BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, November 10, 2022 (SKNIS) – The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis has waived the cost of lands for persons who have been residing on properties at La Guerite for years without a title, right or lease of said lands.
The good news for the residents of the area was shared by the Government Minister and Parliamentary Representative for Constituency Three, the Honourable Konris Maynard during a walkthrough of the La Guerite community earlier today, Thursday, November 10, 2022.
Minister Maynard said, “I would have written in my capacity as the Parliamentary Representative of this area to the Government and the responsible ministry seeking support to have the lands transferred to the longtime residents of La Guerite at no cost and I’m happy to report that the Government has approved for that to happen.”
“The residents of La Guerite have lived here for many generations, many decades…but they never owned the lands. Having spent so much time on the land we felt by virtue they should be given the opportunity to own the lands. And so, during the political campaign before the last election I gave a commitment that if we were to get to the office, I would lobby the government to ask that the lands be transferred to them at no cost because the previous administration had put a cost to the land and we thought that residents, having lived here for so many decades uninterrupted—they planted the lands, they farmed the lands, they lived on the lands, considered this their home for generations, we thought that it was fitting for us to offer them the opportunity to own the lands at no cost,” the Minister further explained.
The Honourable Konris Maynard said this initiative will have a major impact on the lives of the residents of La Guerite, adding that, “It will afford the community an opportunity to gain something of value. They can now take that and use it as leverage to improve many areas of their lives. Additionally, with the Government coming on stream soon with its housing programme they will be able to benefit from that now having their own lands that they can get the Government to assist in building on.”
Mr. Roy Isaac, a resident of La Guerite, expressed his joy and excitement upon hearing the news and thanked Minister Maynard for following through on his commitment.
He said, “It makes me feel good and I feel excellent because we’ve lived up here for years now and it would be a hard task for us to go and pay this ton load of money for this land because we’ve worked the land from [since we were] small and it will be a benefit for us to get the land free, and I will say again that I have to give the Minister thanks for getting this land for us free.”
Minister Maynard said the Ministry of Sustainable Development and the Attorney General’s office will now commence the process of the issuance of Crown Grants so that qualified residents can have the Certificate of Titles registered in their names.
In addition, the Minister indicated that residents of La Guerite can also look forward to infrastructural improvements within their community.
“There is very little infrastructure here. The Government is committed to improving the standard of the infrastructure and the housing, electricity and water in this area and so that is a commitment we are going to follow through on,” Minister Maynard said.