BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE second in a series of Town Hall Meetings was held in Halfway Tree last evening (Oct. 30), where Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas and his team of government officials addressed issues relating to land swap for debt restructuring.
A large turnout was present at the Halfway Tree Community Centre and expressed a number of their concerns about some 4 700 acres of land that will be used as collateral in an effort to clear some EC$7M debt owed by the government to the St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank.
The bill was passed in Parliament on Friday, September 21, 2012.
A man, who gave his surname as DeCosta, asked PM Douglas if the strategy is going to hinder residents from having access to certain areas in Halfway Tree when the lands are sold.
He said that there is a popular area in Halfway Tree called ‘Mango Gardens’, where he had taken his sons and is hoping that one day his sons would continue the tradition and be able to take their children there.
He is hoping the area would not be fenced.
The Prime Minister responded by saying that the people would have access to the lands but, eventually, they would have to be developed.
A lady asked, “Why weren’t people informed or briefed about the selling of the lands before the bill was passed?”
“The people are informed now because the bill has been passed. There were important aspects of the bill that needed to be explained,” Dr. Douglas responded.
He said there were no votes in Parliament against the bill and that they were now explaining its implications.
“The bill was designed to bring the debt down,” he said.
Concern was also raised about the number of unemployed persons in St. Kitts.
Douglas agreed and said that one of the developments he is hoping to see with the land is the construction of a medical school that would employ a large number of persons.
He also said that students of that institution would need a place to live and residents could house them by building extra rooms in their yards or extensions to their homes, from which they would earn an income.
Another resident of Halfway Tree enquired about the price at which land would be sold.
The PM said that he did not know but noted it would to be determined.
A young lady, who said she has been supporting the Labour Party for many years, asked for help in obtaining a job because she is unable to fulfill her financial commitments.
Another young lady, who is from Sandy Point, also asked for reasons why the public was not informed before the bill was passed.
She said that many young persons shared her concerns and would have preferred to be told about the bill before its passing.
“Everyone in the country agreed the debt was too high, everyone agreed that the debt needed to be reduced and the government found a way to reduce the debt,” was Dr. Douglas’ response.
Dr. Douglas also told her that her Parliamentary Representative was present at the passing of the bill and he did not object.
Also present at the meeting was the Elected Representative for the area, Glenn ‘Ghost’ Phillip, who said there are enough lands for a number of things and that he endorsed and fully support the initiative.
The third meeting is scheduled to be held tomorrow (Nov. 1) at the Cayon Community Center beginning at 7:30 p.m.
