Fri Dec 20, 2013

Editor: Please allow me the space in your paper to respond a little to what was said by the conversation group on page 26 of the Searchlight newspaper on Friday, October 11th, 2013, about the failed marina in the Grenadines, which happens to be at Ashton, Union Island.{{more}}

I do not agree with their views. To start with, the water in this area is cleaner than along the shoreline on Clifton Harbour and even at Villa beach. The mangroves are in good health and growing everywhere, with a good water flow which is mainly due to long shore currents that are generated by waves striking the shoreline. If the water in this area was not flowing, the mangroves would not be in such good health and the water would not be so clean. This marine area is very much alive.

These people spend too much time in their office and little or no time at the Ashton Marina Mangroves site. This is a project that was not completed, but must be with proper planning and management. I say no to the removal of the sheet piles; there is absolutely no reason why we cannot have a nice, green, clean marina, with a reduced size and modification to the old marina plans and still have a healthy marine environment without damaging the mangroves.

Look at Port Louis marina in Grenada. It is said to be one of the best in the Caribbean. I have been there; it is beautiful. Look a little closer; there are three marinas in Tyrrell Bay, Carriacou, not of the same standard, but they have created jobs for the local people. Two are in operation and the third, the biggest of them, has been built at the entrance of the protected mangroves area (is this one not too close to the protected mangroves area?).

Sometimes we have to give a little to get bigger things. The Ashton Marina will bring employment to the people of Union Island, Mayreau and the rest of the country, which is much needed. No jobs are the cry of the people of Union Island; please listen to them. These are some of the reasons why our young people are turning to other things. Tourism is the main income earner, more so the yachting sector; therefore, we must have the infrastructure in place to meet the needs. Union Island is the last port of clearance when leaving the southern Grenadines and the first when entering. I am therefore asking the Government to think about the better, bigger picture for our people and country.

They went to speak about the 3D map on page 29 of the same issue of the newspaper, that the model became a living representation of what ALL the people of Union Island want. That is not fair to say; since when has a few became all? Who is ALL the people? What about the taxi drivers, hoteliers, restaurant owners, fishermen/ divers, boat owners, our young people and other hard-working people who have kept things going on this small island of ours? Please let our voices be heard; is this all just about funding for another project?

Union Island Resident