It’s time to get the show on the road. For a few months now there has been myriad discussions, town hall meetings, meetings with stakeholders, interactive radio and television broadcasts – all media have been filled with the talk of Destiny. Talk, talk and more talk. The process has been exhausting. Enough. Most people in Nevis, especially, have for the most part been relating to the issue based on the political party that they support. It is apparent that the NRP and PAM are against the project, and the CCM and their people are for it. That dynamic will not change.
So what is the way forward? It is clear that many of the rumours that have been circulating about what Destiny will ultimately represent are implausible. To the objective observer, Destiny is a bold business venture in which the persons investing their money are hoping to make a profit, similar in nature to that of the Four Seasons Estates. The Four Seasons Estates currently has hundreds of units, including those under construction, and you very seldom see that many persons around at the same time. The suggestion that Destiny is going to be an enclave for libertarians is impractical, and this is why. If this were the case, then the developers/investors would exclusively target fellow libertarians, through their existing networks, and only they would be able to apply for and eventually purchase what would be available. On the contrary, Destiny’s developers have hired some of the world’s most effective real estate agents to sell their product to whoever can afford it –including Nevisians. Extensive research has been done in many quarters on Olivier Janssens over the past few weeks, including by his detractors, and there is not one iota of any damaging or damning information that has been unearthed. If so, social media would have been flooded with it. This entrepreneur was perceptive enough to invest in bitcoin, which has increased exponentially over the years. As an investor, is he to be blamed for such foresight?
Mr. Janssens is a major investor in X (previously Twitter), one of the world’s largest social media platforms, as well as SpaceX and Tesla – immensely successful entities. This is someone who has generated money and has not sat on it hoping that it would somehow magically grow, he has been investing in advanced technology and various other areas of substantial value. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that modus operandi. Olivier Janssens is a businessperson with a vision that has stood him in good stead, and the magnitude and challenging nature of this intended investment behooves him to be a good corporate and civic-minded citizen of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
This development isn’t a race issue. People of any race, once they qualify, will be able to make their purchases. Also, the notion of Destiny becoming “a state within a state” will certainly not be supported by the Constitution of Saint Kits and Nevis, and any such ambition would certainly not survive in a court of law. If that were to be put into any agreement, there would be persons willing to take that matter all the way to the Privy Court. Most of the talk on the fringes of this issue has been idle gossip – people have just come up with confounded assertions without any basis in fact, akin to absurd conspiracy theories. Destiny is going to bring a lot of jobs – a lot of much-needed opportunities for Nevisians and Kittitians – and quite frankly, the population needs to be increased. An influx of new inhabitants is a positive.
There is nothing wrong with having a few more prosperous people in our midst. It will redound to the benefit of small businesses in Nevis, which are suffering due to the lack of population base to buy their products and use their services. Is it that we want our less fortunate brothers and sisters to continue struggling to make ends meet? We cannot be so selfish and short-sighted. The time has come for Premier Brantley (and the Prime Minister if so required) to sign an agreement that is acceptable; for the Parliaments, in both in Saint Kitts and Nevis, to vote on this issue and get the show on the road. If the agreement is subsequently determined to be unconstitutional, the persons who challenge its validity can take the matter to court, and a judge would probably rule in their favour. Given all that is at stake, the final agreement will be within the lines and bounds of the Saint Kitts-Nevis Constitution, and in the end, Destiny will be the envy of the entire Caribbean.
