~ Organisers call for road block ~
ST. PETERS–On Sunday, July 23, the St. Peters community will once again get ready to embrace agriculture at its finest. Community organisation Spaceless Gardens will host its second Agricultural Festival and Community Market Day at Rupert I. Maynard Community Center from 11:00am to 11:00pm.
“We encourage the surrounding communities to come out and get a first-hand experience of our community Market Day. The concept of a community market day is to encourage the awareness of agriculture and culture in many forms, such as locally fresh produce, arts, crafts, cultural dishes, fresh local tarts, cakes, natural juices and local entertainment,” organisers said Friday.
Today, Saturday, a community clean-up will be scheduled at St. Peters Community Center from 7:00am to get the park ready for the Community Market Day.
Organisers encourage all surrounding community members to come out and join in unity to get that park clean, “not only for us but for the children that play there,” Managing Director of Spaceless Gardens Denicio Wyatte said.
“Unfortunately, this time around we have to make some adjustments based on a decision issued by the Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning and Environment and Infrastructure VROMI that they will not grant us permission to block the road to execute our community ventures,” Wyatte stated.
“The reason for this was explained by Claudius Buncamper of VROMI. He stated that there is a new policy that was issued by the Minister of VROMI’s office that no permit will be issued for the closure of the roads for events that will generate funds for community members, or none of those matters. Now, this truly came as a shock and at the last moment, four days before the event, whereas the permits have been requested for weeks,” Wyatte said.
Permits from the Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transportation and Telecommunication (TEATT) were granted for the sale of arts and craft, food, and alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.
“Just as they assisted back in February when our first community event took place, the permit for the road blockage to complement the event at the time was also granted by the Ministry of VROMI, so it was very disappointing to hear at the last moment that they will not be granting us the permit for the road closure,” said Wyatte.
Spaceless Gardens expressed their concerns about this and claims that the refusal of the permit has something to do with a personal agenda among “some family members within the ministries.” They feel it is now time for it to stop.
This all started back in 2014, when Wyatte received the parcel of land in St. Peters from Government for agricultural development. Ever since there has been a controversy between a certain family and Wyatte, Spaceless Gardens claims.
Community members, such as Wyatte and Rene Koto Wilson, are still planning to block the road for the event on Sunday.
“It is time for the bull to stop. If they are not going to allow us to prosper in our own community then we will show them that we will have no choice but to take back our community. I will block all the roads with my big trucks, and eventually they will not be allowed in our community either. The crime rate has decreased in St. Peters. What they want us to do? Rise it again?”
Wyatte and Wilson are asking all community members to come out and on Sunday from 11:00am to 11:00pm to help support the road blocking in a peaceful manner.
“It’s all about just coming together and finally standing for a greater cause. Our culture, our heritage, our community, our families and our future,” they said.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/67870-spaceless-gardens-hosting-second-agricultural-festival
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