“The government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines does not own the land up for sale at Salt Whistle Bay“.
Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves was responding to reports that the government is allowing the sale of beachfront land on Mayreau, a southern Grenadine island.
Remax says Salt Whistle Bay (SWB), with its 22 acres of land, 2300 feet of prime beachfront, and existing buildings, is a unique development opportunity for a boutique hotel or private estate home and is being placed on the market for $9 million dollars.
Gonsalves on Sunday said he saw a news report that the owners of a piece of beachfront property in Mayreau have put the property up for sale, and right away people who didn’t read what was written began to say that the government is selling Mayreau. “We don’t own land in Mayreau to sell,” he said.
“The people who own that property, if I know the property they are talking about, have been in particular hands.” I believe foreigners have held land for quite a long time, and I could tell you how we function if that property is sold to somebody who is an alien; they’d have to get alien land holding licenses, and for a significant piece of property like that, they’ll have to say what they’re going to do with it”.
“The existing business that is there, are you going to develop it with conditions as to how it will be developed, and if you don’t, there’s a question of the liability that you’re liable to have it forfeited if you don’t comply with the conditions”
“This government protects the patrimony of the people, and we don’t own any land in Mayreau to sell.” I hear people say, “Well, how could they sell the beach?” Well, people must get it into their heads that 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, and where any developer tries to infringe on that, we always take a strong position,” Gonsalves said.
Gonsalves said on the matter of Chatham Bay, people don’t remember that from 2006 onwards, the government carried a fight all the way to the Privy Council and won at every stage, and at the Privy Council, the former owners threw in the towel. Gonsalves said he had to fight the Americans politically on the matter. A hundred acres were returned to the state.
The ownership of Mayreau differs in each area although most of it is under private owners. Some properties, most notably the quaint village, are owned by the state.
