Fellow Citizens
I wish to address a very important and burning issue that is affecting our Nation at this juncture of our history, that is, the issue of land ownership.
I remember speaking to the Hon. Louis Farrakan about two years ago on this very same matter. I reminded him then about the words of Jomo Kenyatta when he once said, "The White missionaries came with bibles to Africa and taught us to pray with our eyes closed. When we opened our eyes, we had their bibles and they had our lands." I expressed my fears that the very same thing is happening today in St. Kitts but instead of missionaries we have foreign investors supported by the government. Minister Farrakan turned to me and said, "My brother, then make sure you keep your eyes opened."
It is for that very reason why the People's Action Movement is determined to remain vigilant in its attempts to safeguard our people's patrimony, our birthright, our land.
Land is one of the most precious resources to any nation. In fact, nations have fought wars over land and continue to do so today. But why is this so? The answer lies in the fact that land represents power, heritage, birthright, independence, and much more.
The late Premier Robert Bradshaw recognized the importance of land ownership and that is why he nationalized the sugar lands in 1974. He took the former sugar estate lands by force from the white planters and by 1980 those lands were still embroiled in court battles. As a consequence of the lands being tied up in the court, our people could not get legal title to those lands.
In 1981 Dr. Kennedy Alphonse Simmonds paid the former owners $22.5 million dollars, thereby settling the longstanding dispute and at the same time making it possible for poor people to own a piece of their birthright. Further, in 1991 the P.A.M. administration passed the Land Development Act to provide security of tenure to tenant farmers on agricultural lands. In 1995, P.A.M was about to provide 200 acres or 1600 house lots for low and middle income housing development but that plan was cut short by violence and electoral fraud. Again in 2000, P.A.M proposed an exciting new initiative called HABITAT 10,000 where 10,000 families would be given the opportunity to buy land. No down-payment was required to purchase the land and at no interest. P.A.M was therefore interested in empowering citizens through land ownership.
Today, we are witnessing a complete reversal of P.A.M's land distribution policy by the Denzil Douglas-led administration. The closure of the sugar industry provided a great opportunity for the government to implement a land distribution policy that empowers locals. Sadly, the government has not sought to empower citizens through land ownership. Instead, the former sugar workers have remained landless and many small farmers have become dispossessed. At the same time our birthright is being sold to the highest foreign bidder like a slave on the auction block.
In 2004 the P.A.M said that it would close the sugar industry and compensate former sugar workers by given them not only money and a salary for two years but also 3 - 5 acres of land each. This revolutionary and people-empowering plan was laughed at by Minister Cedric Liburd and his Labour Party administration. They said that not enough land was available to give to the displaced sugar workers whose families had toiled for generations in the cane field to develop our country. But while no land was there for sugar workers, land was found for foreign investors.
I want to make it absolutely clear that the P.A.M. is not against foreign investment but we believe and demand that there must be a level playing field for both foreigners and locals.
The government refuses to explain to the Nation the truth about its dealings with foreign investors. Prime Minister Douglas likes to talk about transparency and accountability but in reality good governance is not a hallmark of his administration. Recently, when the Prime Minister was asked a question about the La Vallee Project he conveniently mishandled the truth.
It has now been brought to our attention that all is not well with the La Vallee Project. After four years and over $250,000,000 worth of loans the only things that can be seen at La Vallee are a long green fence and an unfinished golf course. Prime Minister Douglas needs to explain to the Nation the true and complete nature of the business arrangements between the government, St. Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla National Bank, Trinidad and Tobago Unit Trust Corporation, and the La Vallee Project.
In 2001, the Douglas-led government proposed a multi-million dollar project called the Whitegate Development Project which was to be constructed on 4000 acres of prime agricultural land. At a lavish signing ceremony held at Marshall's restaurant in January of 2001, the parties involved agreed to the construction of three hotels, three golf courses, a marina, a state of the art Horse Race Course and housing and business developments. Six years later all that has happened is that foreign investors got our lands and in return we got a large painted wooded signed marked HitGat.
The Kittitian Hill Project is another sour note. Prime Minister Douglas is on record saying that the lands are not sold. However, investigations have revealed that some of the lands are sold. How can the developer sell properties in the area if he does not have title to the land? In addition, part of the land has been leased for 99 years. A 99-year lease is almost like ownership for three generations. The point is the land is public land and the public should have been told this information.
In 2001, a new Joint Venture Company called Frigate Bay Golf Ltd. was created between the Royal St. Kitts Beach Resort and the Frigate Bay Development Corporation. A Golf Access and Use Agreement was signed between the parties involved. The Agreement enabled Frigate Bay Golf Ltd. to lease the Frigate Bay Golf Course for 50 years. This type of arrangement troubled Minister Dwyer Astaphan and in April of 2001 he wrote a memo to his Cabinet colleagues in which he stated that "the Group's proposals are not in the best interests, economically, socially, and politically of the country." Consequently, the Jack Tar Hotel was forced to lay off over 300 workers. Is Minister Astaphan so afraid of the Prime Minister that he cannot protest anymore or is he now supporting the bad deal?
On 28th February 2003, the government of St. Kitts and Nevis signed an Agreement with Caribbean Star Airlines, owned by Allan Stanford of Antigua and Barbuda. The Agreement facilitated the sale of 9.15 acres of prime Airport land at 68 cents per square foot. Today, the Stanford building is almost abandoned and is not the home of the promised Headquarters of Caribbean Star Airlines. Meanwhile locals have to pay over $4 per square foot for a small house plot.
Then there is the Stevia Project. In 2004 the Douglas-led government signed a MOU with Jonathan Chin and Natural Sweet Corporation as part of an agreement to develop a US$90 million dollar Stevia project. We were told that the Stevia project would provide hundreds of jobs for displaced sugar workers and inject millions of dollars into our local economy. Mr. Chin and his company were provided with 1000 acres of land at Estridge and 20 acres of land at Ponds Estate. Three years later, there is no Stevia, no jobs and no Jonathan Chin in St. Kitts.
The secret sale of Lamberts Estate is certainly not transparency at work. The Prime Minister needs to tell the public how much Lamberts Estate was sold for and if any part of it has been resold? Again, is Prime Minister Douglas saying that no local person could have developed Lamberts Estate?
Our government is obliged to secure our limited land resources for our children and grandchildren yet unborn. Land ownership is synonymous with economic power. If we lose control of our land, other people, other nations will have power over us. Is this the type of legacy Prime Minister Denzil Douglas wants to leave for our children?
Again, the P.A.M calls on Prime Minister Douglas to provide lands to the former sugar workers and to make lands available to local investors. In any event, a P.A.M. government is committed to protecting our Nation's patrimony and providing land to our country's citizens. P.A.M. is the only political party that would empower our people and secure the Nation's future. Thank you for listening.
