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Basseterre, St. Kitts — In a no-holds-barred public commentary that has since gone viral, respected social commentator and former Minister Dwyer Astaphan has blown the lid off the recent sale of the Christophe Harbour marina, warning that the Drew administration may have once again failed the people of St. Kitts and Nevis by allowing a golden opportunity to slip through their fingers — and letting foreign interests walk away with millions while locals remain empty-handed.

Astaphan described the transaction as shrouded in secrecy, accusing the government of failing to exercise basic oversight and leverage its considerable power to renegotiate the original 2007 “repulsive” master agreement — an agreement he says turned Christophe Harbour into a virtual foreign principality on local soil, and crippled border control, economic opportunity, and sovereignty for nearly two decades.

“The developer had us by the short and curly… and last Friday was our chance to take our power back,” he declared, referencing the marina’s sale to Safe Harbor Marinas, a U.S. company backed by financial giant Blackstone Infrastructure, managing over $1 trillion in assets.

Astaphan didn’t hold back as he slammed both the former and current administrations for allowing Christophe Harbour developers to:

• Drag their feet for over a decade, turning a massive piece of land into an “investment graveyard,”
• Borrow millions from local sources like the SIDF and National Bank while racking up arrears with SKELEC,
• And evade proper accountability — with no clarity on how sale proceeds were used, whether creditors were paid, or if any portion was secured in escrow to benefit the local economy and environment.

“The People Remain Second-Class Citizens in Their Own Land”

Astaphan called the entire Christophe Harbour saga a slap in the face to nationals, saying the original agreement was disrespectful, offensive, and dangerous, and should have been torn up and replaced long before this sale ever closed.

“This country has waited 18 years. We’ve waited, and we’ve been outplayed. And if we weren’t even present at the closing table to collect what’s due to us? That’s not just negligence — that’s a national embarrassment.”

He further challenged the Drew administration to answer several burning questions:

• Were government representatives present at the closing of the sale?
• Were local debts to SKELEC, SIDF, and the National Bank settled from the proceeds?
• Were the developers forced to contribute to environmental restoration and local redevelopment?
• And why are British law firms allegedly benefiting from this local deal, while Kittitians and Nevisians are sidelined in their own country?

“Now Is the Time to Act — Or Be Outsmarted Again”

Astaphan warned that unless action is taken urgently, the country risks another 18 years of “bullcrap,” broken promises, and economic exclusion.

“Our people need work. Our people need business opportunities. We need to be empowered economically in the land of our birth,” he thundered.
“This was a moment to steer the ship back on course — did the government act, or were we just joyful spectators to another sellout?”

Calling for the entire management of Christophe Harbour to be changed, he revealed that world-class investors are ready to take over and make the project a true success — but political will is needed.

He also took a sharp jab at the presence of foreign law firms, saying it was disgraceful that Kittitian professionals were being “crowded out of their own tiny space.”

The Verdict: A Nation at a Crossroads

Astaphan’s remarks have struck a national nerve, tapping into long-simmering frustration with government secrecy, foreign favoritism, and lost economic opportunity. His central message is simple but damning:

“Deals like this are supposed to empower the people — not erase them.”

As the Drew administration remains silent on critical details of the sale, the pressure is mounting, and so are the questions.

Was this a transformational moment — or just another missed opportunity cloaked in PR and political theatre?

Time, as Astaphan says, will tell. But the people deserve answers — and they deserve them now.

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