Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: The best insight, instant feedback, accountability. The all new talk radio Freedom 106.5.
[00:00:08] Speaker B: We do have an interview for you at this point in time as welcome to our program. He's been with us before. Some stories making the rounds recently about the scrap iron industry and the possibility that they're going to be shut down again. We have joining us this morning, president of the Scrap Iron Dealers association. Let's say good morning and welcome to Mister Allen Ferguson.
[00:00:31] Speaker C: Mister Ferguson, good morning to you. Nice to have you with us here this morning.
[00:00:35] Speaker D: Good, good morning to you sashid and good morning to your listeners.
How are you going?
[00:00:43] Speaker B: Good. Nice to have you with us here this morning. Some stories recently about the scrap iron industry heritage making some threats, making some allegations that people teething out their scrap iron and all that kind of thing, blaming scrap iron dealers and of course you having some strong comments. What's, what's going on?
[00:01:02] Speaker D: Well, you know, we live in Trinidad and our industry is not move away from what taking place here with the crime and the theft and all different things. And you find because of the, the industry was open back up and it still has some laws that they ingested, not enforcing. And, and the fund collectors have not been licensed as yet. So you find people that still come in the industry and do what they was doing before the shutdown. And your findings that they have it have industry also that even the securities of people in the industry bringing out things and selling people. You know, so it looking like is the this crap industry. These crap people who work every day is the ones that stealing the material. But you know, we ready to work with any industry that having issues with people stealing thing. And we have some information that we will share with heritage. We just waiting for a meeting with them.
But that is where it is not. We not taking blame for something that people had to enforce law on. You know, because it's about just enforcing the law. What we have laws for in Trinidad and Tobago and we and the association, we can't people because they're not enforcing the law. We cannot do that.
[00:02:38] Speaker B: What law? What law is not being enforced?
[00:02:43] Speaker D: Well you see, I'll tell you something. The police have all the authority if they find that things is missing to go into the scrap yards and them and check and see if something being somebody reported something missing. The police have the authority to go in these areas where the Yaz is and check. And if they're not doing it, it allow the people to hold the um, buying stolen stuff to continue doing it. Because if you know that you're buying stolen stuff and nobody coming to check and nobody doing nothing, you find that people will continue. But if you know that the police will come into your place, you wouldn't want to take the chance to lose your license and they lock up. But all these things is not enforcing it. Have, there's things that the police could do when bands on the road, if you check all the vans and stop them and check them out, you put people understanding and if they even sell the steel and they come out on the road, they could be checked. These are things that we mention and we tell them, you know, because in 2013 when we had any issues, we had discussed it with the police and because it was stealing the TLC T wire and stealing all kind of thing, when the police had to go into the yard, people didn't even want to even see TL City wire because they know the police could come in the yard and catch them because, because everything have to be right in the yard, you know, everything has to be right here because right there you're buying it. So the whole thing about it is that if the police go in and check these yards, you find that things are going on when going at all.
We don't have the power. We don't have the power to lock up people. We don't have the power to do certain things is the police have the power.
[00:04:37] Speaker B: Have you been speaking to the police about the information you have? Have you passed on the information to them.
[00:04:44] Speaker D: Speak to them? And when you write them for a meeting, you can't get no meeting or you, or you go talk to them, you can't talk to them because it have people that you could talk to and there's people you cannot talk to in reference information. Yeah. You understand what I'm saying? You can't just, you just can't just go just in Trinidad. No, we had a, we had a meeting in some years ago, we had a meeting with assistant commissioner and when we, when we leave before, as we come out the door, we was told that we was somebody call us and tell us we was in a meeting with so and so on and so on. So we had to be careful how things are being done in around this time now, you know, and we live in Trinidad and everybody know, everybody and everybody seems to, when people bring information to them, they don't understand that it's people like they're playing with, you know, you know. Yeah. So all these things is things that, that is why we ask meeting with the police commissioner that we could lay with her in what taking place is not about me and information coming into me as the president. People will be calling me each and every day. And I had to, I had to study how to respond and how to react to all these claims that sometimes were taking place in the industry. The thing about it, you don't want to make laws and do, and don't enforce it. You do want to do that, you will come back the same way as how it was in 2022. It will be like that. Why did you make any laws and you're doing all these things and you're not enforcing it. I had a meeting with the Ministry of Trade and I explained all of these things to them and they say they're not the enforcer is the police. And I could understand that. I can understand what they're saying. You understand why.
[00:06:40] Speaker B: Are there any suggestions as to why the police are not enforcing the law? Do you think that it's because there are police officers who working alongside some of these illegal operations?
[00:06:55] Speaker D: No, I ain't have that information. I don't think so. I honestly don't believe so. I just believe is that Trinidad is not this crap industry that we nothing laws, you know, we just do enforce laws. The. Among the laws they have in Trinidad and Tobago, when you take a look at it, is not, it's not about we alone, that they're not enforcing laws. Laws is not enforcing a lot of other. A lot of other means. Um, in other industry and other things. You know, there's a lot of things going on here. We live in a society, know that the place more lawless than. And. And people obeying the law. You know, a lot of people is disobey. If you just drive, if you just come on the street and you driving along the highway, you driving on the streets, you see some margins taking place. You could just watch alone. People not following an instruction, people not doing what they're supposed to do. You understand? It's not about we. Our industry alone. The whole place. Like, we just need to. We just need to revamp and straighten out this whole thing. This thing will take more than a government to straighten out this place in it. This will take all of. We decided that. Let me get up this morning and change and stop doing what we're doing because I'm telling you, not one thing going to stop our problem. What about not wanting alone?
[00:08:17] Speaker C: Okay, so heritage has raised the issue of its. Its material or whatever, it's assets being stolen. They've accused the scrap iron dealers, they are suggesting that's where it's going. And you're saying that there is information that can be used to rectify the problem and for whatever reason the police not dealing with it, they're not enforcing and so on.
What discussions have you been having with heritage, if any at all?
[00:08:46] Speaker D: No, no. Well, what we do, we ask a meeting and then we wait for them and the meeting. But, but what? I want to just show out in for Trinidad and Tobago. Let me tell you something. Heritage is a place that barongouse here it is, is a place that people who drive in a van can drive in there. You know, they cannot drive in there to take them heavy, heavy motors and all kind of thing. You know, it have to be somebody in day driving out with it. You understand what I'm saying? All these things will draw to my attention from members of our association telling me when they look at it and way entry, which part of vehicle will pass to come out a heritage compound, unless they do have security.
[00:09:32] Speaker C: So what, what you're suggesting is that this is an inside job then? That's because.
[00:09:40] Speaker D: Yes, and I mean, the only person to blame if you're missing motors, you're missing scrap, is the easy scrap dealers. That's the only people, people to blame. But what you have to do is take a review of your, your place and look and see what is taking place, why it is we, you can drive in the normal, as a normal driver. You had to get permission and pass to get in there. That's how it be material getting out.
[00:10:07] Speaker C: Okay, that's a. My guys, that's a good question for heritage to have to answer because you need to look at it from all sides, not just who purchasing the material.
[00:10:15] Speaker B: But who's selling it as well.
[00:10:17] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:10:18] Speaker C: So you've, you've written, you all have written to heritage, you've written to the police commission and you've not been getting the. Oh, how long ago did you write? Are you expecting to get a, any kind of favorable response? What's, what's going on with those attempts to, to sit and talk?
[00:10:33] Speaker D: No, well, um, I mean we will, we will work with them. Um, I mean it's not that they, I know that the chairman is a busy man and the people who ensure the security, um, it's just, um, last Friday it happened, I mean a week ago. Um, we wait to get a meeting with them, that we could sit down with them and make sure that we work out all, and all the information because we do it. In the past we used to have meeting with the people who is involved in the head of the security. Even here in Petroche and we work on the past with them.
There's a lot of things we do to help them in the past and we still ready to work with them to make sure that the theft that taking place in their compound. Because one of the things that we understand too right.
If we, the fellows and them in our industry, the ones that want to buy students. No, don't buy it. It will have a market for the people also. No matter they bringing it out to whoever bringing it out. It will have a marketplace. If you don't buy it, you understand what I'm saying? So we try to encourage in our members from buying these stone stuff. And if you don't buy it, it will have a market. So it's not them alone to blame.
Why she's saying that how it is coming out, how it is it will be in purchase and you know, it's total material is wrong. And if it's wrong is wrong with me. So I'm not going to. I'm not going to defend people doing wrong. Not at all. Not at all. I didn't do that. And we have, we have ideas. We have. I mean we could have ideas who it is buying these tools and stuff. You know, because you know in Trinidad and Tobago you can't hide from doing nothing, you understand?
[00:12:31] Speaker C: Well, apparently you can hide from the police because everybody seemed to know what's going on except the police in a matter like this.
[00:12:37] Speaker D: Well, yeah, well you could say that you are shooting what you're saying there because I could tell you. I know. I think they know sometimes there is no who is doing it. I don't know why. I don't know.
Let me tell you something satish. This country is a country. I don't know what's going on with me. I think we need a purge out to change our attitude and the way how we treat people. The way how we do things. The way everything goes. Everything need to flush out and start over back. And when you listen the people speak and people making contribution. You know, we split up. We split up. We not united in trying to solve our problem. And when you're not united trying to solve a problem, you're in a serious problem. Because no matter what you do to try to solve the problem, it will always have people who are gains. You know, you don't matter the toes amount of work I do for this industry that people just, just do like how you, you might. I might be operating. You know some people feel that I have. Well love in the industry. No, not by everybody. Not by everybody. Because it always have people who don't like it. Because they don't care how you work hard to try to make sure that honesty take place. Because if you. If you want to try to tell people who do in dishonesty not to do it, you know you're going to be liked by them. If you talk about let us work to build something in the correct way. It has some people do like that, you know. Because they want to continue doing the wrong. And these are the people will you will always find issues with. And this is Trinidad and Tobago. Unless we do get this change and get united with willing our country for our children that will come up and do try to push it down a road that we go in. I am telling you it will go long. Worse than 80.
[00:14:37] Speaker B: Yeah. Mister Ferguson, we're gonna have to leave our discussion here this morning but it's pretty interesting.
[00:14:41] Speaker C: I guess we'll have a follow up.
[00:14:43] Speaker B: To find out what developments take place in resolving this matter. Thank you so much for being with us here this morning.
[00:14:49] Speaker D: I want to thank you and thank you session for always giving us the key hearing for people to understand what is our position. I want to thank you for that.
[00:14:59] Speaker B: It was my pleasure having you here. And that's where we drop the questions on our interview with Mister Allen Ferguson, president of the Scrap Iron Dealers association. We'll have some more discussions with them moving forward.
[00:15:10] Speaker A: The best insight instant feedback, accountability. The all new talk radio Freedom 106.5.
