“You Cannot Fence the Beach”: Rodney Bay barrier sparks outrage Across Saint Lucia 

Saint Lucia: Citizens across Saint Lucia are expressing their anger after they found a fence erected along the beach in Rodney Bay. Several of them are saying that this move is a blatant attempt to block citizens from accessing public shoreline.

Independent candidate Marsala Stead for Castries North sounded the alarm on Thursday morning in a video which is now making rounds across social media. The video shows him standing on the beach and warning that the action could set a dangerous precedent for the island’s most cherished public spaces.

“I am currently on the beach in Rodney Bay, and behind me there is a fence. As you can see, there is a fence,” he said adding that, “I want to remind Invest Saint Lucia, the developer, the Prime Minister, and the legal representatives for that company. I also want to remind Ernest Hilaire, Minister of Tourism, and Kenson Casimir, that citizens are allowed 180 metres from the watermark.”

The candidate added that the government cannot put a fence on the beach and reiterated that he is not sure if people are aware of it, but they cannot fence the beach they cannot block citizens from accessing the beach.

“This is a slippery slope. I don’t know if you all are testing us. I don’t know the reason for this. Honestly, I do not know. I came to the beach this morning, I saw this fence, and I am making this video to caution you: you are not allowed to fence the beach,” added Stead.

Stead also called out key figures including Tourism Minister Ernest Hilaire and other officials and stressed that tourism cannot come at the expense of citizens’ rights. “Capital is only one aspect of tourism. You also need land, labor, and community. You cannot fence the beach,” Stead said.

He further called upon all investors, and the tourism minister advise these people to take this fence down immediately or warned that if the barrier is not removed by the end of the day, he will remove it himself.