The Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines is not selling out the island of Mayreau says Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves.
He was at the time responding to reports surrounding the sale of beachfront land at Salt Whistle Bay, Mayreau.
The Prime Minister during a call to the Issue At Hand program debunked the claims pointing out that the Government does not have lands up for sale on the island.
“People go off and day you know, the Government selling out the land, but we don’t have any land down in Mayreau to sell. That land is not—doesn’t belong to the state; that property as far as I’m aware has been in alien hands for a long time,” he said.
The Prime Minister spoke more on the ownership situation and what would happen in the event of the sale of the land.
“If they’re selling to a Vincentian, where a Vincentian is buying it, well they wouldn’t require an alien land holding license, the new purchaser. But if they’re selling to other aliens they’ll require an alien landholding license and I tell you how we approach this question,” Gonsalves said.
The Prime Minister also touched on the discussion and social media outrage around the misconception that the Government is allowing a beach to be sold and become privatized.
“I hear people say well, how could they sell the beach? Well, people must get into their heads, the law of this land is that all beaches are owned by the state up to the high water mark, and there’s a right of access to the beach, all beaches are public,” he said.
The Prime Minister said that he has emphasized numerous times that the nation’s beaches will always be public, noting that the Government has always taken a strong stance on this.
