Buccament Bay Resort denies allegations of dumping human waste at sea

An official for the Buccament Bay Resort has refuted allegations that the resort is involved in dumping human waste at sea.

The allegations, made by a resident of the area, in a videotaped interview with Jerry George and published on social media, were described by a spokesperson for Harlequin as being “damaging and baseless accusations” that are “utterly unfair, unfounded, and without merit.”{{more}}

In the video recording, “Ras Shaka” tells George that human waste was being stored at the resort in an uncovered cesspit, and that it is rumoured that the waste is disposed in the sea via a pipe that is buried underground.

“People say it goes out into the sea; I can’t say that for a fact, because I don’t know, but up to recently, a guy told me that the waste from that hole goes to the sea, but I don’t have no evidence, so I can’t prove it.”

One visitor to the resort also claimed that on returning to the United Kingdom several years ago, she had to seek medical attention for skin and stomach infections, which she said were said to be caused by direct contact with human waste.

However, the spokesperson, in an email response to SEARCHLIGHT, said that the accusation is not supported by verifiable evidence.

“Buccament Bay Resort is a proud guest and international representative of St Vincent and frankly it’s a tremendous shame that we should be exposed to these damaging and baseless accusations, which will ultimately harm St Vincent just as much as the Resort’s reputation.

“This latest unwarranted criticism appears to be the latest in a string of motivated attacks designed to undermine the reputation of the Resort,” the spokesperson added.

When SEARCHLIGHT visited the resort on October 22, we looked around, but there were no signs of an open cesspit.

An official also took SEARCHLIGHT to an area that had been described in the video as the location where the alleged illegal disposal of waste was taking place, but the official informed SEARCHLIGHT that the area was a compost site, where trimmed plants and branches were gathered, as part of the resort’s recycling campaign.

SEARCHLIGHT was also taken to what was described as the resort’s waste treatment unit, which the official said was fully functional.(JJ)