Anegadians to get land titles by year-end
Government officials have indicated that they are working to get deeds in the hands of Anegadians by the end of 2023.
Persons on the island have been having land-related issues for years and have been working with the government to get formal recognition for lands they have ancestral ties to.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ronald Smith-Berkeley, led an eight-member team to Anegada last week to finalise matters regarding the distribution of lands to qualified persons.
Smith-Berkeley and his team met with members of the Anegada Lands Committee in what he said was a ‘productive and progressive meeting’.
“We are hopeful that at the end of this calendar year, working in collaboration with Anegada residents, that they are able to get deeds to their lands,” Smith- Berkeley said,
He also said: “The visit to Anegada and the interactions with residents highlighted the urgency of the needs of local Anegadians who wish to receive their deeds, and we are committed to making that happen.
Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources with a focus on Crown lands, Heather Skelton, said the subject of land ownership is a long-standing issue and that she is happy to see that through collaboration from both sides, significant progress is being made not only in terms of land title for the Anegadians but also public infrastructure to support the subdivisions.
“Anegada is one of our priority areas for the remainder of the calendar year. In 2024, we are hoping to equally focus on road infrastructure for the other government subdivisions in Spooners and Nibbs Estates and the sister island of Virgin Gorda to make lands more accessible to Virgin Islanders,” Skelton said.
The delegation along with members from the committee also visited “areas of concern” on Anegada and received an assessment in relation to road infrastructure, water and electricity in the subdivisions.
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Some of the most worthless, backstabbing, nasty, backwards people in this Country from there. If land is to be given out to people in the BVI, should it not be open to all BVIslanders? Not just a few, on the second biggest island that will sell it off for whatever dollar they can get and then come crying back for more because they ain’t got nothing. Are we not one country, one people?
Anegada don’t think so until they need something from the Country and then they are screaming neglect and demanding they be taken care of at everyone else’s expense.
I must commend the VIP Government for this because it has been extremely long in coming. I remember all the meetings the Government had on this on Anegada right after the shutdowns from covid and I said they were wasting time and nothing would happen but they proved me and others wrong here. Congratulations to them and the Anegada committee and people of Anegada.
I am one who criticizes this government all the time but I must give them credit where credit is due. This is a huge accomplishment and all public officers involved, the Minister & Government, and people of Anegada have done a terrific job of solving a 50yr old problem. All those meetings were not for nothing.
This is good news. Keep up the good work. Getting lands in your people’s hand is keeping the country in the people’s hand for generations. Who owns the lands owns the country.
Poor you. Crown family descendant Anegadians own Anegada! Plain and simple! Whatever they don’t own, the Queen of England, (their cousin) worte a proclamation that the government must relenquish all Crown Lands back into the ownership of Anegadians!
Get your facts straight, lands are not being given out in the BVI. Anegada is returning back to her indigenous owners!
See you at Lobsterfest
This is great news. I know that committee catch hell but they never gave up. Let’s pray that everything goes as planned.
Time to provide additional night time landing strips on the island
Anegada land will be submerged soon by rising seas but at least the new seabed will have owners!
You’re not qualified to call anyone ‘anything’. If you don’t know the history, make up and dynamics as to why Anegadians protect Anegada, then say nothing. Its size have nothing to do with its distribution. And frankly, Government is not in a legal position to go about distributing any either.
An interesting ‘latter day’ undertaking. Sadly/Ironically in the era of Revelation…. the revelation being that the division and privatization of the Commons – is a foundation principle of Colonialism – hence a root cause of the Climate Catastrophe we all now face. Google Chief Seattle’s speech if you’re interested to learn more about this…