After nearly four decades of uncertainty, residents of River Bay, St Lucy — including seven elderly pensioners — will at last hold legal title to the land they have called home for generations, under a new government resolution introduced in Parliament on Tuesday to transfer ownership to eligible tenants.
Piloting his first piece of legislation since assuming the housing portfolio in September, minister Christopher Gibbs moved to vest more than three acres of state-owned land in the National Housing Corporation for sale and distribution to qualified tenants through the Tenantries Freehold Purchase Act.
Gibbs explained that the resolution, brought under section 5 of the Crown Lands Vesting and Disposal Act, forms part of the government’s wider effort to enfranchise Barbadians who have lived on tenantries without legal title.
“We all have come here before speaking on this matter and stating the importance of title to Barbadians, of land ownership, of owning a piece of the rock, and what that can do for them in transforming their lives,” he said.
The minister said the 21 River Bay lots were professionally surveyed in 2021, with ten already occupied and approved for sale.
“Of these, seven are pensioners, and in accordance with the Cabinet policy of the day, will receive their lots free of cost,” he said. “That warms my heart.” The remaining three occupants will purchase at the statutory price of $2.50 per square foot.
Gibbs said the remaining 11 lots would be subdivided for future housing development.
“This resolution is a key part of our broader commitment to provide housing solutions. It is about regularising tenure and delivering titles to those who have waited the longest.”
Calling the measure “a tangible step towards fulfilling our social contract”, Gibbs described it as more than a legal process. “This is not just a matter of land, it is a matter of dignity, social justice and empowering ordinary Barbadians to build wealth and provide stability for their families,” he said.
MP for St Lucy Peter Phillips expressed deep gratitude to both Gibbs and former Minister of Housing Dwight Sutherland for seeing the project through.
“I am extremely grateful and I wish to thank the minister, the honourable member for St Michael West, that in his first piece of major legislation in this chamber since he took up his new role, he could focus and ensure that the people of River Bay have a piece of the rock,” he said.
Phillips said the news was especially meaningful to the seven elderly residents who would receive their lots free of cost.
The resolution marks the latest phase of a long-standing policy of economic enfranchisement through land ownership, first initiated under the 1980 Tenantries Freehold Purchase Act. Gibbs said this principle continues to guide his ministry’s work. “The River Bay resolution is about correcting historical inequities and delivering justice to a specific group of Barbadians, many of them elderly, who have contributed to this country and their communities for decades.”
As part of a broader policy to regularise tenure across the island, Gibbs also said that recent conveyances had already been completed in other areas.
“Recently, 28 conveyances were issued at Bath, St John. A major project is being executed at Six Men’s, St Peter, which will provide 70 households with land title. Approval was also granted for the compulsory acquisition of 17.2 acres of land at Parish Land, St George, for housing development,” he said.
The minister added that work was also under way to empower small business owners through ownership.
“The Parkinson Business Centre in Parkinson Field has been the home of many small businesses for many years,” he said. “The subdivision has been completed, and one of the high-priority items on the agenda is to complete the transfer of the title to these individual tenants. This will provide much-needed security for them to obtain a loan to make improvements to the premises, or as security for other ventures.”
(SZB)
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