Petition Update: Destiny SSZ — Major Changes Announced, But Public Still Needs to See Them

The Destiny Project has changed. The Government says so. Now the public needs to know what has changed.

Since we launched this petition, the proposed Destiny Special Sustainability Zone (SSZ) project has faced increasing public scrutiny, government review, and political discussion.

There have now been some important developments.

🔴 The project is NOT yet approved
On 23 July 2026, the Federal Government confirmed that no final decision has yet been made on the proposed Destiny Project.

The Federal Government and the Nevis Island Administration held a high-level meeting concerning four major issues identified by the Federal Cabinet.

The Government has now stated that discussions at that meeting included “fundamental project changes” and that the process has already produced “meaningful revisions” to what was originally proposed.

The revised proposal is to go back to the Federal Government, then to the Independent Oversight Committee for further input, and subsequently back to Federal Cabinet for consideration.

In other words:

The original proposal is no longer simply the proposal under consideration. It has been substantially revised.

But the public has not yet been shown what those changes are.

🔴 Four major Federal concerns were identified
Prime Minister Terrance Drew wrote to Premier Mark Brantley on 1 July 2026, identifying four major issues which Federal Cabinet determined fell within Federal jurisdiction.

Those concerns followed input from both the Special Sustainability Zones Ad Hoc Committee and the Independent Oversight Committee, which included members drawn from civil society organisations across the Federation.

The Government has not, however, publicly set out the four issues in its July 23 statement.

That leaves an important question:

What were the four issues, and how have they been resolved?

The people of St. Kitts and Nevis deserve to know.

🟠 The Nevis Administration says the outstanding issues have been resolved
Premier Mark Brantley subsequently stated that the July 23 high-level meeting had been held to resolve the remaining issues and that he had been advised that those issues had been resolved sufficiently for the project to move forward.

At the same time, the Premier confirmed that the statutory process still has to be followed, including consideration by the Nevis Island Assembly and the National Parliament.

He also stated that the eventual agreement must be made public before it is presented to the Nevis Island Assembly.

This is significant.

It means the Government has now publicly committed to a process in which the proposed agreement will eventually be placed in the public domain.

🟢 Our petition has always been about transparency and proper scrutiny
We have never argued that Nevis should reject investment or development simply because it comes from overseas.

Our concern has always been that a project of this scale must be subject to proper democratic scrutiny, transparency, environmental safeguards and protection of the constitutional authority of St. Kitts and Nevis.

The Government has now itself confirmed that:

the proposal has undergone significant revision;
four major Federal concerns were identified;
fundamental changes have been proposed;
the Independent Oversight Committee is being brought into the review;
no final decision has yet been made; and
the final proposed agreement must ultimately be made public before parliamentary consideration.
These developments reinforce, rather than weaken, the case for this petition.

❓ What we are asking for now
As the revised proposal moves through the approval process, we are calling for the public to be given meaningful information before decisions become irreversible.

We are asking the Governments of St. Kitts and Nevis to publish:

1. The four major Federal issues identified on 1 July.

2. Details of the “fundamental project changes” announced following the 23 July meeting.

3. The revised Destiny proposal once it has been formally submitted for consideration.

4. The Development Agreement before parliamentary approval, as the Government has indicated will occur.

5. The independent environmental, social, infrastructure, water, energy and other technical assessments underpinning the revised proposal.

6. The governance, policing, immigration, customs, land and constitutional arrangements applicable to the proposed SSZ.

7. The recommendations of the Independent Oversight Committee insofar as they can properly be made public.

🇰🇳 This is too important to leave until the end
Destiny has been described as potentially one of the largest private developments in Nevis' history.

A development of this scale could have consequences for land, water, infrastructure, the environment, the economy, demographics and the constitutional framework of the Federation for generations.

The Government has told us to “let the process work.”

We agree.

But a democratic process works best when the public can see what is being proposed and can properly scrutinies it.

We therefore intend to watch this process closely and continue asking questions.

The Government says the project has changed.

Now let the people see what changed.

✊ Help us reach 1,000 supporters
Our petition is approaching the 1,000-signature milestone.

Every signature strengthens the demand for transparency, accountability and meaningful public participation.

If you have already signed — thank you.

If you have not yet signed, please add your voice and share this petition with others.

The future of Nevis deserves scrutiny before decisions are made — not after.

🇰🇳 HALT. REVIEW. CONSULT.

No rushed approval. No decisions behind closed doors. Let the people see the proposal and have their say.