Amid public discourse surrounding a recent ban on the use of a section of the Ellis Thomas Downs Facility, which has resulted in the cancellation of the VI Horse Owners’ Association’s Labour Day Horse races, the relationship between the Unity Government and the Thomas Family has come under great scrutiny.
New information has now come to light as both sides of the dispute have shared their account of the circumstances which preceded the ban.
In a recent interview with an online media publication, the Thomas Family’s Elaine Thomas-Griffith, daughter of the late Ellis Thomas, claimed that it was the government who decided to terminate its contract with her family without giving them much choice on the matter.
Thomas-Griffith alleged that the family was informed at the beginning of a September 8th meeting with Government Representatives that the contract “was being cancelled on the premise of a technicality”, and that this was a unilateral position taken by the government with no previous word with the family on this specific matter.
She went on to add that her family was not given any alternative offers on the matter or given the chance to facilitate any conversation with the Premier and the Unity Government on a solution which could allow the use of the facility and the Horse Racing Schedule to continue as planned.
Thomas-Griffith said that her family was not of the belief that the government had the right or authority to act unilaterally to terminate the contract between them.
The Government has since responded with a statement, sharing its account of the proceedings, which challenged that of Thomas-Griffith.
The Government said it was considered necessary to publicly respond “in an effort to bring clarity to certain matters, for the record”, following the recent statements to the press made by the Thomas family.
The release from the Premier’s Office, dated September 15th, confirmed that the meeting with the Thomas Family on September 8th did in fact occur and was for the purpose of discussing a rent review.
The statement said that though the Premier and other Ministers were present initially, they had to be excused shortly after the meeting commenced “due to certain developments concerning the late Majesty Queen Elizabth II”.
However, the meeting proceeded with members of the Attorney General’s Chambers and Officers in the Ministry responsible for Crown Lands.
The release rubbished claims that the Government unilaterally terminated its agreement with the Thomas Family during this meeting, and instead provided this description of what occurred:
“At the meeting, the Government representatives did not “cancel” the lease with the Thomas family. Rather, fundamental legal issues were raised and ultimately, the Thomas family indicated that they would not allow further use of their property. The family stated this to be a non-negotiable position, and the Government accepted. Accordingly, Government issued a public notice on the evening of 8 September 2022 advising the public not to use the property in question until further notice.”
The statement further opposed Thomas-Griffith’s account by advising the public that “negotiations are currently ongoing”, and that “The Government of the Virgin Islands remains committed to continuing efforts to resolve all outstanding issues with the Thomas Family regarding the use of their land, which forms a port of Ellis Thomas Downs”. “The Government looks forward to those negotiations continuing in good faith between all parties involved”, the statement added.
In these circumstances however, the statement said, the Government does not intend to “engage in any protracted public debate on issues which are likely to arise during the negotiations”, and that it considers such activity “at this stage, may well be counterproductive or prejudicial.”
The Government said that inconveniences to the public which have resulted from this process are deeply regretted and are hoped to be resolved soon, in a manner of resolution which is fair to all parties involved and in the public’s interest.
The statement closed with a word on the Thomas family being threatened, as was confirmed by Thomas-Griffith in her recent interview.
The Unity Government has condemned the threats of violence against the Thomas family and said that it expects that the matter be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law.