Land grab at Caroni?

ARE the lands owned by Caroni (1975) Limited up for grabs?

Mr Rudranath Indarsingh, President General of the All Trinidad Sugar and General Workers' Trade Union, thinks so. And he cites an apparent dispute between the sugar company and Pastor Vishnu Lutchmansingh to support his view. On the other hand, Agriculture Minister John Rahael has dismissed any possibility that the company's land can be pilfered or illegally occupied since Caroni is quite vigilant and forceful in protecting its large holdings from any such incursion.

As proof of this, Caroni recently dispatched a bulldozer, supervised by the company's estate police and regular police officers, to tear up a piece of land at Chin Chin, Cunupia, that the born-again pastor had paved. Still there seems to be some confusion here as the leader of the Faith Sanctuary Family Ministries, who is reputed to be a millionaire, is claiming that the land he occupies at Chin Chin is private property. In another report, Pastor Lutchmansingh is quoted as saying that the land was given to him by the Prime Minister.

What really is the truth here? We expect that Caroni, the country's largest land owner outside the Government itself, has a precise idea of its extensive holdings and that regular inspections are made to ensure that none of it is squatted upon or illegally expropriated. The ATSGWTU president, however, presents a different picture, accusing the government of being involved in recent occupations of Caroni lands and referring to a "land grab" of more than 50 acres earlier this year at the Rudranath Capildo Learning Resource Centre, the occupants of which had to be removed. Minister Rahael may want to look into another charge from the union leader who claims that orders of the Court evicting squatters from Caroni lands have not been comprehensively enforced.

Mr Indarsingh's point that the government should be "equitable across the board" in the distribution of Caroni lands should be well taken, particularly in the restructuring process by which parcels would be given to sugar workers accepting VSEP. However Mr Indarsingh and his union should realise by now that their battle against the government's restructuring plan for Caroni is a losing one not only because it is a hindrance to progress but also because of the majority of Caroni workers who have already accepted the VSEP offer. About 90 percent of the company's monthly paid workforce, some 10,079 out of 11,002, have submitted applications while a little more than 50 percent of daily paid workers have accepted the offer.

In fact, it seems that most of the company's workers are now anxious to accept the terms of the voluntary retirement package and move on. It is a reality that the sugar union, for obvious reasons, may find difficult to accept but it must be a great relief to the country to know that the horrendous financial burden the public purse has had to bear for keeping the outdated sugar company in operation is at last about to disappear. The suspension of the VSEP exercise caused by the injunction obtained by the union, in fact, had created some concern among the older sugar workers who became anxious that they would have to retire without having the chance to apply for the superior benefits of the VSEP plan. It is good that the Industrial Court is now hearing the union's action and that, hopefully, the vital process of restructuring Caroni will soon be back on track.