A new legislative initiative aimed at addressing long-standing informal settlements is expected to provide thousands of Saint Lucians with a formal pathway to secure land ownership.
The move, introduced in Parliament, seeks to streamline the process of regularizing occupancy on Crown lands, an issue that has affected many families who have lived on such lands for decades without legal title.
Housing Minister and Castries Central MP Richard Frederick explained that the proposed statutory authority will introduce a more efficient structure for managing and transferring land.
“It will, Mr. Speaker, be headed by a managing director with a board and obviously, a chairman of that board,” Frederick said while outlining the governance structure of the new body.
He noted that the current system under the Programme for Rationalization of Unplanned Development, commonly known as PROUD, has faced administrative challenges due to the legal status of the lands it manages.
“The simple difference between this statutory authority and PROUD is this, Mr. Speaker. At this juncture, all lands vested in PROUD or which PROUD manages are still vested in the Crown,” Frederick stated.
According to the minister, this arrangement has created significant delays in transferring land titles to residents.
“They are still vested in the Crown and therefore a mere transfer of even 500 square feet of land managed by PROUD has to invoke the involvement of the Governor General. You cannot transfer any land that belongs to the Crown without the ceremonial head,” he said.
Frederick added that the requirement has made the process unnecessarily complex.
The minister also addressed the legal limitations surrounding adverse possession of Crown lands, explaining that long-term occupation alone does not grant ownership.
“That 30-year prescription never applied to Crown property. It never applies to Crown property,” he said. “You can live on Crown lands a million years, it can never become yours through adverse possession as long as it is registered in the name of the Crown.”
Frederick said the government recognized that many residents have occupied Crown lands for extended periods and deserve the opportunity to formalize their ownership.
“We realized that there are several people who have been in occupation of Crown lands for periods of longevity, and it would have only been justified to give them title to that land,” he stated.
As part of the initiative, the Cabinet has already approved a framework for distributing land titles to qualifying occupants.
“The Cabinet has approved a specimen letter. We have over a thousand lots that have already been surveyed for donation, and I can tell you this week, Mr. Speaker, at least a hundred and forty people will receive letters stating that they will get land from the government absolutely free,” Frederick revealed. “Those letters will roll out from this week.”
However, he pointed out that under the current system, every deed must still pass through the office of the Governor General, creating additional delays.
“All of those deeds need to go to the Governor General. All of them,” he said.
Frederick explained that the creation of the new statutory corporation will help remove that obstacle and accelerate the regularization process.
“With the introduction of this new statutory corporation, this will essentially face the need, Mr. Speaker, of getting the Governor General involved,” he said.
Vieux Fort North MP Moses ‘Musa’ JnBaptiste also welcomed the initiative, noting that past efforts to address informal settlements have been slow and under-resourced.
“For many years, Mr. Speaker, we have been taking baby steps,” JnBaptiste said. “PROUD, sometimes not enough funding, the resources are not enough to do what we have to do.”
He added that delays in addressing the issue have sometimes encouraged further informal occupation of land.
“Because we have taken so long, Mr. Speaker, people somehow are encouraged, so to speak, to squat in areas where they ought not to be squatting because of inaction over the years,” he explained.
JnBaptiste believes the new authority could help improve land access while supporting community development.
“I believe this authority will assist communities. And the authority will actually cause our people to be in a better position to get access to land, Mr. Speaker,” he said.
“It is going to allow us to develop our communities much better.”