More than 100 families in Six Men’s, St Peter, are set to receive title deeds for the lands they have occupied for decades under the Six Men’s Life Improvement Project.
The update was given on Wednesday night at a Barbados Labour Party (BLP) meeting in Speightstown, where Prime Minister and party leader Mia Mottley said 132 qualified tenants were now moving closer to ownership, marking a historic correction of long-standing land injustices.
She said 37 households had already received letters of offer, with surveys under way to facilitate the transfer of title to all remaining eligible residents.
Armed with plot plans, she said: “As leader of this Barbados Labour Party, I am even prouder that I lead a political party in whose records of achievement lie the land redistribution in a country as small as ours in the name of reparations and historical correction of wrongs.”
Mottley explained that those residents would be offered the land through the Tenant’s Freehold Purchase programme, which she said was first introduced under the late Prime Minister Tom Adams.
The prime minister said under the programme Barbadians were given the opportunity to purchase land at 10 cents per square foot, a policy which she said her administration would maintain without adjustment for inflation.
“Young people, do you understand that you could own a piece of land for less than the price of a pair of sneakers? … You can buy that. Which part of the world can you go and buy land for US$250?” Mottley asked.
She framed the initiative as part of a broader effort to address historical exploitation.
“The people who were treated as beasts of burden for centuries … have already paid for this land over and over and over and over through your blood, sweat and tears.
“Today we ask you just simply to consummate that relationship with the price of 10 cents a square foot,” Mottley said.
The prime minister said the process had moved beyond promises, noting that meetings were held with residents last year to outline progress.
“The minister of housing and the MP and the staff of the ministry and the National Housing Corporation met with 132 tenants,” she said, explaining that the final obstacle had been completing proper land surveys to avoid future disputes between neighbours.
“The first 37 qualified tenants have gotten their letters of offer. You will see all 132 qualified tenants being able to change their relationship with this country and this democracy…by becoming owners of property and shareholders in this Republic of Barbados,” Mottley said.
BLP candidate for St Peter, Colin Jordan, said the issue of land tenure in Six Men’s had been unresolved for nearly half a century and was raised with him repeatedly by residents following his election in 2018.
“The people of St Peter said to me, ‘We have a land issue that has been outstanding for almost 50 years,’” he said.
“I am happy that tonight I can say to you that 37 households in Six Men’s have received letters telling them to come into the National Housing Corporation and start the process of title transfer.”
Jordan also defended residents who were labeled as squatters.
“We do not walk about and call the good people of Six Men squatters. When people who have lived on land for 10 and 20 and 30 and 40 years are dismissed as squatters, I feel offended,” Jordan maintained.
He added that about half of the area had already been surveyed and adjustments would be made where necessary to ensure proper road access.
“Our work in Six Men’s is the Six Men’s Life Improvement Project. We will make sure that all the houses in Six Men’s can be accessed by emergency vehicles,” Jordan promised.
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