Weasel Words From Government Officials Who Want To Pocket Money, Not Give Barbados A National Park
Back on November 16, 2006, Barbados Free Press published an article Barbados Government: Total Silence On Graeme Hall National Park Proposal where we covered the strange case of the Barbados Government totally ignoring a citizen group’s proposal for a National Park at Graeme Hall.
At the time, Member of Parliament William Duguid commented on the story…
“I think it is an excellent idea and will give it my full and complete support but like all other proposals this has to go through Town and Country Planning as well as be adequately funded. It was not made clear if this was being done but should the proponents need any assistance, I would be happy to help in any way I can.
I honestly felt they were doing well on their own and needed little reassurance from me.”
One of the readers took Dr. Duguid to task and reminded him that a National Park would have to be Government led…
“William Duguid simply does not understand in reality that progressive social/environmental policy HAS to be Government led. A citizen’s group may encourage policy development initiatives, and can even assist with specific support services, however government MUST execute the process to make it law. It’s not the other way around.”
Doctor Duguid is no fool. He knows that citizens cannot enact laws to declare a National Park – only the government can. So Doctor Duguid used weasel words to make it appear that he was all in favour… and then he and his government continued to ignore the issue.
Over 7,000 voters’ signatures on a petition for Graeme Hall National Park yet Owen Arthur and William Duguid ignore them!
Nature Sanctuary Owner Offered To GIVE Land To Barbados For A National Park
Then in January of 2007, Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary owner Peter Allard offered to GIVE 25 acres of land to the people of Barbados to be used as part of the proposed Graeme Hall National Park. We wrote about it in our article Stunning Development With Graeme Hall National Park.
And the government’s response? NOTHING. NADA.
The Government of Barbados didn’t even bother to reply to Mr. Allard’s offer… just like they never bothered to respond to the citizens who put together the national park proposal in the first place.
Why Doesn’t Owen Arthur Want A National Park At Graeme Hall?
As we explained in our article Graeme Hall National Park – Powerful Entities Want To Possess And Profit From This Public Land, the majority of the lands within the proposed Graeme Hall National Park are already owned by the people of Barbados. The vast majority of us naturally want to preserve those lands for our country’s future and for the immediate enjoyment of all our people.
But this will not happen if very powerful entities who want to profit from these public lands have their way.
You see, the gift of land from Peter Allard and the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary was tied to government declaring a National Park – and that would mean the end of selling off the surrounding public lands to “friends” of the government.
Graeme Hall National Park would mean the end of hundreds of millions of dollars of profits for those “friends of the government” who want to build wall-to-wall housing and businesses on our public green space land…
… So Prime Minister Owen Arthur, William Duguid and the Government of Barbados did not even have the courtesy to acknowledge the over 7000 citizens who petitioned for Graeme Hall National Park, nor the offer of a gift of the majority of the nature sanctuary lands.
The fix is in because the Prime Minister has those lands already promised to his friends.
Don’t let the crooked BLP politicians and their friends take your children’s land – the last green space on the South Coast – to fill their offshore bank accounts.
Ask where your candidate and their party stands on Graeme Hall National Park. And don’t let them weasel word you. See the map? Graeme Hall National Park as proposed in the map. Yes or No?
23 Comments
January 7, 2008 at 5:16 am
I have many pleasant memories of walking across the then “banking road” through the swamp to primary school, to church at St Lawrence, to the post office as it was then next to (and now part of the police staion) to play table tennis at the police staion etc from 1959-1969.
I have also many pleasant memories of running on the higher ground around the swamp ground to get to what was then “the ten cents pole” in St Lawrence to save 5 cents while going to Oistins to Sunday School at the Parish church from 1962-1968.
The Grahme Hall swamp has contracted much from what it was in those days, but some great work was done in the 90’s on the area closest to Worthing that has great potential as a tourist attraction.
The Grahme Hall swamp area must be retained by all means. There is no other area like it in Barbados really.
January 7, 2008 at 6:12 am
Running scared now, BFP?
What made you take down your photo of the Police Commissioner so fast? Why have you removed the comment that he was a “corrupt clown”?
Or is the “cleaned up image” just another gimmick till elections are over?
*****************
BFP replies,
Corruption starts when the police forget that they serve the rule of law and not the latest bunch of elected politicians. And Commissioner Dottin forgot about the rule of law a long time ago. Yes, we are shaking in our shoes at the thought of Police Commissioner Dottin totally ignoring the fact that his officers used a blank search warrant to terrorize the family of Ronja Juman.
Barbados deserves better.
January 7, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Allard and company unfortunately made a colossal error.
No Caucasian will be allowed to dictate to a black government – to borrow the words of Liz Thompson.
Owen will never accept a proposal which was first made public. It is belittling and makes him appear as thought he has to little and take advice. If Allard had privately gone to him and offered it and then made it appear as though it was Owen’s original idea it would have been an elections announcement.
January 7, 2008 at 1:57 pm
This is really sad. ‘We’ had a wonderful opportunity of creating a beautiful breathing space for our children and their children.
It shows the absolute contempt the PM has for the 7,000 people who signed the petition (including myself).
And with the Christ Church South seat being won by just 59 votes, it clearly demonstrates that the PM wants a new Minister of Health.
Plus how safe is Doctor Duguid’s seat?
January 7, 2008 at 2:17 pm
I suspect it not so much about a very very fragile ego but rather a different kind of green that Owen appreciates similar to the one that Matthew Kierans understands.
January 7, 2008 at 2:37 pm
On an Island as hot and dry as Barbados, the last remaining swamps/wetlands should be preserved.
The West and South Coast of Barbados is eventually going to be a concrete Jungle if this madness continues.
Maybe they plan to buy a ferry to send schoolchildren to Dominica and st.Lucia on Nature tours.
January 7, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Adrian let me suggest to you that the blp have no safe seats in this election ZERO SAFE SEATS TO THE BLP, the contempt and the dishonesty, the fraud, the scams, the kickbacks, the WAR in the BLP Camp, the PM’s ARROGANT and POWER HUNGRY STATEMENTS, I AM SPECIALLY MOTIVATED NEVER TO SEE THE DLP HOLD OFFICE AGAIN, are all coming home to roost right now.
The reality is that each and everyone of them is now situated in no mans land, when the clown ASSCOLL is forbidden from entering the houses of BLP supporters in his area what does that say about this election?
When the guys of Haynesville have turned their backs on Liz Thompson and have thrown their support behind Donville Inniss What does that say about this election?
I put it to you that each and every one of them are skating on thin ice and do not know what to expect out of this election.
It is made all the worst for them because of the inclusion of ASSCOLL as Co Leader vote grabbing status, and the all out war that this event has brought to the blp campaign, when mottley, wood, billie and arthur can become embroiled in a all out fist fight with chairs being thrown around at one another it says that this is now the party to be allowed to rule this country.
Along with this event goes the action of Arthur refusing to speak at Lynch area meeting on Friday night, nor do I expect to see him speak in support of Rommel Marshall either after all these two have vested their support squarely behind mottley for the post of the PM and with it brings the hardships as we are seeing with the infighting and the wars.
If we add to this pot the fact that the clown Hammy Lashley went to his nomination in a YELLOW Tee shirt symbolic of support for the DEMS and has been telling people in his area that he is not campaigning and that Arthur is a wicked evil man that does not deserve what he has gotten, and that he wants the people of the Pine to vote for his opponent speaks volumes for the disunity within this blp administration.
VOTE FOR A NEW BEGINNING ON THE 15 Th JANUARY VOTE FOR THE DEMS.
VOTE ALSO TO SECURE OUR DEMOCRACY AND OUR FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND OUR FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AND OUR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION.
January 7, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Is this all connected to the Kingsland affair? Read this.
http://www.broadstreetnews.com/index.php?categoryid=38&p2_articleid=924
January 7, 2008 at 3:12 pm
I signed the petition as well. When I go into the GHNS, I cannot believe that it is so close to the noise and traffic of the south coast.
January 7, 2008 at 4:18 pm
First let me state that I am all for a National Park and totally against a Waterpark in any form or fashion. But first, lets go down memory lane. Back in the 80’s, the then DLP was planning to approve this same Graeme Hall area for the construction of a Golf Course and a Hotel, the then Tourism Minister was fully behind this project. It was mooted for the removal of the entire stretch of homes to be removed to make way for the development. This is a fact.
Environmentalist were against this strange undertaking since golf courses uses chemicals that can affect the reefs around the South Course since the outlet for inland water from the swamp is through the gate on Worthing Beach.
This area must remain as a Green Space and must not be tampered with my unscrupulous developers backed by tourism orient ministries.
January 7, 2008 at 8:06 pm
On this issue alone my vote, and those of my family (4 in all) go to the DLP.
If O$A is so insensitive to the hopes of 7,000 supporters of Graeme Hall National Park we are best rid of him and his supporters.
I notice BFP makes no reference to Matthew Kerins and his crassly commercial Caribbean Splash Water Park about which he had a private meeting with Arthur in his capacity as Min of Planning and Development.
Kerins said boldly at the Town Meeting at that time he had been promised the Graeme Hall site along the ABC highway, and that he had paid out several million dollars to secure his objectives.
He has never been able to account for where such a sum could have gone, but all commentators on this blog have agreed it is far more than the usual survey would have cost.
Let the electorate speak with their votes on Jan 15 as to how they feel about being deprived of such a wonderful oppportunity for a park that future generations can enjoy.
January 7, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Hey Green (back) Man – get your facts straight. The Graeme Hall national park proposal was sent to the Prime Minister first by the citizen’s group not Allard. It was done quietly with the utmost respect and wasn’t made public until later. The fact is somebody in government leaked the contents of the letter.
January 7, 2008 at 8:25 pm
BREAKING NEWS !
Clyde ASSCOLL has been appointed……COUP LEADER of the BLP !
ASSCOLL is trying to run away from 0wen…..by proclaiming from a BLP platform……vote for the Democratic Labour Party !
January 7, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Maybe Duguid didn’t do good when he and Owen ignored the voice of thousands of people who see that a park is something good to do.
Maybe Duguid and Owen won’t do the park because there is no under the table money for them.
Maybe the DLP get in they will do the right things that the people want.
Maybe.
January 7, 2008 at 11:24 pm
While the argument is going on, it is necessary to comment that once the wetlands are built on they are gone forever.
In USA, the government drained a great deal of swampland only to have to go back and turn the land back into swamp. Much of this restoration was done for economic reasons!
January 7, 2008 at 11:51 pm
Frankology says…..Back in the 80’s the DLP……
Sorry but a proposal from 17 or more years ago has no bearing on what is happening now.
We are now more educated on all things especially the Environment.
GraemeHall must be preserved for the health of our Ecosystem and the Education of future Generations of Barbadian children.
January 8, 2008 at 12:44 am
Taking The Gloves Off
The Implication in not unusual to me
A threat to start fighting dirty
Knuckles brandished to aggravate the fight
Inflict more pain with all of your might
Now tell me, who are the wild boys now
Government leader wantonly starting this row
On TV announcing for the rumble to begin
Fight with gloves off to increase his odds to win
For the rest of us God fearing folk
This threat is no fleeting joke
Honest debating is our method of fair contest
Electorate should put the candidates to this test
Gutter talk and ridiculous imagery
Libelous mud slinging and assaults on democracy
Our people should be exposed to the facts
Voters shouldn’t experienced these unscrupulous attacks
Excellency and Honorable they’ll be called someday
Should they be Taking Off The Gloves to fight this way
January 8, 2008 at 1:39 am
BFP
on the issue of the Police Commissioner I have it from a good source that his appointment was back dated to make it appear as though he was senior to Bertie Hinds ( deputy) that is how he good the commissioner’s job ahead of Bertie who was earmarked for it. This was done under Mia’s watch
January 8, 2008 at 4:08 am
Bajejun, I got news for you, check out where the Commissioner of police live, so nothing surprises me.
Johnnietoobad.
January 8, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Frankology says…..Back in the 80’s the DLP……
Sorry but a proposal from 17 or more years ago has no bearing on what is happening now.
………………………………………………………………………………….
The problem with people that have agendas find it difficult to deal with facts – current or in the past, history do play an important part in reaching conclusions. When you are trying to accuse the other party, you and others use any part of history to reach your conclusion.
What I was showing is a government altering land use policies to suit their needs. This is the same problem with the Caribbean Splash Waterpark trying to change the use of Graeme Hall area.
Wrong is wrong regarding the historical timing.
January 8, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Hants
January 7, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Is this all connected to the Kingsland affair? Read this.
http://www.broadstreetnews.com/index.php?categoryid=38&p2_articleid=924
An extremely high price for all Barbadians and our children to pay just to spite a few people who rocked the boat, eh?
Some of us could really do to grow up. Sounds like a bunch of spoiled children “I gine tell my mummy on you. I done playing”.
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BFP Comments,
How typical that a BLP commenter would try to trivialize a quest for justice, and tape-recorded evidence that the brother of the Chief Justice delivered threats of violence to witnesses and lawyers.
We’re talking a BILLION DOLLARS OF PRIME BARBADOS REAL ESTATE and the Chief Justice is involved up to his eyeballs.
Now that the trial is happening in a court that can’t be controlled, the Simmons brothers appear to be so desperate that they are resorting to thuggery.
That is not trival, “spoilsport”. And say… about six months ago when we reported on this Canadian trial, BLP commenters falsely told us that the Canadian court had thrown out the charges!
Yup… we thing that the government and many big-ups are terribly worried about what will come out in the Canadian trial. Don’t forget that VECO is part of the Canadian case too!
Can’t hardly wait!
January 8, 2008 at 8:50 pm
BFP you misunderstand.
If the PM is saying “no way” to the Graeme Hall National Park only to spite a few people, who appear to have upset two land fraud scams from which he and his cronies were to have benefited personally, this says it all. An extremely high price for all Barbadians and our children to be expected to pay.
Two huge land scams seem about to be exposed for the price of one. Ironically it would appear the CJ and his brother were to benefit from one and the brother is/was opposed to the other.
We all look forward to the outcome of the Canadian trial.
BFP you are doing a good job.
January 12, 2008 at 4:54 pm
It seems that the DLP is now categorically and unequivocally supporting the Graeme Hall National Park Initiative.
Check their Ch. Ch. candidates full page ad in Nation Newspaper today Saturday 12th Jan, 2007.
http://www.graemehallnationalpark.org
http://www.graemehallnationalpark.org/Images/GHNP_low_rez.jpg
What is the official position of the BLP? Their manifesto talks about purchasing the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary “……..to ensure that it
remains part of the national patrimony and implement programmes for its better care and
protection.” What about the wider issue. They just cannot bring themselves to support the Greame Hall National Park initiative.
Will the BLP make a definitive statement before electon day?