Minister of Land and Legal Affairs Saddam Hosein says the distribution of residential land leases to former Caroni 1975 Limited workers represents a major promise fulfilled by the government.
Speaking at a distribution ceremony on Wednesday, he said thousands more leases and agricultural plots remain to be issued, as the government moves to correct historical delays and ensure former workers and their families receive what they are entitled to.
“We are close and nearing over 600 leases in nine months in office something that took 22 years, 22 years. But there is still a lot more work to be done. Based on the numbers, we have about 3,000 more residential leases again to distribute, and we have about 1,751 agricultural plots again to distribute. These are the figures that were provided to me by Caroni 1975 so I want to put the EMBDC on alert that you all have a lot of work to get done.”
Minister of Public Utilities and Member of Parliament for Couva South, Barry Padarath, said the land distribution restores hope to families, promotes economic activity, and represents a renewed commitment to improving quality of life.
“For far too long, the issues surrounding Caroni 1975 Limited have not been dealt with in a most frontal manner, and therefore this is the right direction and the right step however a lot more needs to be done and therefore on the campaign trail, when I visited those homes, those bungalows on the Sevilla Golf Course, many of those families have been there for 30, 40 years and there are a lot of abandoned issues pertaining to Caroni and therefore, Minister while I say this is a step in the right direction, I know that you have the commitment to continue to deliver.”