Invest in a piece of the Rock
By Earle Clarke
When I was a little boy, twenty-two (22) thousand of acres of St. Kitts were under sugar cane cultivation and all this land was owned by twelve (12) families who represented .05% of the population which was about 40,000 people.
Not only were the people of St. Kitts landless, they occupied the area where they lived, at the whims and fancies of the Estate or Sugar Plantation owners. For example, if one of the workers on the estate had a son or a daughter who was deemed to be intelligent and that mother or father wanted that child to obtain a better education, than they had, which was no education at all in most cases, the owner or the Manager of that estate could compel the mother or the father of that child to go and join the small gang which ranged from 5-12 years.
The small gang consisted of young boys and girls who weeded the sugar canefields with number two hoes. The bigger and more matured workers used number four (#4) hoes to weed the canes. If the parents of that child refused to allow the child to work in the fields, they could be thrown off the Estate where they lived.
If they were thrown off with their meagre possessions where could they go? They could not take the trash house in which they lived, because as a landless person, where could he or she take the house? They therefore had to submit their son or daughter to work in the small gang with their #2 hoe, thereby depriving them of a good education.
The reason why they could not fight the dictates of the Manager or the owner of the Estate is because they were landless people. If they left that Estate, which other Estate would allow them to build another trash house or even rent a one-roomed house on Estate Lands? The Managers and owners of Estate lands kept one head. They were all united in their disdain for the working class people.
If this particular worker defied the authorities on the estate and decided to fight the case, which lawyer would take up their case? The lawyers of the day were white and were the sons of the Sugar Estates. The judges were the kith and kin of the Estate owners. There was no justice for the ordinary people in those days. No access to land, no access to a proper education, no access to justice.
But, while Kittitians were a landless people, the ordinary folks in Nevis had access to land. This is because the soil in St. Kitts was more suitable for the growing of sugar cane than that of Nevis which is clayey. After suffering from many droughts in Nevis the owners of the Sugar Estates had to abandon the cultivation of sugar cane.
The land in Nevis was there producing nothing and so it was divided up among the peasants. The ordinary folks in Nevis had land, but the people of St. Kitts had none, because every available piece of land was used for the cultivation of the sugar cane. If you look at the landscape of St. Kitts, you will observe that the people inhabit areas near to the coast line where sugar cane could not survive.
Even in high areas like Tabernacle, Philips, the people were allowed to occupy the areas which were near to the ghauts. Stoney areas; Dangerous areas when rain fell and the ghauts flowed; inaccessible areas when people became sick and had to be hospitalized; very treacherous areas when people died and had to be borne from their homes to be buried in the public cemetery or the church yard.
There were times when the workers were given a brief respite, which I would term a smart trick, or smartness on the part of the Estate authorities.
Every year the Estates would allow certain fields to be cultivated in some sort of vegetables, mostly yams or sweet potatoes. This was done to give the soil a rest from the sugar cane. The Estate would allow each worker to have access to three or four rows. When the time for reaping came, the Estate demanded a third of whatever was reaped. But this is not really the smartness I spoke about earlier.
This smartness I spoke about was a means of exploiting the worker of his labour. What used to happen is that the Estate would allot a certain piece of land which was near the hillside to be cultivated by the workers. The Estate would have ideas about expanding the cultivation of the sugar cane, but looked for a cheap and easy way to do so. So they allowed the workers to cultivate the areas I mentioned.
On afternoons, after working for the estate, on Sundays and Public Holidays, these workers could be seen with their machetes and #4 hoes, cleaning up the areas to plant their pumpkins, yams, dasheens tannias, eddoes, pigeon peas, sorrel, and ginger.
They felt a spirit of elation at having access to a piece of land where they could plant what they want. It was only a brief or temporary feeling of ownership, for when the harvesting of the first crops are finished, the Estate would take back the land. Whereas, the land was given in bush, they now had land which was cleared by the workers and was ready to plant sugar cane. Wicked?
One crop, cheap labour and land which was prepared by the labourers. Sugar cane could now be planted there. Who could the labourer turn to fight this injustice? Who was there to fight his cause - Robbery of the highest height?
After failing in their attempt overthrow the government of Mr. Bradshaw in 1967, the planters or the sugar plantation or Estate owners, decided to scrap the guns and engage in economic warfare. They grouped together and, although sugar was still fetching a high price on the World Market, declared that they were not going to plant any canes for he 1972 Crop.
Mr. Bradshaw acted swiftly and nationalized the land, not in his name, but in the name of the sugar workers who would have been made jobless along with the other people of the land.
The Democrat Newspaper and PAM went the length and breadth of the land and to all corners of the earth, labelling Mr. Bradshaw as a tyrant who was seizing land in St. Kitts. They did not mention the many negotiations which took place with the landowners in order to arrive at an amicable settlement. They did not mention that an English man was brought in to assess the value of the land and arrived at the figure of $10,000.00 (ten million EC dollars).
In 1972, a two way ticket from St. Kitts to Antigua was EC$14.00. Five dollars could have taken out a girl friend. $2.00 in gas, which was 75 cents per gallon; A Beer or Malt, was 75 cents. A hamburger or hot dog was 75 cents. Although the assessor was an independent person and more to their colouring, they refused to accept his recommended price.
In 1980, when PAM took over the reins of government, they renegotiated with the land owners. They settled at a price of $22, 000000.00 (Twenty-two million dollars EC), twelve million more than the original assessment. The ordinary citizen had to fork up all that money in order to pay the landowners who are the financial back bone of PAM.
The PAM government borrowed the money from Social Security, in order to pay their supporters. Not only did they increase the payment for the land, they abolished Personal Income Tax, thereby heaping further financial burden upon the poor people of the country.
The landowners were doubly compensated for their financial support to the party and for their involvement in the failed coup of 1967.
In 1980, when the PAM/NRP Government governed the land, some PAM Ministers of Government who vehemently opposed the acquisition of the land by Mr. Bradshaw, took unto themselves three and four acre parcels of land. Some of them bought government land for their children at below, well below market value.
There was no consideration for the ordinary people. Only family and friends had access to hijack the land, or to swap land of less value for land which was more highly valued. It was alright for them to do so.
On assuming office, the Labour Administration has given title to those persons who have been living on estate lands for donkey years (many, years). On 24th August 2007, the Labour Government of Dr. Denzil Douglas has introduced the Special Land Distribution Initiative where 5000 nationals could receive land ranging from 4000-9000 square feet.
The same party, whose Ministers hijacked the people’s land when they were in power, are now telling the same people whose land they thieved, that, that is a trick. That is it is not real. The Labour Government acquired the land in the name of the people. None of them has ever taken an inch of land unto themselves, so the initiative has to be real.
My dear Kittitians do not be fooled by those hijackers. Land is priceless. Own a piece of the rock on which you were born. Buying land is an investment. A worthy, carn’t lose investment, for land which is bought today, at $3.00 per square foot, could be sold at $10.00 per square foot in the next three years, especially if you plant a fruit tree on it. Land cannot spoil. You will have to make some sacrifice in order to pay for it.
You cannot drink ten beers on Friday and Saturday afternoons. You may only be able to drink one. You might not be able to attend every show which comes here, but, at the end of the day, you would have owned a piece of the rock which your parents, grand parents and great grandparents could never dream of owning.
Stop being landless in your own country; Invest in your country. The greatest national pride a citizen of any country could have is when he or she could boastfully sing “this land is my land, I have a stake in it.” Don’t worry about how you are going to pay for it. Where there is a will, there is a way.
When I was building my house in Bird Rock in 1978, one fried fish lasted me for two weeks. I could not purchase any new underwear for sometime. My wife used to cut up her clothes for the girls. I have said this to show you that the sacrifice you make today will be rewarded tomorrow.
Buy your land – the greatest joy in the world, is when you have made your last payment and you realize that, after all the sacrifice, this piece of land, this little piece of the Rock is mine.
This land is my land; I have a stake in it. I am no more a landless Kittitian.
