ZIGGY MARLEY has called for all of Jamaica’s beaches to be made accessible to local people.

ZIGGY MARLEY has called for all of Jamaica’s beaches to be made accessible to local people.

This comes following months of reports that some local Jamaicans were being denied access to some beaches on the island.

A leading campaign group, Jamaica Beach Birth right Environmental Movement (JABEM), claim the law which regulates Jamaicans right to access all beaches stems from the colonial era and is “racist” and discriminatory and they want this changed.

The group have launched a petition, which is addressed to the Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Jamaica’s head of state King Charles III for immediate changes to law.

Ziggy and his sister Cedella, have added their support to the campaign group and want the government to ensure all Jamaicans can have unconditional access to all of the beaches in the Caribbean country.

Writing on Instagram, Ziggy, who is the eldest son of Reggae legend Bob Marley, said: “When I was younger we freely had access to most of our local off the beaten path beaches and rivers including Bull bay and Cane river now there is a pressure campaign to privatize more of these local beaches and rivers and deprive Jamaicans and in particular Jamaicans who cannot afford to pay for a day of well needed stress relief and rejuvenation of these natural resources.

“Jamaica is one of the only Islands in the Caribbean that does not guarantee its people general rights of access to its beaches.

“There is no general right to bathe, fish, or walk along the beach. We always enjoy and encourage visitors to our Island and ask them to join us in making sure that Jamaican people today can freely enjoy Jamaican waters like many of us did before.”

The campaign group say the Beach Control Act is racist and must be replaced immediately.

In a statement on the petition website, the group said: “The law that regulates Jamaican rights to access the beach and use the sea is a colonial era law called the Beach Control Act of 1956 (BCA-1956). 

“In a Reuters article dated May 29, 2017 it was stated that: “The Act, that remained in place until Jamaica got independence in 1962 did not give the island nation’s 2.7 million people legal right to beach access.” 

“This law was the product of a colonial mindset that has remained on the books unchanged, and allows for discrimination against the Jamaican people.  This law is arguably racist and should have no place in the body of laws of Jamaica and must be repealed and replaced immediately.”

Ziggy and Cedella, who are successful singers, entrepreneurs and activists in their own right, want to see changes to Jamaica’s constitution to give Jamaicans automatic right to access all beaches across the country.

Writing on Instagram, Cedella said: “Jamaican people should be able to freely enjoy Jamaican waters like many of us did before.”

Bob Marley Beach

One popular beach which has come under the spotlight recently is the Bob Marley Beach in Bull Bay, St Thomas.

According to the campaign group, it is one of many beaches which locals say they are being denied access to.

The beach is best known as being a spiritual haven for the late Reggae icon and according to the campaign group it is now at risk of privatisation.

Organisers of the petition state they want to protect the beach access for all Jamaicans and keep Bob Marley Beach public.

The statement on the petition website added: “We are alarmed by recent events at the Bob Marley Beach in Bull Bay, St. Thomas, a favourite spiritual retreat of the late Bob Marley, where the Jamaican public came under imminent threat of losing access to yet another community beach, along with the destruction of fisherfolk livelihood and land dispossession of prominent Rastafari family members.”

According to the petition, several beaches across the island have been closed to locals including Little Dunn’s River in St Ann, which is near to the popular tourist resort Dunn’s River Falls.

The statement continued: “It is at a crisis level, and if not addressed soon, Jamaica’s beaches will eventually be fenced off from its citizens.”

Ziggy urged the public to support the campaign and wrote on Instagram:  “My experience is just a symptom of what every day Jamaicans are going through in being denied access some at gunpoint to once public beaches and Rivers in Jamaica.

“So what we supposed to do when they want to take and sell out even the little bit we have left and discriminate against us at the same time. Not everyone can afford to pay for access to the sea or to the rivers, Local fishermen are losing their livelihood, citizens being displaced and put into worst situation than they are in now. We must do better Jamaica.

“Support @jabbemjabbem in standing up for Jamaicans. ‘The Privatization Of Jamaica’s Beaches,’ how do you feel about that?”

Prime Minister Andrew Holness has also spoken about the issue during this years’ budget debate, where he said: “All Jamaicans must have access to our beautiful beaches – this is without question”

For information or to sign the petition, click here