Land Settlement Agency addresses Guayaguayare house lots concerns

The Land Settlement Agency (LSA) has acknowledged the concerns of residents of New Lands Village in Guayaguayare over the recent allocation of lots in the area to former Petrotrin employees.

A statement from the LSA on May 2 also corrected the claim made in a daily newspaper (not Newsday) on April 30 that 75 lots had been distributed.

“In fact, only 46 lots have been allocated under the Petrotrin Lands Programme (PLP) in the La Savanne and Nurse Trace communities in Guayaguayare,” the statement said.

It said the distributed lots were allocated after the Government decided in 2020 to provide support to eligible former Petrotrin employees in the form of plots of residential land.

The statement said the allocations were made in accordance with established policy, under which applicants are selected via televised computerised random selection draws.

The statement said the agency understood the importance of transparency and fairness in land allocation processes and was committed to addressing these concerns.

Only two former Petrotrin workers registered in the PLP’s database had addresses in the Mayaro/Guayaguayare area, the statement said.

“We can confirm that neither of them has yet been selected in any of the three live randomised draws held in September 2021, August 2022 and August 2023.”

The policy does not allow applicants to choose a preferred location, it said. This meant these former employees would not have been given any preference in the draws for lots in this area.

On claims by residents who are not former Petrotrin workers (they applied under various programmes for land), the LSA said it could not confirm this information, as they have not formally contacted the LSA.

“However, it should be noted that selection under both the now discontinued Land for the Landless and Residential Lots Programme (LFL) and the Government Aided Self-Help Housing Programme (GASHHP) would have also been done through computerised random selection draws,” the statement said. Currently, GASHHP is the only land distribution initiative the LSA manages.

The LSA said it empathised with the frustration of the residents.

“However," it stressed, "we can assure them that there would have been no bias that would have excluded any eligible applicant in the selection process...

“We reiterate that we understand the concerns of the residents and the LSA is willing to meet with the aggrieved residents in the near future to provide clarity and explore potential resolutions.”

LSA encouraged residents seeking clarification on the land application process to call 299-0795 or visit any of its four locations at Tacarigua, Port of Spain, Couva, and Ste Madeleine.