Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, Ravi Ratiram, has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to resolving long-standing land lease issues affecting former Caroni workers.
Speaking at a community consultation for farmers on Wednesday in Cumuto/Manzanilla, he outlined a renewed push to deliver long-promised residential and agricultural plots.
“For those Caroni, the former Caroni workers that have been waiting for a very long time to receive the residential plots and the agricultural parcel, this is something that we are working closely with the Commissioner of State Land and with the Ministry of Planning to have those land leases delivered in a very swift period. So soon that is something that we will be seeing.”
Minister Ratiram pointed out that the reason the Prime Minister had appointed a second Minister within his Ministry of Agriculture was specifically to resolve land tenure issues.
“In addition to that, there are several other issues that we will be looking at with respect to the land lease. And this is why the Honourable Prime Minister would have placed a second Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture, my colleague, Minister of Legal Affairs and Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture, Minister Saddam Hosein, who has that specific responsibility to treat and to deal with the matter of land lease.”