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Voters Reject Development, Torch Project Leadership, Demand SSZ Act Be Scrapped

A confidential opinion poll conducted in Nevis has detonated like a political bombshell, delivering a crushing rejection of the Destiny Group development and exposing a catastrophic collapse of public trust in both the project and the Special Sustainability Zone Authorisation Act (SSZ) framework that enables it.

The survey, circulated by political commentator and social activist G.A. Dwyer Astaphan, is based on raw data supplied directly by the polling team. A total of 450 Nevisians were interviewed between December 6 and 14, 2025, with 150 respondents in each of the island’s three federal constituencies — Nos. 9, 10, and 11.

The verdict is unmistakable: Nevis knows about the project — and Nevis does not want it.

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HIGH AWARENESS, HARD REJECTION

Public awareness of the Destiny project is nearly total, ranging from 92% to 94% across all constituencies, demolishing any claim that opposition stems from ignorance or misinformation. Instead, the more Nevisians know, the more they reject it.

Majorities in every constituency say they are not in favour of the development:

• 67% in Constituency 9
• 55% in Constituency 10
• 69% in Constituency 11

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A COLLAPSE OF TRUST

The most devastating blow lands on the issue of trust.

When asked whether they trust the project leader, the response was a resounding no — bordering on total repudiation. Nearly three-quarters of respondents in Constituency 9 said they do not trust the leader, Olivier Janssens of Belgium. In Constituency 11, distrust explodes to an extraordinary 83%.

Similar numbers emerge when respondents are asked whether the project leader has the best interests of Nevis or the Federation at heart.

In political terms, this is not scepticism.
It is outright rejection.

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PUBLIC DEMANDS SSZ ACT BE SCRAPPED

Even more explosive is the public’s verdict on the Special Services Zone Act (SSZ) — the legal foundation on which the Destiny project proposes to rest.

Majorities across all three constituencies say the Act should be cancelled outright, literally pulling the legislative rug from under the entire development:

• 61% in Constituency 9
• 56% in Constituency 10
• 75% in Constituency 11

The poll paints a picture of a population that feels sidelined, unconvinced, and deeply distrustful of the process. Claims of consultation ring hollow. Promises of economic transformation fail to overcome fears about land control, transparency, sovereignty, and national interest.

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A FINAL WARNING TO NATIONAL LEADERSHIP

The implications now extend beyond Nevis — and land squarely at the feet of the federal government.

The poll leaves no room for political spin:

• The Destiny project has been overwhelmingly rejected by the people of Nevis
• Its leadership is widely distrusted
• The law designed to enable it is explicitly opposed by clear majorities

Any attempt to advance the project despite these numbers would amount to a direct defiance of the public will of the people of Nevis.

This places Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew at a critical crossroads.

Should the Prime Minister choose to follow Premier Mark Brantley in advancing a project that Nevisians have so decisively repudiated — particularly by signing or endorsing any Development Agreement for Destiny — he would do so with full knowledge that the project carries no democratic mandate in Nevis.

Such a move would not merely be controversial.
It would be incendiary.

It would invite open hostilities in the quiet and close-knit community of Nevis and signal that overwhelming public opposition, collapsed trust, and explicit calls to scrap the SSZ Act are irrelevant when weighed against executive and political ambition.

The political fallout — from Nevis and across the Federation — would be predictable and severe.

This poll is not just a snapshot of opinion.
It is a warning flare.

Ignore it, and the Destiny project will not be remembered as a development initiative — but as a defining case study in governance without consent and the political consequences that follow.

Proceed at your own peril, Dr. Terrance Drew.

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THE NUMBERS THEY CAN’T IGNORE

Survey Overview

• 450 respondents across all three Nevis federal constituencies
• Survey period: December 6–14, 2025

Awareness

• 92%–94% know about the Destiny project

Opposition

• 67% against in Constituency 9
• 55% against in Constituency 10
• 69% against in Constituency 11

Trust Collapse

• 72% distrust project leadership in Constituency 9
• 56% distrust in Constituency 10
• 83% distrust in Constituency 11

SSZ Act

• 61% want it cancelled in Constituency 9
• 56% want it cancelled in Constituency 10
• 75% want it cancelled in Constituency 11

Bottom line:
High awareness has produced overwhelming rejection — not support.

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