Rymer: We can fix kinks in Crown Land bill in HOA’s Committee stage
Communications and Works Minister Kye Rymer promised that lawmakers would address severe deficiencies in the government’s Crown Lands Management Bill during the closed-door committee stage of proceedings in the House of Assembly (HOA).
The Committee stage is essentially a line-by-line review of the bill where elected officials can make amendments.
Rymer, who presented the bill yesterday, May 28, on behalf of Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley, said it was a “significant stride” towards strengthening the administration and stewardship of public lands in the territory.
However, the bill received much criticism from Opposition members, who argued that it came to the HOA with numerous errors and contradictions and needed much more attention than it received from the government.
During his presentation, Rymer acknowledged that areas in the bill require clarification and refinement, such as non-Belongers’ eligibility to apply for Crown lands. He assured lawmakers that the bill would be reworked to address these concerns and avoid confusion.
He said the bill aims to usher in a new era of transparency and efficiency in utilising land resources by establishing clear criteria and a streamlined process.
“We seek to ensure that decisions regarding land use are made with accountability and in the best interest of our community,” Rymer said.
He added that the bill places a heightened responsibility on the government to judiciously manage public infrastructure such as roads and sidewalks.
“The bill empowers the government to enforce regulations concerning derelict vehicles and boats on public roads, thus ensuring the safety and cleanliness of our communal spaces,” the Works Minister added.
He noted that the bill also mandates the establishment of a land bank tasked with efficiently administering and repurposing land resources to serve both present and future generations.
Rymer said the government has extensively consulted with various stakeholders, including the Constitutional Review Committee, the Anegada Lands Committee, and Salt Islanders.
He said the government is committed to carefully analysing all comments received and incorporating suggestions into the bill to ensure that Virgin Islanders’ rights and privileges are preserved.
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This land 4 V only
Behind closed doors?
The Crown Land Policy was an unmitigated disaster, which it seems was rushed to meet some looming deadline, ie, CoI recommendations. The Crown Land is an important piece of legislation. Land is a (British)!Virgin Islands identity. In addition to dehumanizing treatment, exploitation, abuse, rape, etc,,it was the one thing that indigenous Virgin Islanders inherited from their forebears.
Nevertheless,, none of this seem to have made a difference to elected officials. The policy was sloppily slapped together, slaughtering the identity of Virgin Islanders shamelessly on the altar of convenience. It was appeasement at its best and would have made former UK Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain proud and so too would have been Benedict Arnold. It was poor staff work at best. The statement by Acting Premier Kye Rymer is encouraging but they are just words. Money buys land and talk is cheap. What’s needed is positive action. How come Dr. Hon Premier Natalio Wheatley under whom portfolio land falls didn’t deliver the message????
This policy needs to go back to the drawing board and this time truly consult with indigenous Virgin Islanders.
Christopher Columbus and other Europeans from Europe discovered the British Virgin Islands. The British Virgin Islands where inhabited by indigenous people called Caribs, Arawaks, Tainos, Ciboney, Lucayos, and Kalinagos and there were several other native american indians tribes also. Africans where imported into the British Virgin Islands to work as slaves and others worked as indentured servants. Slavery was abolished and then the Territory of The British Virgin Islands was formed. Now what the descendants of these former slaves and indentured servants that were brought to the British Virgin Islands to work on the slave plantations are going to do now if they are not entitled to land deeds for land for farming to feed themselves and for land to build homes to have a roof over their heads? There seems to be something going wrong in the British Virgin Islands after slavery ended and after the Territory of The British Virgin Islands was formed and now leading up to 2024.
All the good work is always messed up behind these closes doors.
By closed doors, you mean that there were 2 field trips there.. One by CIS and one by a school I forgot the name of.
When will you fix the taxi license so the locals can apply and step up the standard of the taxis on the road
Take the daxxmn land from those greedy heartless, selfish people and put their money at market value in their bank. Then again I din’t think we should give them any of our money..move on leave them with their land. Better to invest in a new location.
The trend lately shows that every Bill that goes to the House is a mess. It shows that our leaders are not reading. It is embarrassing to say the least.
Vincent was to be here to answer to these questions.Sloman took to Antigua to avoid.He Vincent made a frig with the land give away