Minister for Education, Culture, Youth Affairs and Sports Honourable Sharie De Castro has made it abundantly clear that her ministry did not instruct the Attorney General’s Office to exit a lease with the Thomas family, nor did the government “exit” such an agreement at all.
The minister made the statement in response to questions posed by Opposition Member Honourable Carvin Malone in the House of Assembly.
She was referring to the ongoing saga between the family of the property of the Ellis Thomas Downs Horse Racing Track and the National Unity Government.
“No instructions were given to the Attorney General’s Chambers to exit the lease agreement. The lease was not exited. Representatives of the Attorney General’s Chambers merely highlighted to the Thomas Family issues with the purported lease which fundamentally affected the legal validity of the document”, she said.
According to De Castro, two main issues were identified with the existing lease.
“The issues highlighted were one; that the lease was not signed by a natural or legal person but rather a purported entity that does not have the legal capacity to contract with the government or anyone else, and two; more importantly the lease was not signed by the registered proprietor of the land or any person or entity acting via a power of attorney”, she explained.
As a result, De Castro said, the lease failed to align with the requirements of the Registered Land Act 229 of the Laws of the Virgin Islands which calls for legal documents which convey an interest in land must be signed by the registered proprietor of the subject land.
The Government of the Virgin Islands remains at odds with the Thomas Family regarding the use of lands on which the Ellis Thomas Downs Horse Racing Track is located.
As a result, the government has suspended use of the facility indefinitely, and as it stands horse racing in Tortola remains on hold.