Descendants of Former Sugar Workers at Hampden Get Letters of Possession

The Government has made letters of possession available for descendants of former sugar workers to give them security of tenure on the old Hampden sugarcane lands in Trelawny.

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, says the gesture will now enable the beneficiaries to build on the lands free of hassle and any worry that they could be removed at any time.

“Today marks a significant milestone in the history of our agricultural landscape, as we hand over letters of possession to the children and grandchildren of former agriculture workers who diligently toiled on sugarcane lands decades ago,” he said, while speaking during Tuesday’s (February 20) handover ceremony in Wakefield, Trelawny.

Mr. Green noted that “this ceremony symbolises, not only a legal transaction, but a profound acknowledgement of the invaluable contribution of those individuals to our contemporary agricultural sector.”

He said investigations conducted by the Ministry revealed that persons who were working on the Hampden Sugar Estate over 60 years ago were given permission by the management to occupy this marginal piece of land.

“Therefore, they lived undisturbed, followed by their children, and their children’s children, who all enjoyed an undisrupted life, settling on these lands. What then is preventing this government from formalising these persons? Today, the answer to that question is nothing, because this is the day we hand over their letters of possession,” Mr. Green added.

The Minister further highlighted that a letter of possession “is truly a tool” that can help to significantly improve the quality of life of its recipients, noting that, with this, they will now be able to build permanent homes, gain access to loans and access basic utilities such as electricity and water.

Mr. Green pointed out that the Ministry has already opted to remedy some of the issues that the residents are facing, and recently reconstructed the road infrastructure around the perimeter of the community, and installed drains.

“These works were executed at a cost of approximately $11.5 million under the Farm Road Rehabilitation Programme. From this improvement, over 1,000 registered farmers within the Wakefield area and its environs will benefit. In fact, this farm road is a crucial link to districts such as Broadleaf, Doman Pasture and Blackwind,” Minister Green said.