Editor’s note: This letter was emailed to us and copied to the Office of the Prime Minister, “[email protected]” and “[email protected]”
By A (& H) Jennings
I am a Vincentian, and I want to feel proud of my island and it’s people, including the government. How is this possible when the government is cheating the landowners of Argyle that have had their land compulsorily “purchased” by the IADC? My understanding is that there is a list of more than 60 people still waiting for money that is rightfully theirs, including my family.
Why is it thought to be OK to take people’s land and years later still not pay them for it (at least nine years in our case)? This whole enterprise is built on bad and underhand practices. It is tantamount to theft and is outrageous!
For a lot of people, their land is their only asset, and the least the government can do is to make sure they are fully compensated. The rates the government is proposing to pay are less than half what the land is worth anyway! Another outrage!
In a recent report (iWitness News, Gonsalves is quoted as saying “Because not one square foot of land here was owned by the Government. So, every bit of land that we bought, we had to pay for it“. He said there is only one homeowner who hasn’t been paid, because he and the government could not agree on a price… WHAT ABOUT THE REMAINING 60 LANDOWNERS!!!!
The IADC has now been “wrapped up” and no one even gives a pretense at giving a damn or keeping people informed about their confiscated property. Tyrone (copied here) is the only one who tried his best to field all of our questions over the years, but he was ultimately powerless to bring about a good conclusion for us.
The least the government can do is pay the people! It is our property that is making this whole airport venture possible!
Treat the people right and pay us what we are owed!
The views expressed herein are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the opinions or editorial position of iWitness News. Opinion pieces can be submitted to [email protected]
The opinions presented in this content belong to the author and may not necessarily reflect the perspectives or editorial stance of iWitness News. Opinion pieces can be submitted to [email protected].
I give a ‘damn”!
Up to now, the Government has not communicated to me what happened to my grandfather’s lands there. A great uncle had made an effort to locate me while I was intransit, but he soon died. Pappy’s lands are still unaccounted for, with no communications for any quarter. I will appeal to the Mighty Chalkdust . . .
Steve Lougheed Huggins.
You need to legally prove that lands belonged to your grandfather and that you are now the legal owner of such lands. Otherwise, other parties including the government can rightfully claim the land being to them.
“Demsay” and the law are not the same thing.
So who is lying?
In particular, I would like to see the following:
1. A list published in the newspapers and on this site of the names of the homeowners who were compensated and the amounts they were paid.
2. A list of the names of the 60 unpaid homeowners published on this site by A & (H) Jennings.
Otherwise, I will have to plead ignorance of this matter or be left to assume that the Jennings are the lone holdouts.
I did not know the number of people was around 60, that have not gotten paid. I certainly will not say that Ralph is a great guy. I remember when he took the land from those people on Union Island and bragged that he paid them more than what they paid for it. The problem is that he gave them less than half the value of the land and then lots of fees were taken besides. He cheated them for sure. On the other hand I also remember a woman complaining that her farmland was taken for the airport. They paid her a decent amount but she wanted 8 dollars a square foot! She did not get it so she said the government cheated her. Her land may have had a higher value than what she got paid but part of the reason was because the government but a road nearby to facilitate the airport.