Monday, 23rd December 2024

PM Timothy Harris claims to redeem 400 acres of land allegedly sold under former govt

Prime Minister Timothy Harris's government claims to have redeemed additional 400 acres of land, which was allegedly sold under the former PM Denzil Douglas' government.

Friday, 27th May 2022

Prime Minister Dr Timothy Harris.

Prime Minister Timothy Harris's government claims to have redeemed additional 400 acres of land, which was allegedly sold under the former PM Denzil Douglas' government under the land-for-debt swap arrangement.

As per reports, with this additional 400 acres coming into the government's control, there have been 800 acres of land that have been returned to the people out of the 1700 acres that were poofed away under the Denzil Douglas led administration.

The move by the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance comes as a result of the Promise Made to the citizens of St Kitts and Nevis in December of 2018 that he would ensure the gradual repurchase of portions of lands sold or poofed away under the controversial Land-for-Debt Swap arrangement.

He stated that the government could only provide more homes if it had enough land to build these homes.

"Labour's high IMF debt meant land was just taken away – land which should have gone to our citizens," declared PM Harris in a 2018 Press Conference

"My Government will make so much available to the common people of Lodge/Ottley's, Cayon, Sandy Point and Lamberts in special, and to our citizens and residents of our Country in particular. These lands will be used for residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural pursuits," he added.

Prime Minister Harris pledged citizens that his government would never return to the past of astronomical high debt because of prudent fiscal management.

"We must never go back to that dark time of a free-for-all and fiscal mismanagement that led to the shameless rejection of our land, our patrimony and Country. Should our beloved Federation incur high debt as we had under Labour, all our achievements would be killed stone dead," Prime Minister Harris said.