Antigua reported that copper dealers will not get the month end green light they were hoping for to resume trading. This as government announced a further extension of the ban on the trading of copper, which had been slated to cease on November 28th 2012.
Dr Errol Cort National Security Minster said that cabinet has made a decision to leave the embargo in place indefinitely. The Cabinet has decided the ban will continue in respect of copper which is really the issue that we are trying to get at, as opposed to cans and plastics.
Dr Cort said that just this week, copper thieves almost cost the Ministry of Health’s Central Medical Stores over USD 150,000 in life saving medicine for people living with cancer, HIV, diabetes and other diseases.
Staff at the facility said that bandits caused an industrial freezer containing pharmaceuticals to stop working when they stripped 23 feet of copper tubing and about 18 feet of copper wires from it on Monday night.
Dr Cort said that copper theft is an issue which is of much concern to the ministry and proper mechanisms will be put in place to bring it to an end. In September the minister announced the ban of copper and scrap metals with immediate effect due to rampant thefts plaguing local residents, businesses and services.
A special committee was also set up to review the crime spate plus other aspects of the trade. Scrap metal dealers who reported major loss during the embargo were able to resume trade two weeks ago after agreeing to certain terms and conditions.