INAGUA — Prime Minister the Most Hon. Dr. Hubert Minnis officially handed over land deeds to the first group of residents of Great Inagua during a Town Hall Meeting Wednesday night, August 7, 2019
Recipients of the seven deeds were David Thompson, Dura Lamont Lightbourne, Sr., Romeo Durham, Sisyln McIntosh, Lavern B. Ingraham, Shawn Ewing and Malteed Simmons.
According to a press release, the handover to the deeds to the seven residents of Inagua “is a demonstration of the progress being made in the Minnis Administration’s Land Reform initiative to ensure that thousands more Bahamians have greater access to Crown Land.”
“I am happy that we are making progress, but Land Reform is not an easy or quick fix,” Prime Minister Minnis reminded residents. “But we are systematically doing what is long overdue. We are handing over the deeds as they are finalized.”
A team from the Department of Lands and Surveys and the Office of the Prime Minister is on the island as part of the verification process to finalize pending applications for Crown Land. During the Town Hall Meeting the team provided an overview of the initiative and answered residents’ questions.
Inagua is among the first cluster of islands to benefit from the Land Reform initiative, which will also include Mayaguana, Crooked Island and Acklins. Eventually all major Family Islands and New Providence will be addressed.
“Access to land and the opportunity to own land is one of the greatest ways to generate and to build wealth,” said the Prime Minister.
