Tale of a strange sale

NLINE CHATROOM and radio discussions have been very animated the past week as news broke of the sale by the government of some 100 acres of prime beachside property at Chatham Bay, Union Island in the Southern Grenadines. There are several aspects of the announced sale which became quite concerning for many, including the apparent cloud of secrecy surrounding the deal.

It was during the question period in Parliament on Thursday, 27th August that the nation learnt for the first time that Chatham Bay had been sold. In response to a question from the Leader of the Opposition Dr Ralph Gonsalves, sitting Prime Minister Dr Godwin Friday admitted to the sale for EC$54 million or US$20 million. He further told parliament that the buyer was a “Vincentian by registration” who had bought the property to be kept as a conservation park. However the name of the buyer was not revealed for some reason.

In what was a major break from convention, we saw a release on Saturday, 29th August from the Public Relations Officer of the ruling New Democratic Party speaking in support of the NDP instead of offi cial communication from the elected Government of St Vincent and the Grenadines. Are we suddenly a nation where the Government of the day separates itself from the political party on which it rode into Parliament? We ought to remind our elected representatives that once elected as a member of parliament, anything you say publicly would be understood to be representative of your government.You cannot have it both ways.

So when the New Democratic Party puts out a release, signed by the Party’s Public Relations Officer, Lavern King, who is an appointed Senator and Junior Minister, one wonders why this statement did not come from the Office of the Prime Minister or from his Press Secretary. The NDP clearly needs to adjust to the fact that it is no longer on the opposition benches and now holds the reins of government, and that the government has appointed agencies to speak for the workings of government.

That release finally came from the Prime Minister on August 31, and this time via his Press Secretary. But, still vague because no buyer was being announced, in fact, the release only deepens the mystery surrounding the sale of State lands. Such a major sale handled in this way naturally raises eyebrows, and many have been raised.

But Chatham Bay had been in the public sphere before. This newspaper carried a story on November 19, 2013 reporting that the Privy Council had ordered that Chatham Bay be “turned over to the State, and that the companies be reimbursed the EC$477,000 spent to purchase the land, plus interest of five per cent from January 2006 to November 2013 amounting to EC$184,400”.

That followed the ULP administration’s legal challenge of the use, or lack thereof, of the property which had been sold during the reign of former Prime Minister Sir James Mitchell, to two entities called Chatham Bay Club Ltd and Chatham Bay Development Corporation. They had made a purchase of the 100 acre property from an American, Michael Leslie Paul Badham in 1987 for which they obtained an Alien Landholders Licence on March 6th 1987.

The former administration bought back the Chatham Bay because the stated use for which it had been bought, namely hotel development was never complied with. The Government of SVG won the case brought by the Chatham companies at all instances of legal proceedings, and at the Privy Council the petitioners decided not to continue their challenge. That was in 2013.

Now today, what has had many people expressing surprise was first, the manner of secrecy surrounding the present government’s sale of the prized property, and then the price for which it was sold, at way below the market value. The stated reason that the property was being bought for a conservation park with a two year buy back option by the government also rings as rather odd. We are told that the Chief Surveyor estimated the value of Chatham Bay in excess of US$42 million as many as 15 years ago. It would stand to reason that that bay would be valued today at much more than that price. So why is the Chatham Bay being sold for US$20 million today?

We get it that the government says it is under financial strain, but we question if giving away the nation’s prized possessions for peanuts given the true value of Chatham Bay is the best course of action. The New Democratic Party was given a huge vote of trust by the voters across fourteen of the fifteen constituencies to manage the affairs of State last November; an election in which it decried lack of transparency and accountability by the previous administration and promised to have none of that if elected. The government must now therefore act in the best interests of the people of our beloved SVG.Yes, we must be open for business in a difficult financial environment, but should we make ourselves into cheap vendors of our patrimony?