Work has started in the development of a swath of land and sea in and around the North East Marine Management Area. Government has confirmed nothing, but whispers suggest inclusion of all levels of investment, from peanut sellers to mega-yacht providers.

The way this sort of development starts up is by getting the anchor developments in first, and only last week our P.M. and his wife, the Minister of Public Works, signed off on agreements in Dubai, which, if implemented, will bring the elite end of the airport and the protected marine area into a future of very high-end Aviation & Marine Tourism.

It is hoped that consultations, as were done with Heritage Quay and the St. John’s Development Corporation, will commence before long, and that the necessary environmental studies will get funded by those who plan to secure their business developments in the protected area.

There are persistent rumors of development of this prestigious area with its offshore islands and islets, as mega-yacht business opportunists comb the region to find other safe and efficient Caribbean harbours for the wealthy, famous and the world’s royals.

The longer the local consultations are put off, the opportunities for indigenous inclusion fade further in the distance, as locals unfortunately come last. Or maybe we should say they are relegated to the low-income inclusion which does not require land ownership.

Antigua has produced several international minds who know how to develop investment schemes specifically to uplift and include small island people to “the next level.”

Antiguans who have sat in serious positions in the Caricom community, and with the skill sets learned, they now need to apply them, helping to move their islands forward, before all of the lands disappear into foreign hands never to return.

The time is now as we see the last attractive development areas of our island being made available to all except the real locals, people born and raised in Antigua and Barbuda.