CLICO lands to be planted again
Agricultural lands in St. John owned by the now defunct CLICO will soon be back in use.
Word of this has come from Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Christopher Sinckler. Speaking on Saturday night at Gall Hill, St. John where the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) held a national meeting in support of their candidate for St. John, the Party’s General Secretary George Pilgrim, Sinckler announced that with the CLICO portfolio now turned over to and being managed by Resolution Life, those lands are poised to be returned to productive use.
“What used to be CLICO is now Resolution Life, and the reason why I am telling you this you may wonder, is because many of the prime lands and plantations that have fallen into abeyance in St. John – Pool and Henley and Wakefield – we are now ready, having brought CLICO back and reformed it and transferred the assets to an asset management company. We are now ready to transform those lands and put them back into production on behalf of the people of St. John and the people of Barbados. That is what we are intending to do,” he said to applause from the audience.
Sinckler added, “This is a rich part of the heritage and I know it has hurt the people of St. John to pass and see those once very highly productive plan-tations lying fallow and growing bush and cow-itch. Well those days have come to an end.”
Sinckler, the Democratic Labour Party’s candidate for St. Michael North West, indicated that he has already given the “appropriate instructions” to the asset management company to start the process of utilising those lands again.
“It has taken some time, but we have delivered on that, just as we have delivered for those of you who had policies at CLICO, that your policies are now secured and you can go to sleep tonight knowing that you have an insurance policy that is still alive, that you have an annuity continues to be paid, that those of you who have claims can go down to that company and collect your cheque and get your money back. That is what we have done in relation to CLICO,” he stated.
Sinckler, as he referred to the expected agricultural boost in the constituency, spoke to other needs including commercial activity. With that in mind, he suggested that St. John should have a “central town”, and he said the DLP believes that Four Roads is the appropriate place for such a commercial hub to be established. He is promising then that if the DLP is returned to office, they intend to create a “mini town” in that area to be a “centre and hive of activity, even for people outside of St. John”, as has been done in Six Roads, St. Philip.
He disclosed that the goal is to make it a centre of activity for commerce, leisure and even banking. The finance and economic affairs minister said he firmly believes that it is time that a branch of one of the commercial banks is placed in that area and he believes it will be able to attract business from people in neighbouring parishes.
“We know it can work because we have seen in Martin’s Bay how Martin’s Bay has been transformed and you can thank David Thompson for that because a lot of people forget it is David Thompson who pushed that down there. And even down Bath, in the worst of economic times, this Democratic Labour Party recreated Bath and made it one of the most, if not the most popular picnic and liming spots in Barbados, where buses can now get down in there without any trouble,” the finance minister indicated.
Sinckler said that there is no doubt in the DLP’s mind that they can develop the Four Roads area, noting that the foundation on which they can build is already in place. (JRT)