- ST VINCENT GOVT RECLAIMING BALLICEAUX
St Vincent Government has assured Vincentians that the island of Balliceaux will be reclaimed, whether by purchase or acquisition, as it represents an important part of Vincentian patrimony and heritage.
Delivering the 2025 Budget address on Monday, Minister of Finance Hon Camillo Gonsalves said this major shift in policy in relation to the island signifies its historical and cultural importance and well as its role in shaping a sense of national identity.
“In the past, our efforts focussed on defining the acceptable uses of the island and indicating that we would not approve an alien landholding license to any investor that sought to use the island in a manner that diminished its cultural and historical significance. Whether by negotiated purchase or acquisition, the island of Baliceaux will return to the Vincentian people in 2025,” Minister Gonsalves said.
Minister Gonsalves said the acquisition of Balliceaux also augments Government’s work in commissioning the National History Project, where four local historians have been appointed to write a comprehensive history of this country.
“This year, within the framework of CARICOM’s Ten Point Plan for Reparatory Justice, this Government will redouble efforts to engage our citizens and the foreign governments that crafted, perpetuated and continue to benefit from this heinous blot on our collective humanity,” the Minister said.