Foreign nationals buying out Tobago.
T&T Newsday Reports.
Senator Dr Eastlyn McKenzie has alerted the Senate to the fact that 482 foreign nationals own some 1,853 acres of Tobago land.
Her concerns came on the heels of a promise by Prime Minister Patrick Manning, in his Budget speech on October 4, to address this ownership issue which has led to complaints of land becoming priced out of the reach of young Tobagonian prospective buyers.
In her contribution to the Budget debate on Tuesday night, McKenzie said the situation occurred after the former NAR government repealed the Alien Landholding Act, during its term in office between 1986 to 1991.
She gave a breakdown of the estimates for foreign ownership of Tobago lands.
Taking the lion’s share were 195 UK nationals who own 1,177 acres.
Among the other foreigners owning Tobago lands were nationals of the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Norway and Switzerland.
“There is evidence of abuse of the privilege. Something has got to be done, and very quickly,” she said.
Addressing other aspects of the Budget, McKenzie appeared to be dissatisfied with the $2 billion allocation to Tobago, saying it was less than the sum requested by the Tobago House of Assembly, less than what was allocated last year, and perhaps less than required to meet the needs of the people of Tobago.
McKenzie pleaded with Minister of National Security Martin Joseph to set up a remand yard in Tobago to prevent the current situation where young petty offenders are sent to Trinidad to await their hearings where they meet hardened criminals, with dire consequences later.
“You hear of a number of crimes in Tobago and invariably there is someone from Trinidad involved,” she said. Lamenting the delay in building the Scarborough Hospital, she said, “At this stage it’s a disgrace.”
On the broader Budget, she welcomed the Government’s proposal for several large farms, but pleaded that they not be run by the State, saying state farms have never worked.
Also on agriculture, she urged that youngsters getting into agriculture be allowed to build their houses on their farmland as this would tackle praedial larceny. On the controversial taxes on alcohol and cigarettes and the Government’s planned clampdown on gambling, she said, “You can’t legislate morality.
No matter what the price or health risk, the addicts or smokers will indulge.” She also said the Government should give casinos time to phase out their operations, saying an immediate ban would be unfair to operators who might have just ordered new equipment.
