Bharath: Ex-Caroni workers will get their lands

link : http://www.news.gov.tt/content/bharath-ex-caroni-workers-will-get-their-lands#.VU06qfnYXI0

March 31, 2015: EX-CARONI workers can feel confident that they will receive all the lands promised to them under the Voluntary Separation of Employment Package (VSEP) which was offered before Caroni (1975) Limited was shut down by the previous Government.

The assurance comes from Trade, Industry, Investment and Communication Minister, Vasant Bharath, in a release issued Sunday 29th March 2015.

“All former workers can feel confident that they will receive their lands which formed part of the Caroni VSEP package. It was a promise made by the Prime Minister and as with other commitments, it is a promise that will be kept.”

The Minister stated: “In fact we would recall that one of the first acts of the Government was to withdraw the appeal to the Privy Council of the Justice Lennox Deyalsingh ruling. This appeal was made by the previous administration and effectively stalled the process. It was when Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar instructed her Attorney General to withdraw the appeal that we were able to move forward to the distribution process for the lands.”

“In addition, the previous administration levied charges of $20,000, $25,000 and $30,000 on the lands before the former workers could take ownership. This Government revoked those charges because they were unjust, and we ensured that whatever sums were paid were refunded to the former workers.”

Minister Bharath added: “Further, to ensure that the ex-Caroni employees could get the maximum benefit of land assets, we introduced new terms that made the lands transferable, if the former workers decided to sell the lands, or pass them on to their children. Previously, they were restricted for using the lands for these purposes.”

Giving further details of the process, the Minister stated: “To be clear, through the Ministry of Land and Marine Affairs, there are 12,387 available lots, on 30 sites with 8,855 lots allocated to the former Caroni workers. The remaining 3532 lots are being used for other land distribution programs.”

“So there has been absolutely no attempt to alter or adjust the allocations that are being made to ex-Caroni workers. And all outstanding lots which are at various stages of the execution process will be delivered before the middle of 2015.”

The Minister also assured: “The Government continues to hold to its hallmark as being among the most worker-friendly administrations in our history. In the case of Caroni lands, we appreciate how important it is to former workers of Caroni Limited because the future of thousands of their families depends on this promise being kept. And we will keep that promise.”