The ongoing Caca Bef saga has entered a new phase. At Monday’s pre-cabinet press briefing, Minister for Youth Development and Sports, Kenson Casimir indicated that he had only recently become aware of the decision to lease the unofficial home for local motorsports to Rubis West Indies Ltd.
He emphasised that the deal was agreed to under the Allen Chastanet-led administration.
“We discovered quite recently that the lease was signed in 2017. As you know, I was not the Minister of Government at that time. In fact, I was working with you, the media,” the former sports journalist told reporters. “There were some speculations…The AG’s chambers have currently requested the full details of that lease. Of course, it was signed with SLASPA [the Saint Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority], so we will gather more information from them in the coming week about what happened and why that lease was signed by the previous administration.
“I’ve heard some people in the media say that we knew about it for a long time. That is not true. I would say that we’ve been trying to obtain the final information regarding when the lease was signed for less than a month.”
Since Casimir’s statements, further details of the agreement have been released to the public.
The lease, dated March 22, 2017, specifies that the land is intended for “receiving, storing, retailing, selling, and providing aircraft refueling and associated services at the [Hewanorra International] Airport.” It also states that Rubis would pay $91,476 per year for the first two years of the deal, with a 10 per cent increase per year for the following five years.
Under the United Workers Party administration, there was a proposal to develop an official facility for drag racing in Dennery South, which would have become the official home for the sport on the island. Following General Elections in 2021, discussions regarding other venues, including Cul de Sac, were put on the table. Casimir noted that these discussions have faced a fair share of challenges, but will continue and intensify following this latest development.
“We have endeavored to speak to the car racing community about a proper venue,” the Minister said. “I say ‘proper’ because while we have an emotional attachment to Caca Bef, we really want a proper facility with proper stands for the viewing public, proper washroom facilities, proper changing rooms for the racers, and a large amount of space. Caca Bef, as it stands, only allows for the racers themselves.”
“We were leaning toward Cul de Sac in consultation with the racing community. But once we began discussing Cul de Sac, we realized, as a government, that we were moving activities away from the south of the island. So, we met with stakeholders to explore possible locations in Vieux Fort. We identified a place near the airport, but SLASPA advised us that it was in a buffer zone for emergencies. People have asked why this process has taken so long, but the reality is we really wanted to keep car racing in the south. We’ve now reached a point where we’ll likely have to move the track north, probably to Cul de Sac.”
An ongoing petition calls for any construction on the site to be postponed until February, until a new location for the racing facility is found. The online petition has gained over 1,200 signatures.
So it appears that the people leading the country have no idea what is going on in the country. So presumably some rogue politician can sell the country under your feet and you would have no clue till the claimant comes to collect leaving you high and dry. What is going on in this country? So the leasing of the caca bed was not run through parliament for approval? Did the former administration just leased the land without parliament voting on it or giving their approval or disapproval?….Nous sommes Tous finis….
@C-Wiz This is playing right infront of our eyes.
Take for instance – Chas keeps talking about another agreement in a mall sale agreement in the North. He says often that what Federick keeps referring to is only part of the agreement and Federick keeps asking hom for the rest of the agreement. He has yet to produce it. Chas says the Government owns part of the mall.
So if Chas is correct and Federick aslo correct, does it mean the Government sold an asset and Chas has the documentation? Mad tings!!!
Man you are a blatant ****.
Brother wake up. You’ve been in office for a few years now. It is your duty to know. Those excuses of the Opposition did this and that, you were elected to fix it. Stop showcasing a posture of I should a, I could a, I would a….fit this sheet.
Chastanet ! Selling out VF again.
This is Saint Lucia, where we are happy!
Seems to be a common excuse of this administration ” I’m unaware, I will have to look in to it” how is it the public always know before the government ….crazy!
U guys are so incompetent and shameless, lucians not gorgor u know!!
It is with much interest in read the nibble excuse from a minister in post for 3 years and had to laugh.
There seem to be a continued blatant failure from this administration to get familiar with basic info. If the minister had ever given an once of interest in motor sport within his portfolio he would have known the situation with ca ca bef from day one or within the first week in office.
He had to have a vision and plan as to how he wanted to develop and expand various sports and therefore would make it his business to find out what was what in every field of sport to articulate a policy and development plan for the future not scrambling for excuses every time reality of the situation pops it head to the surface.
St. Lucia is doomed with such incompetent ministers accross the entire administration since 2021. They are still campaigning to protect a victory instead of governing which is what they were elected to do.
Wake up..What’s wrong with developing the Race Track..
So some commenters are upset with gov for not knowing. Aren’t you upset with the person who sold it under us? And what money has been paid, and to whom?