By CLINT CHAN TACK Thursday, May 12 2011
FOOD
PRODUCTION Minister Vasant Bharath announced that by the end of August,
3,000 residential lots will be made available to former Caroni (1975)
Limited workers. Bharath made this announcement at an agricultural land
lease distribution ceremony for 589 former workers at the Chaguanas
Borough Corporation’s headquarters yesterday.
Recalling
that Caroni was closed down in 2003 by the then PNM government, Bharath
said the PNM failed to deliver on promises it had made in 2002 to
provide agricultural and residential lands to former Caroni workers.
“This is not a gift. This is your right that has been denied to you,”
Bharath told the former sugar workers.
He said while the PNM sought to appeal a ruling by High Court Justice Lennox Deyalsingh to honour the land commitment made to the former workers, one of the first things which the People’s Partnership did shortly after assuming office was to withdraw that appeal. “The Prime Minister was the driving force behind this,” Bharath stated.
In delivering the feature address later in the ceremony, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar praised Bharath for the good work taking place at the Food Production Ministry. She said since the Partnership took office a total of 1,199 agricultural leases have been distributed.
Explaining that the provision of lands to citizens can help boost agriculture and generate employment, Persad-Bissessar said, “For too long in the past eight years, land distribution was treated with scorn and scant disrespect.” However under the Partnership, the Prime Minister noted, “Government has today shown to you that we are committed to a dedicated land reform policy which will benefit our citizens and our economy in the medium to long term in a major way.”
Persad-Bissessar also observed that apart from reducing the country’s food import bill from $4 billion per annum and reviving the domestic agricultural sector, the provision of these agricultural lands will play an important role in reducing poverty which “is the root cause of the main problem affecting our country today, crime.”
He said while the PNM sought to appeal a ruling by High Court Justice Lennox Deyalsingh to honour the land commitment made to the former workers, one of the first things which the People’s Partnership did shortly after assuming office was to withdraw that appeal. “The Prime Minister was the driving force behind this,” Bharath stated.
In delivering the feature address later in the ceremony, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar praised Bharath for the good work taking place at the Food Production Ministry. She said since the Partnership took office a total of 1,199 agricultural leases have been distributed.
Explaining that the provision of lands to citizens can help boost agriculture and generate employment, Persad-Bissessar said, “For too long in the past eight years, land distribution was treated with scorn and scant disrespect.” However under the Partnership, the Prime Minister noted, “Government has today shown to you that we are committed to a dedicated land reform policy which will benefit our citizens and our economy in the medium to long term in a major way.”
Persad-Bissessar also observed that apart from reducing the country’s food import bill from $4 billion per annum and reviving the domestic agricultural sector, the provision of these agricultural lands will play an important role in reducing poverty which “is the root cause of the main problem affecting our country today, crime.”
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