Statement by Hon. Dr. Janice Daniel-Hodge, leader of the Nevis Reformation Party

My fellow Nevisians, at home and in the diaspora, my fellow residents, nationals, and non nationals…..

Over the last few days, there has been much debate about our beautiful island of Nevis, particularly lands on the southern part of the island, and the direction in which the present Administration is willing to chart her course for the future.

There is so much at stake for us and for future generations that no matter your political affiliation, I ask you to listen with a sense of urgency.

In 1983, after 101 years, and after tough negotiations and many sacrifices, Nevis regained the right to self administration as reflected in Schedule 5 of the constitution of the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis. These Legislative Powers, among other things, include the right to make laws for land matters and the manufacture and supply of electricity. Regrettably, the present CCM-led administration seems to be in a hurry to gift those powers back to the federal government.

As many of you know, the Premier’s wife is the owner of a real estate company that is involved with the purchase of lands on the southern side of Nevis, spanning the general area from Long Point to Saddle Hill.

Now, let me say at the outset, there is nothing wrong with a realtor approaching landowners to purchase land, and there is nothing wrong with a land owner selling their land if that is what they want to do. However, no one has the right to harass you or FORCE you into selling your land if you do not want to do so.

For the record, my late father, Sir Simeon Daniel, owned land on the southern side of Nevis, and he gave clear instructions in his Last Will & Testament that the land is to be sold. On that basis, when the Executors of his Estate were approached with a request to purchase that land last year, an agreement was negotiated to sell the land. Those were the wishes of my father. As far as I can recall, there was nothing unusual or no reason to be concerned when the agreement was executed.

Personally, I do not own any land on the south side of Nevis, and I am not selling any land on the south side of Nevis, as some rumors have been suggesting.

In recent months, serious questions have been raised about whether there is a plot being hatched, behind closed doors and in a shroud of secrecy, to FORCE landowners on the southern side of Nevis to sell their property.

Land owners must be aware that with the Special Sustainability Zone (SSZ) legislation, passed in the National Assembly last week, if the Premier and the Prime Minister designate lands on the southern side of Nevis as a “Special Sustainability Zone,” your land may be deemed as needed for a “public good” and taken without your permission!

That is deeply troubling and even more so because of the lengths to which the Premier is willing to go to acquire people’s lands. In addition to providing the means by which the Premier can acquire people’s land, the SSZ legislation gives the Prime Minister the authority to approve or disapprove SSZs in Nevis, each with a minimum of 500 acres.

But why should the Prime Minister hold such authority when our Constitution makes it clear that Nevis has the right to control its own lands? Why has the Premier surrendered this power, just as he did with our natural resources? (geothermal comes to mind). What concessions have been made? What deals have been struck in secret? I do believe that time will be revealed.

In the meantime, I must say loudly and clearly, that I am not in support of any plan to give up our people’s lands, whether to domestic or foreign investors, to develop Nevis in a way that shuts out Nevisians. Some estimate that as much as 6 square miles on the southern side of Nevis is under threat to be included under the deceptive SSZ legislation.

Imagine SSZs in Nevis with their own brand new hospitals, brand new schools, police stations and power grid, while the Premier cannot complete a hospital, that has been under construction for eight years, to benefit the people of Nevis, he cannot secure proper facilities for our police and firemen, cannot stabilize our electricity, and cannot build a community college for our young people.

I am completely against development plans on Nevis, where a few will be enriched at the expense of the Nevisian people… where the Nevisian people continue to struggle and are not elevated. I quote the late Right Excellent Dr. Sir Simeon Daniel, my father, said, “If growth in the economy only benefits a tiny, wealthy minority, whether domestic or foreign, it is not true development.”

Land ownership, hard work, and self-determination are the hallmarks of the Nevisian people, and I will not sit idly by and see Nevisians being forced out of their lands, for the self-serving interests of Premier Brantley

If we must fight, that is what we will do, with every fibre of our beings, in honour of those before us who sacrificed and in honour of our future generations for whom we must preserve our Nevisian heritage.

The Nevis Reformation Party will fight, with every lawful means, through the media, through social platforms, through organized protests, and in the streets. We will not allow Nevisians to be locked out of our own island.

The bible tells us, “Though they plot evil against you and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed. For God knows the plans he has for us, to prosper us and not to harm us, to give us a future and a hope.

Thank you for listening. Let us stand together. Let us FIGHT together. And may God continue to bless us all and bless our beloved and beautiful island of Nevis.