It wasn’t so long ago that Anegada residents who wanted a particular plot of land would simply fence it off, build a house and tend their cattle on it, said Muriel Fahie, one of the 40 residents who became “official landowners for the first time” today. The residents received their documents at the Emile Dunlop Community Centre at The Settlement in Anegada.
“But things have changed,” Ms. Fahie said. Now, she said, residents need titles for land, with the benefit that they can take land titles to the bank to help secure a loan to help build on their property.
Natural Resources and Labour Minister Omar Hodge said his ministry has long been committed to giving residents their land documents.
However, it was “through repeated trials” that his government was finally able to move the Anegada land distribution forward, Mr. Hodge said, adding that land titles are not easy to come by. He said the long process will continue for his ministry and for the Anegadians.
See the Sept. 15, 2011 edition for full coverage.