A mix of reactions

Some residents of Six Men’s Village in St Peter are optimistic about moves that will allow long-time inhabitants to secure legal titles.

Some, on the other hand, have reservations about the motives behind the action.

During a Barbados Labour Party meeting in Speightstown on Wednesday night, St Peter candidate Colin Jordan, the incumbent, noted that for decades, residents have lived without legal title, some without direct water connections and were dismissed as squatters under previous administrations.

He reported that 37 households have already received letters from the National Housing Corporation to begin the title transfer process, with about half of the area now surveyed. He also outlined plans to realign some houses to ensure access for emergency vehicles as part of Six Men’s Life Improvement Project.

Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, also at that meeting, said that along with the 37 qualified tenants, surveys are under way to complete the process for all 132 families and that residents would be able to purchase land at ten cents per square foot.

For Paula Husbands, who has lived in the family home all her life, the challenges with the title transfer have been ongoing for years but “should have been dealt with every since”.

“We had a town hall meeting at a church some time back and what we would have been told is that the Government did acquire the land ages ago. So if they did, why is it happening now?” she asked.

“If they’re sincere, they should really try to do some more before the actual election, because even with the land as it is, it needed some improvements.”

Still concerns

Husbands said there were concerns among the people that the Pendry Estates, which is erecting the massive Pendry hotel in the Six Men’s area, has expressed interest in acquiring land for expansion.

“There are rumours of Pendry wanting more of this land as well. There’s even rumour of the Fish Pot (an ocean-front restaurant) putting in some kind of tender for this land. I don’t have the proof, but in every rumour, there’s a bit of truth.

“At the meetings too, they were telling us that after a period of time, you can sell your land if you want to. So there’s a trick in every trade. There are some people that will want to sell the land and move, because some would have money that they would have never seen in their lifetime. So it can be a catch for some people,” she told the Saturday Sun yesterday.

Good offer

Husbands said the option for qualified tenants to purchase land at ten cents was a good offer and one that would allow their children to own something of their own.

Having lived in Six Men’s for 50 years, 88-year-old Frank McClean said while the opportunity was a long in coming, everything happens at its right time.

“In here want improvements and we need better roads. When the rain falls you can’t get out and you get flooded out, but you can’t rush anything, it has to take time,” he said.

Jaquon Austin, who has lived in his family home for 25 years, said he was looking to secure somewhere he could call his own.

“I didn’t want to move, so to say that now don’t have to, and I can own a piece of the land, is something I really appreciate it, so I can work with it,” he said.

Samuel Jack, who has lived in the area since 1980, said they had been waiting patiently and were glad the time to own the land had come.

However, another resident, who declined to be identified, expressed scepticism over the proposed move, saying she believed it was done as a way to influence residents into selling their land.

“I believe they will sell the land at ten cents per square foot because they want to buy it back from us. They want the land for the hotel. I don’t even believe it’s electionrelated; I believe it is because they want the land for the hotels and they want to push us out,” she said. (JRN)

The post A mix of reactions appeared first on nationnews.com.