by Eulana Weekes
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN): The Premier of Nevis, Mark Brantley, is citing hypocrisy on the part of a member of the opposition, Dr Janice Daniel-Hodge, in the ongoing debate over the development of a special sustainability zone on the island.
During his Monday, August 25, 2025, address to the nation, Brantley alleged that Dr Janice Daniel-Hodge had previously sold land for the very purpose of advancing the project, yet is now actively discouraging other citizens from doing the same.
He argued that it is unfair for Daniel-Hodge, the Nevis Reformation Party (NRP) Leader, to criticise the land sale initiative while benefiting personally from a similar arrangement.
“I am advised that prominent members of the opposition were among the very first to agree to sell their lands, to sign agreements, and to collect their monies. It cannot be right for high-ranking members of the NRP Nevis to sell their lands, pocket millions of dollars, and then turn around and blame the government. I have heard the recent public utterances of the leader of the NRP, Dr. Janice Daniel Hutch, and I wish to place on record that the leader of the NRP is one of two executors of the estate of her late father. She is a main beneficiary of the estate’s lands in the South of Nevis. She was among the very first to sell her land for this proposed development and pocket her money. Dr. Daniel-Hodge cannot sell her land and pocket millions, then turn around and tell Nevisians that the sale of the same lands by them is wrong. So you are not to benefit from your land, but Janice and her family are to benefit from their land. So she can count money, but you are not supposed to count your money. This is the height of hypocrisy and dishonesty.”
Dr Janice Daniel-Hodge clapped back at the Premier, threatening to take legal action against him for what she deemed an attack on her integrity. In a written statement, she said, “My fellow Nevisians, the Premier continues to lie on my name. He continues to attack my integrity, and in his desperation, he sinks deeper and deeper into dishonesty. Tonight, the Premier slandered my good name and claimed that I sold lands on the southern side of Nevis and pocketed millions. This is absolutely false, and I will not sit on this. As early as tomorrow, I will pursue swift legal action. If the Premier can prove anywhere that I have pocketed millions from any land sale, I will resign my seat forthwith. That is how confident I am, because I know the truth. I do not understand how a human being can lie like this. This is sick! The Bible tells us in John 8:44: “When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” My fellow Nevisians, this is exactly the spirit we are up against. There is a demonic force leading us, and that is why we must not only work hard together to take Nevis back, but also pray him out. I stand with you, my people, tonight because I am fed up…fed up with bad governance, fed up with the character assassination, fed up with the lies. I will not dwell on his address, because he spoke absolutely nothing. But together, we will fight to the very end to bring good governance to Nevis. May God protect us, my fellow Nevisians, from all evil.”
The proposed special sustainability zone is situated on the southern coast of Nevis in the area of Long Point to Saddle Hill. In the ongoing debate, the real estate firm 17° North, owned by the Premier’s wife, has emerged as a significant player in the proposed development.
“They allege that people will be forced to sell their lands. That is legally impossible. No one will ever be forced to sell their land. If you do not want to sell, you do not sell. All land transactions are private, voluntary agreements between buyer and seller. They have attacked my wife and her business. I wish to state for the record that my wife has had a fully licensed, fully operational real estate practice in Nevis for 20 years, even prior to my entry into politics. I have no interest in her business. Like any licensed realtor on Nevis, she is free to represent clients to buy and sell real estate as they wish. I can confirm that she is not buying or selling any real estate that belongs to the government of Nevis. She is engaged in private business, not government business.”
Brantley, in his statement, explained that Nevisians have the right to accept or refuse to sell their lands. He denied his government’s involvement in any land sales on the South Coast, saying that it is “entirely private transactions between private landowners and purchasers.”
“Every Nevisian has the right to buy and sell lands as he or she wishes. Therefore, if anyone is approached to purchase his or her private lands, he or she has the right to say yea or nay, and of course, to negotiate a price of his or her choosing. It should be obvious that the government cannot prevent any Nevisian landowner from selling his or her land, nor can we compel any Nevisian landowner to sell his or her land. The buying and selling of land are entirely a private matter as between buyer and seller, and it is they who must agree or disagree, as the case may be, on whether any particular parcel of land is bought and sold and at what price. It is therefore a monstrous misrepresentation for anyone to say to the people of Nevis that the government is involved in any large-scale sale of lands. Currently, the land sales on the South Coast are entirely private transactions between private landowners and purchasers.”
The south coast is a relatively underdeveloped landscape with no infrastructure in place, which Brantley views as an area that can be revitalised, once the “right partner and the right investment” are in place.
“Those who know the geography of Nevis will know that the south coast is largely barren with no development and no infrastructure. The lands in that area are owned by a large number of private landowners. I emphasise private landowners. The majority of lands in that area, originally owned by the government on behalf of the people of Nevis, some 238 acres, were swapped by the previous NRP-led NIA to the National Bank during the Land for Debt Swap exercise. The people of Nevis have therefore already lost those lands. With the right partner and the right investment, these undeveloped lands can be restored, revitalised, and kept mostly green while creating a community that is low-rise, sustainable, and environmentally responsible.”
Brantley concluded that the people of Nevis entrusted him to lead the island, and “part of that leadership is trying to attract significant investment to Nevis”.
