime because the growing of food is a part of national security, and all praedial larcenists are jeopardising our food security and therefore they are jeopardising, as far as I am concerned, national security,” Alexander told Barbados TODAY, noting that none of the vendors selling peeled cane were members of BARVEN.
“We are very much against anybody going into people’s grounds and stealing things and selling things that are not theirs.”
Last week, Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS) James Paul urged Barbadians to stop buying peeled cane from wayside vendors, on the heels of a similar call from Bethel.
Alexander suggested that wayside vendors should have to show proof that any cane they sell came from their own grounds.
“If they are not selling their own cane . . . I would encourage the police to crack down on it. To be truthful with you, in these matters, sometimes because of historical injustice, when certain ethnic groups are involved there is a cry out that the police are moving against the black population.
“This is a matter of moving against wrong and we have to support the move against wrong against any citizen of Barbados. Whether they are white, black, whatever colour, they have a right to justice. We do believe there should be a crackdown on all types of illegal activities as far as sourcing of products that are being sold,” Alexander said.
anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb
