By Johnny Coomansingh
On this outcropping of rock in the Caribbean Sea, there is a never-ending fight for land. “And whereas squatting is recognized as a phenomenon in Trinidad for well over 100 years.” So said the State Land (Regularization of Tenure) Act Chapter 57:05 in the Laws of Trinidad and Tobago Act 25 of 1998. State-owned lands have taken the most serious ‘beating’ with reference to the squatting problem.
Officials of the Land Settlement Agency (LSA) have expressed deep and distressing frustration brought about by the proliferation of squatters who are occupying state-owned lands. There are many expressions representative of the term ‘squatter:’ homesteader, illegal tenant, trespasser, nester, eviction, slum dweller, colonist, pioneer and settler.
According to Loop News (May 24, 2017), “… squatting is on the rise.” There are over 200,000 squatters in Trinidad and Tobago. The reality is that there are about 350 squatting settlements containing as many as 55000 households with at least four persons per household. There are about 10,000 squatters in the capital city of Port of Spain alone!
The LSA is hopeful to regularize all squatters who have been occupying all such lands before 1998, but this seems to be an indomitable task. From 1998 to 2017 the number of squatters have increased tremendously and the LSA is powerless to do anything about it.
Squatting has continued unabated even on lands designated for research purposes, for example, the Aripo Savannah, an environmentally sensitive area. The irony is that the LSA has powers and yet do not have powers to seriously stem the squatting tide. I perceive that it’s only a matter of time before the Aripo Savannah vanishes. Several ramshackle dwellings are already showing their ugly face in this pristine area of forest. Despite the signs erected by the authorities, people have disregarded the reasons posted against squatting in this area. I shudder to think that Trinidad will eventually lose this beautiful seven-mile section of forest.
Regularized homeowners stand to benefit from better infrastructure in terms of roads, proper drainage, a potable water supply and sewer systems. Bringing squatter communities up to standard will also ensure certificates of comfort for residents and revenue earnings for the government. Despite the efforts of the authorities to ‘fix’ the squatter situation, there is a constant flood, a literal deluge of squatters grabbing up land. It’s likened unto an overflowing bathtub and no one has the strength, power or resolve to turn off the faucet.
Such occupation of lands involves other challenges. The situation has become so intense that some individuals have become “squatter lords,” defined as individuals who sell lands as if they are bona fide owners. There are sparks of trouble here with people who don’t want to pay. Neil Gosine told part of the story in his article “Land grabbers having a field day,” posted in the Sunday Express newspaper (14/06/2022):
The Land Settlement Agency (LSA), Commissioner of State Lands and the agriculture ministry don’t seem to have a handle on the squatter situation in this country, as some newspaper reports claimed there has been an increase in squatting during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In fact, various sectors of our society are referring to 2021 as ‘the year of the squatter.’ It is alleged that a new type of squatting has emerged in Trinidad and Tobago which is really geared towards land grabbing. They are now known as the land-grabbing “kingpins,” who squat on lands so they end up owning prime land all over this country in key spots for financial gain and not because they are going through economic hardship.
There are certain hotspot areas in the country where there seem to be a rush of people going to squat such as in Sangre Grande and Valencia. This has also been occurring especially where the Cumuto-Manzanilla Highway is being built. There seem to be a lot of people, allegedly even high-ranking people close to the current government who are going into these areas and are rushing for commercial reasons rather than the normal hardship reasons where poor people have to resort to squatting.
Again, the LSA is powerless to do anything about such sales. About 1000 new structures are built on state lands each year, many of them erected on ‘bought’ lands (plots of land sold to them by squat lords).
Reports indicate that residents of a squatting settlement in the area known as Valencia staged a fiery protest after authorities (State Lands Commissioner) embarked on the demolition of their homes. In turn, the residents took legal action with Justice Frank Seepersad who granted an interim order restraining the commissioner from demolishing any more homes. The squatting situation has become a literal never-ending war in Trinidad. Added to this war is the fact that retired public servants are now squatting in government housing (quarters).
Clarence Rambharat, former senator and minister of agriculture, lands and fisheries spoke about a “new category of squatters.” This is not so “new,” but he declared that retired public servants and generations of their families have been in illegal occupation of government quarters (dwellings) at the expense of taxpayers in excess of 20 years.
In emphasizing that squatters came “in all forms and fashions,” minister Rambharat sought to dispel the public perception that such “occupation” of state lands were “not only reserved for the downtrodden” but “senior technocrats” in the ministry, who have managed to go undetected for far too long. The minister exclaimed: “We have to take a stand!” Government officials must be encouraged to leave when the time comes … “and where encouragement fails, such individuals must be made to leave.”
In terms of recent changes regarding squatting, the minister said, “no claim can be made for the regularization of land on a protected area; an environmentally sensitive and most importantly, on a forest reserve.” Nevertheless, regarding the never-ending jostling for land, the minister intimated that “some people believe that the assets of this country are theirs for their private, illegal and corrupt dealings.”
The squatting situation in Trinidad remains a problem of immense proportions, and it appears that this problem will never be solved.
