In the Anguilla House of Assembly on Monday, May 8, the Chief Minister and Minister of Lands spoke about the alienation of land with respect to property owned by the Government. According to him, the Crown land alienated for development projects, residences, etc., added up so far to 4.6 % of the total amount of land in Anguilla. This represents a very small fraction of all the land when compared with the huge tracks either held in private ownership still or already in foreign hands.

This is what really needs to be addressed. There is a stipulation that only up to half an acre of land can be sold to a non-Anguillian for a residence, but there are reports that somehow some persons still try and perhaps get away with purchasing additional lots anyway. Land for project development is different. Developers have purchased many acres of private land and the same persons or others are speculating to acquire more property either directly or indirectly: indirectly because there are Anguillians who are serving as agents for them.

The alienation of land, in this case private property, really needs to be looked into carefully, as Opposition Member Hubert Hughes so often suggests. There are growing schools of thought and a consciousness that land required for foreign development should now be leased, thus ensuring that the land remains in Anguillian hands for generations to come. This arrangement is considered a good one even to a greater extent if there can be a shared interest between the lessee and the lessor.

This may be the preferred way forward. There are a few unhappy persons who lost ownership of their land and probably were not paid enough by developers who made outright purchases and who now stand to gain tremendously. There is a price to pay for development, but that price is too heavy for those hapless persons who are not careful how they trade with their land and who may be ill-advised at the time of selling.

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