By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

A WEEK after Tourism and Aviation Minister Dionisio D'Aguilar threatened legal action against a group he said took possession of a vacant lot next to his home, Centreville MP Reece Chipman claimed in the House of Assembly the land belongs to his family.

A viral video this month showed Mr D'Aguilar's wife Saskia arguing with a man at a property out west, declaring the land belonged to her.

In a statement released last week in the wake of the video, Mr D'Aguilar called the group the man was affiliated with "land grabbers".

He said his wife had "nurtured and landscaped at the behest of the legitimate owners" over many years and that she was rightly upset that they destroyed vegetation she planted. He said police had been called over the matter and legal action would be taken with the full support of the "legitimate" land owners.

Mr Chipman responded to the controversy during a parliamentary debate yesterday as he framed the conflict as an attack on his family's legacy.

Mr Chipman said his great-grandfather, former parliamentarian H N Chipman, owned the land in question.

"Former Prime Ministers Pindling, Ingraham and Christie acknowledged H N Chipman as one of the wealthiest land owners in our country," he said. "The question how does a Bahamian family or any family for that matter, go from something to nothing, or even still how does an MP, politician or public servant, go from nothing to something? Very interesting. All the while many of our people do not know where the next meal will come from or if they will ever find a job."

Mr Chipman laid documents in Parliament purportedly showing his ancestor owned the land.

Among the documents was "a map of New Providence indicating the existence of Tuckers Estate as between Tusculum and Orange Hill, yes, all that property on and off West Bay Street between Tusculum and Orange Hill, the exact site of the social media frenzy last week," he said.

"I am laying these documents as the legacy of my great grandfather, the honourable H N Chipman will not be re-written or destroyed or even re-told by corruption, political skullduggery and cronyism," he said, never addressing the D'Aguilars by name.

"So yes, how do you go from Tuckers Estate to no estate. Most Bahamians will know: Chipmans are law makers, not law breakers, Chipmans are land givers not land grabbers. "

"We know based on the documents tabled, H N Chipman owned that land and many more. How do you go to the Bahamas Registrar General's Office and not find a birth certificate for any of his children? Not even a birth certificate or affidavit for John Arthur Chipman, 'Chippie', the goat skin drummer as he is affectionately called.

"Thank you to Sir Orville Turnquest, and Sir Arthur Foulkes for signing the affidavit acknowledging his birth and his parents, one of whom is H N Chipman, the other of whom was my great grand-mother Ethelyn Taylor. (The Department of) Land and Surveys has not been able to produce transitional documents, thus leaving a gap between land ownership. "The inconsistencies in surveyed land especially Tuckers Estate is unacceptable. Is this intentional or wilful blindness? Even wilful blindness is a criminal offence in some jurisdictions, and it should be made a criminal offence here, even in these circumstances. Attorney General after Attorney General was written to no avail.

"H N Chipman's legacy was one of land ownership and wealth. His legacy was one of helping the poor. His legacy will not be erased from the Registrar's Office or by Land and Surveys, or even from the Attorney General's Office. It will be restored as the God we serve will have it no other way. So yes, the rightful owners are the Chipmans. At some point, I will table the list of companies and individuals who have been through this revolving door, taking, quieting, transferring land from Tuckers Estate and our country may or may not be surprised."

Last week, Mr D'Aguilar said the land owners were working to get an injunction to stop the group to cease and vacate the property.