Land security was granted to 103 persons as they received Certificates of Comfort by the Land Settlement Agency (LSA) under the Ministry of Land and Legal Affairs at the Chaguanas Borough Corporation on Thursday.
Since its inception in 1998, the State Land Agency Regularisation of Tenure Act has been aiding in the effort to improve the living conditions of citizens across the country.
At the Distribution Ceremony at the Chaguanas Borough Corporation on Thursday, Minister of Land and Legal Affairs Saddam Hosein said that the Land Settlement Agency’s (LSA) main goal is to care for the most vulnerable in society, including squatters, by delivering residential leases and Certificates of Comfort.
“As a government we did it on the 12th of August 2025, where, in 100 days in office, we were able to deliver 200 residential leases to ex-Caroni workers who have waited almost 20 years for their leases. And then again on the 16th of October 2025, we delivered another 100 leases to those ex-Caroni workers. Promises made, promises kept.”
Chairman of the Land Settlement Committee, Misha Mathura-Allahar, said the process is not just about land but about the transformation of informal occupation into full legal property ownership.
“Step one is the granting of the Certificate of Comfort: this is where it all begins. It gives you protection from removal of the land that you occupy and formally recognises your right to stay and to be part of the process. Step 2 is the statutory lease, and this should grant to you a 30-year period, interest-free, to complete the highly subsidised payment for your lot.”
She reiterated that the statutory lease allows landowners to pay only 25% of the open market value of the allocated lot for over 30 years with zero interest.
In Step 3, she noted that recipients will be granted the deed of lease that grants 199 years of land ownership.
One recipient, Sharan Anne-Cupan, was deeply moved by the experience after waiting 30 years. Despite the wait, she said the moment was worth it.
“I been waiting for this over thirty years, thirty years I have been waiting, or more. I want to thank all the people who gave me this today, every one of the Ministers, and I am just thankful and grateful. May God bless them, truly bless them.”
According to Minister Hosein, the certificate distribution signalled a new dimension in the governance of the country, one where no one is forgotten.