BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - A call has been made for members of the Sandy Point community to put their political differences aside and approach the land-for-debt swap issue with a united front.
The summon was made on Tuesday evening (Nov. 6) during an ‘Open Mic’ meeting held by the SPIRIT, CIPEO and SPACS consortium at Mount Idle, Sandy Point.
Steven Duggins – a member of CIPEO (Community Improvement and Personal Empowerment Organisation) – was the second speaker at the event, and it was from his lips the message came.
“I want us first to recognise the important role that the community groups are playing in Sandy Point at this time – SPACS, SPIRIT and CIPEO. It is important because we must realise that this matter is not a political matter. We are not on a political platform. We want us all to come together as Sandy Pointers…as Kittitians and recognise the importance of the land which we are about to lose or which we have already lost.”
In late September 2012, the St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank (Vesting of Certain Lands) Bill 2012 was given all three readings in the Federal Parliament and passed into law.
The law provided for some 1 200 acres of crown land to be vested in the National Bank for the settlement of some $900M of the government’s debt.
There are those who have been very vocal in their disapproval of the Bill, of the fact that no consultation took place prior to its passage and of the distribution of the 1 200 acres, with approximately 40 percent coming from the Sandy Point area.
Duggins – who shared the view of other presenters that the Vesting of Certain Lands Act could be repealed – suggested that persons should rest aside their political differences and recognise the implications the Bill has for all Sandy Pointers and by extension the Federation, and join their forces to peaceably agitate for change.
“We cannot sit idly by and watch all of our lands being taken away. The time for action is now. We have been in the forefront; we have been spreading the news to the nation and the world at large that we are not in favour of the manner in which the action was taken. We call for consultation; we called for it then and we are still calling for consultation now, not confrontation.”
Amos ‘Young Flames’ Francis of SPIRIT (Sandy Pointers Inspiring Real Improvement Throughout) echoed similar sentiments, calling for his fellow Sandy Pointers to speak out in defence of their lands.
“We want the whole of Sandy Point – whatever you can do to assist in the situation, we want you to climb onboard. That is what we want. We do not want everybody to come and operate like they are afraid. No one is afraid of anything. We have to defend what belongs to us and that is the bottom line. We have to defend what belongs to us!”
