Joy as five collect land titles after Noranda resettles families

Five persons whose families were relocated by Noranda Bauxite because of mining operations on Tuesday collected their land titles from Minister of Transport and Mining Robert Montague during a ceremony at the company’s offices in Brown’s Town, St Ann.

The five are part of a group of 25 whose titles have been prepared, with the others not being available on the day to collect theirs.

Among the five persons was 35-year-old Kevon McHugh, of Highbury Road in Alexandria, who was relocated to Minard. He said he was extremely happy to finally collect his title.

“I’m feeling overwhelmed, happy, feeling very good,” McHugh told The Gleaner after collecting his document.

“This means so much, a lot because I have a lot of things to take care of and trust me, this is a start for me right now, just getting this title in hand, because I’ve been waiting for so long. I’m so very happy that it’s finally here and I’ve got it in hand,” said McHugh, who is part of the Canadian work programme.

McHugh was the youngest of a group where the others were elderly persons, a fact not lost on Montague, who described the occasion as one that could start the building of generational wealth.

Montague hailed the occasion as historic, saying it represents a new thrust in how his ministry is dealing with titles for Jamaicans in the bauxite industry.

He revealed that when he became mining minister in 2018 there was a list of 3,700 persons who were due titles, some as far back as 1953, and he has set about ensuring they receive their titles.

The minister commended Noranda on the effort the company is making to relocate families and ensuring they get titles for their lots, and also for community assistance otherwise.

TITLE IN HAND

“We are determined to make sure Jamaicans get their titles. Noranda is one of the companies that has gone overboard in resettling people, has done much more than is required and they don’t even want anybody to know,” said Montague.

“I am very happy and I want to commend Mr Dell and Noranda for the kind of work they’re doing in the community. They’ve assisted the St Ann’s Bay Hospital outside of their core business but they’ve gone ahead and assisted the hospital; I know you’ve assisted some clinics and I want to commend you.”

Montague said with titles in their possession, persons can now use the document to invest in their children and do other things such as fixing their house and buying a car.

“If you have land, you must have title because having land without title is like having faith without works; it is nothing,” he said.

“Today, as we hand out these titles, I know it is going to make a difference not only in the lives of those who get the title but it’s going to make a generational difference. It is going to affect how your family acquires wealth going forward because this is the beginning of building a dynasty. So, what Noranda has done here in this partnership is to begin to build generational wealth.”

Another 400 titles will be ready to be vetted by the minister next year, it was revealed.

WATER STORAGE

While hailing the importance of the occasion, Delroy Dell, vice president and country manager, Noranda, outlined several other activities the bauxite company was involved with that would benefit communities in St Ann.

These include the construction of a 17.4-million-gallon water storage facility and greenhouse clusters, noting the importance of water harvesting.

“The issue with St Ann and farming is that there is always a perpetual shortage of water, that is the farmers’ cry in St Ann, and in fact ,the shortage of water, even potable water for domestic purposes, is one of the major issues for St Ann,” Dell noted.

He said: “So, the greenhouse clusters solve a very big issue; they provide advancement in terms of agricultural technology but at the same time provide water to allow the farmers who are benefiting from the greenhouse project to ensure they will always have water and they will have the required productivity.”

carl.gilchrist@gleanerjm.com