Michael Lee-Chin, chairman of NCB and Portland Holdings, finds it incredulous that the Jamaica Gleaner has not yet apologised for publishing a story about plans to turn Innswood lands in St Catherine—leased to him and designated for farming—into residential real estate development, despite him refuting that was the case.

A firestorm was ignited earlier this week when it was revealed that some 2,600 acres of land leased for agricultural production was to be repurposed for low-cost housing.

Lee-Chin has said that the aim has always been to pursue sustainable agriculture via a scaled methodology.

Jamaicans on and off social media became incensed at the prospect of arable lands now being converted for housing development.

Lee-Chin explained that some of the lands referred to were not suitable for growing certain crops and with a mostly clay composition, while suitable for sugar cane was not so for onions and other crops that he had planted.

He added that in 2019 when he acquired the lease there was no intention of getting into housing and he didn’t know that under the masterplan, 1,200 acres were designated for housing.

The lease he got was for all the lands to be used for agriculture.  He subsequently discovered that of the 2,600 acres, 1,200 were zoned for housing. He has never asked for the parcel he leased to be repurposed for him to go into housing.

Addressing the Gleaner story, Lee-Chin said: “The rubbish printed created a firestorm in Jamaica and that firestorm could have impugned my reputation. So the right thing for the Gleaner to do, now that it knows its article was founded on a lie is to apologise.”

Lee-Chin acknowledges that in many countries there are always tensions surrounding what are agricultural lands and what are housing lands and this is not unique or singular to Jamaica, particularly in countries that have growing populations.

He suggested that as a country the areas that are designated for agriculture, should be adhered to and the same should apply to housing.