Six Mens residents closer to land titles as 37 get offers, surveys continue for 132: Mottley 

Barbados: Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley during a public meeting in Speightstown, St Peter on Wednesday placed her focus on land ownership for residents of Six Mens and said that the community is now moving through the final surveying work needed to issue title papers after a process that has spanned decades.

While addressing the supporters in St Peter, Mottley said that the first 37 qualified tenants in Six Mens have already received letters of offer and that a second plot plan is prepared for the next 40 lots. She told the gathering that the remaining surveys are now being undertaken so that all 132 qualified tenants can become property owners.

“I have not come here to talk about promises I have come here to talk about record the red record,” she said. “This is not a promise again this is reality.” 

PM Mottley said that one of the primary steps for full delivery is the completion of surveys to ensure clear boundaries and avoid disputes between neighbours. She then linked her work to a process which started under former Prime Minister Owen Seymour Arthur and said that it was not completed during the decade the Democratic Labour Party held the office.

She also highlighted the long-standing policy under the Tenantries Freehold Purchase Act that allows eligible residents to buy land at 10 cents a square foot and described it as part of land redistribution and historical correction. She further told the young Barbadians that the cost could be less than the price of a pair of sneakers.

Water and brown water addressed for St. Peter and St. Lucy

Alongside the issue of land, Mottley spoke at length about water infrastructure and pointed towards the ongoing work to bring running water to long underserved communities.

She said 3.3 km of a planned four km of water mains have already been laid for areas including the Belle, Bellevue and Baileys Alley in St George. She added that sewering is anticipated to begin in March and be completed over a period of 12 months which will benefit more than 300 families and around 2000 residents with running water for the first time.

Mia Mottley addressed complaints about discoloured supply known as brown water in St Peter and St Lucy and said that the engineers have advised both water mains replacement and filtration systems to be tackled. She stressed that residents affected in St Lucy and parts of St. Peter were granted relief from the basic water bill for 12 months starting in April last year until the end of March this year to allow time for the work.

Tourism related investments in St Peter 

During the public meeting, the Barbadian leader also pointed towards major tourism related investments in St Peter which includes the Pendry Hotel and Sandals Group project at Haywards which she described as a major investment in the US.

She said government approvals are being used to secure community commitments through planning gains. In Six Mens, she said the Pendry development is expected to deliver a new fish market and vending facilities.

She also said developers were required to protect public access to beaches and contribute to community improvement efforts, including a two-million-dollar contribution to the Urban Transformation Fund for Speightstown. All beaches in Barbados are public, she said.

While highlighting all these achievements, Mottley urged residents to support the Barbados Labour Party on the basis of delivery and not branding and told the crowd that she was asking them to stay the course because the government has delivered for the people of Barbados and for St Peter.