2,000 titles for persons relocated from bauxite-mining lands

MINISTER OF Transport and Mining Robert Montague says some 2,000 titles are to be transferred to Jamaicans who have been relocated from bauxite-mining lands.

He made the disclosure during his contribution to the 2018-19 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives recently.

“This is a priority. We cannot relocate people from their lands that have a title and transfer them to other lands but do not give them a title. We are moving to correct that,” Montague emphasised.

He noted that a land-titling task force has been established for the industry, which will be chaired by him.

Montague said discussions have already been held with the municipal corporations and the National Land Agency, adding that “we intend to clear all roadblocks and produce the titles”.

Meanwhile, the minister said he is moving to establish a Bauxite Reserve Land Bank.

“The effect of this is that on lands that have reserves, we will not allow any development, even if we have to buy these lands. They must be held for future mining. Today, we have built on lands with reserves, thus making the mineral inaccessible or increased the cost of mining as more people and buildings have to be relocated,” Montague noted.

He added that the country must think long term and lay out a proper programme that extends 20 to 50 years into the future.