Mt Wynn/Peters Hope is no big deal

In February dis year ah wrote de following: “I have been, and will always be opposed to Go-venom-mints giving away our lands not ours really, dey belong to our unborn generations. No Prime Minister or politician got de right to sell out our country to Far-reign. We and dey are de custodians of de estate of future generations. When dey arrive and can’t find dey birth-right and leg-ah-sea, dey will dig up our graves and hang whatever remnants dey find in de Heritage Square, and dey will flog us mercilessly to death again!”

Dis year 2016 mek fifty years, yes Eff-Eye-Eff-Tea-Why, Fifty long years ah dey in de Land Business, Surveying, Valuing and all its immediate relatives. {{more}}Ah joined de Lands and Surveys staff as ah Surveying Assistant in May 1966, and got my local training from reputable professionals: Horace Wason and Inky Williams in Surveying; Karl John in Surveying and Planning; Bentley Browne in Planning; Studied Land Surveying at Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in Canada. So ah could read and spell.

Ah will say widout apology dat after its People, de land is de most valuable Asset. Ah repeat People and Land, not money, not Go-venom-mint or Prime Ministers. My first dealing wid Real Estate was in 1968, forty-eight years ago at Can-One. I had to establish the property boundaries foh squatters, practically all ah de families on de island. Sir James was Minister responsible for lands and he issued title to those lands to de people, at four cents ah square foot in Grand Bay, and two cents or ah penny ah sq. ft. at Charles Bay.

In February dis year, exactly forty-eight years after, ah was appalled at what was happening at Can-One. Ah put pen to paper again in De Love Vine Column as follows: “We hearing foh de first time, dat ULP sold another 40 acres ah prime, treasured beach lands in Can-One. Dat disclosure came only when de angry, far-rain infestor challenged de unhappy, concerned citizens of Can-One, saying dat he will give way (to beach access), but he wants back his 60 million dollars.” De Awe-Position made ah stink dat dey knew nothing of dat deal, but it was later verified dat de Awe-position was sleeping when de transaction was tabled in de house of Parliament. Subject to correction I was told dat de 60 million was US dollars, which is equal to EC$160 million de equivalent of EC$90.00 per sq. ft. Mt Wynn is being sold at EC$5.00 per sq. ft.

Two months later, as ah follow-up, ah wrote again in De Love Vine column: “No proper school in Can-One, no proper Medical Clinic either; in de meantime Developers fighting locals foh beach rights, building cottages across de beach dat preventing (native) people from passing. But dey wasting no time advertising Can-One lands at US$ 7.5 million per acre, dat is US$172.00 or EC$ 450.00 per sq. ft. Oh what ah mess dis country dey in!” My son at Community College tells me dat $450.00 is equal to forty-five thousand cents. Wow!!

All dat ah trying to say is dat in 48 years land in Can-One increased from four cents ah sq. ft. to forty-five thousand cents ah sq. ft. My main concern about any $450.00 per sq. sale is, how much of dat comes to SVG? if de answer is none, den why not and secondly, how do we correct dat in future land transactions.

And to remind most of us, dat land has unlimited potential. My ole farmer friend uses to say land don’t spoil, don’t rot either, lef it dey foh de next generation. Some ah we lucky to come into dis world to what someone else had preserved foh us. Ever so often I have seen dat “easy come, easy go” attitude at work. Offspring inherit property, mainly lands, and not even planting ah tree to enhance de value, dey sell out not only their inheritance but de legacy and heritage of future generations.

But is it not so wid most Go-venom-mint. Dey not interested in sowing seeds now, caring and nurturing de plants dat will bear bountiful harvest in time. No, dey must look good, plant today and harvest yesterday. And dat is why ah trying to rational de haste in selling Mount Wynn/Peters Hope lands at EC$5.00 per sq. ft. wid no share in de profits, no Equity?? Mt Wynn/Peters Hope is fully developed lands wid de Leeward Highway passing thru, pipe borne water, electricity, telephone, Internet, bounded by de last of the good beaches on mainland SVG, and did we not say dat de coming on stream of de Argyle Int Airport will bring to SVG Hotel Development? Let’s be in one accord on dis. Would Prime Minister Gone Soft care to sit wid de Awe-Position and other interested parties and come up wid ah proper plan foh de over 700 acres ah lands at Mt Wynn/ Peters Hope? Imagine we selling 36 acres at Mt Wynn/ Peters Hope foh exactly way Buccama owes us in Taxes, 7.5 million. And wid dat is gone ah gone again.

One Love Bassy

Bassy Alexander is a land surveyor, folklorist and social commentator.