THA to regularise state land residents

Scores of residents who have been living on state lands on the Mt St George and Studley Park estates in east Tobago are to be regularised. Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Chief Secretary Orville London made this promise to some of the affected residents at a community meeting at the Mt St George Community Centre on Thursday night. London said there were people going around in the village promising residents the land. However, he warned: “Don’t let them fool you...Nobody in Tobago except the Chief Secretary and the Executive Council have the authority to give you state land.”  London said there were 11 separate areas where people were occupying land on the estates for various reasons.

The Chief Secretary said the Assembly had already done its homework and it was now up to the affected residents to collaborate with it in resolving the problem of several years.  “I am saying that if you are living on the land for a period of time, we will regularise you,” he said. London said he and a team from the Assembly would be returning to the village by the end of the month to deal with the situation like it dealt with residents of Adelphi Estate in north Tobago. More than 20 residents on that estate have so far been regularised. The next community meeting will be held on Thursday at 6 pm at the Signal Hill Community Centre.