IN DEFENCE OF PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS
by Yves Ephraim
As citizens of Antigua and Barbuda, there is an expectation by our constitution that each citizen should exercise his civic duty to vote on matters that are of national importance. And that is what I am doing.
Of special interest to me is the issue of property rights. I do not want to live in a country that on a whim, a government official can seize my property with very little recourse, if any.
I am seeing how Barbudans have been marginalized and deracinated from their communal lands. I am watching how the new Barbudan land owners are marching in and dictating that the native Barbudans have to now live their lives around their whims. They are now giving ultimatums regarding the state of the Barbudan people’s docking facility and how it is destroying their brand. Imagine a dock that the government, for decades, made no effort to upkeep but now the people must move, even though they were there first. This is very disturbing to me. This is reminiscent of the American Indians’ “Trail of Tears”.
A clear pattern is emerging where the government is conveniently loosening the laws to make private property acquisitions a common go-to tool. I think that property rights should be sacrosanct. If you have no land, you are left to be homeless or relegated to paying rent all the days of your life. We see what is happening in California and New York with the explosion of homelessness and tent cities.
Here is a list of the most publicized acquisitions, with at least three of these major acquisitions completed in the last 15 years:
1. Half Moon Bay property
2. Friars Bay Property
3. The Cancer Center Property
4. Alfa Nero
5. Barbuda lands
The focus of the acquisitions started with the wealthy and now moving to the common man. Not that I condone acquisitions for even wealthy people but historically that is where it stopped. Now the poor and middle class appear to be the targets.
The fact that government sees it fit to amend the Tax Administration Act is evidence enough that the Act, in its current form, limits the power of the government to act in the manner it now proposes. The amendment in my opinion, essentially lowers the bar for acquisitions by force. If my assertion were not true, then would there be need to amend the Act?
It has been said publicly that I am wrong to suggest that with the current amendments that the government would have the power to give notice and immediately acquire private property after 30 days. If I am wrong I would gladly accept any written explanation showing how the amended Act specifically proscribes such actions by the government. I do not claim to know it all and am willing to concede when I am wrong.
I am a bit dumbfounded that the government sees the seizure and sale of private property as the answer to the problem of derelict property.
Let me first draw the distinction that I do not see abandoned cars and derelict land as the same thing. An abandon car left derelict on public property is similar to discarding an empty soda can after drinking the contents. The government certainly has the right to treat abandon cars on public property like garbage.
However real property is a totally different thing. I object to any attempt to make the acquisition by government of real property easy. I believe that the amendments could lead to dangerous unintended consequences.
We should consider our most recent lesson. The people of this country are tied up in a law suit over the acquisition of the Alfa Nero that could cost us greatly. That debacle was preceded by seemingly inconsequential amendments to the relevant law which essentially lowered the bar for property acquisition.
Frankly, I do not see the direct correlation between acquiring a derelict property and the cleaning up of that property. Perhaps the more erudite government officials could make it “pelucidly clear”.
I would hasten to indicate that I DO accept that derelict cars and properties are valid issues to address, however I disagree on the proposed approach to tackle the problem.
Acquiring private property is no guarantee that the state of the property will improve. Take for example the Half Moon bay property. How has acquisition improved the state of that property after 20 years?
Even if someone purchases the acquired property, is it automatic that the new owner would remedy this issue immediately?
We have seen even construction projects by investors go derelict. Take the “Best Western” property in the Jolly Beach area.
I am not convinced that an in-depth analysis was performed to determine the predominant cause for this derelict property scourge.
Why are we seeing such large scale dereliction of property?
I have lived in Antigua and Barbuda all of my life and this level of dereliction of property is a recent phenomenon. Is it not reasonable to question whether the level of dereliction is a direct result of the harsh economic realities that most of us face in Antigua and Barbuda?
Are all these derelict properties not a sign that Antiguans and Barbudans are forced to flee for a better life? The Prime Minister himself, recently said publicly that there are just as many Antiguans and Barbudans living in the USA as in Antigua and Barbuda itself. Does that fact not beg the question?
For example, I was born in the Point/Villa area and recall that the Villa area at one time was a very middle class area. I explored that area recently and was really grieved to see how that area looks so dilapidated. Many of those dilapidated properties do have people living in them. Many of the families that I knew who lived in those areas are gone.
In my opinion, so many people are living paycheck to paycheck so that they cannot even paint their property at Christmas time like we used to do. We cannot even afford to put up Christmas lights anymore due to high utility costs.
Is amending the Tax Administration Act to lower the bar for property acquisition by force the BEST answer to deal with the derelict issue?
Perhaps we should be looking at ways where there can be more inclusion in the economy by the average Antiguan and Barbudan so that they do not have to flee the state for a better life.
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