Assessment
of the Chaguaramas Development Authority
The mandate of the Chaguaramas Development Authority created by Act No. 37 (Ch. 35:02) of 1972, is to manage the development of the North-West Peninsula of Trinidad and Tobago. Under this Act, the Chaguaramas Development Authority (CDA) is empowered to promote the development of the peninsula so as to maximize the returns from the lands under its control. By virtue of a Vesting Order, the Authority has been vested with 4,850 hectares of land, comprising the entire North-West Peninsula of Trinidad. Forests and scrub vegetation make up more than 90% of the area. The major land uses within the area are public and protective services, recreation, agriculture, and institutional, industrial and residential development.
The Authority considers itself to be the pre-eminent lessor of real estate in Trinidad and Tobago and its policy is to encourage development by granting leases to private individuals and companies for Eco-tourism and the resort hotel industry, Leisure and recreational facilities, the marine industry and Knowledge-based industries. Its range of property management activities includes physical planning and development; estate management including collection of rents and arbitration; and asset valuation. The Tenancy Department performs the lease management functions of the Authority.
The report examines in a quantitative and qualitative way, the land or real property-related functions; supporting laws, regulations and policies; staff and functional management; relationship with other state agencies; policy integration and policy issues; strengths of and major issues facing the agency; and suggested improvements.
See Also: CDA Indicators
Assessment of the Commissioner of State Lands [LM032]
The study focuses on the Commissioner of State Lands to assist him to better manage State land and the staff assigned to him. This means assistance with developing a clear strategy to developing more modern management facilities and procedures, and for having a better ability to meet the legal, procedural and administrative demands of the position and its co-ordination. While the study recognizes that the separation of the offices of the Director of Surveys and the Commissioner of State Lands has been advocated, it points out the necessity to maintain the linkages between these two offices. It is recommend that the two divisions be housed in one building if possible or if it cannot be done, at least to house them in close proximity to each other.
There are several models that can be followed in effecting the separation. One is to separate the two positions altogether and establish two Divisions, under the Director of Surveys and the Commissioner of State Lands. A second model is to create a post of Director-General of Lands and Surveys and have two Heads of Divisions under him i.e. Director of Surveys and the Commissioner of State Lands. Each Head has to be provided with separately identified staff. A third model is to create a Land Management Entity, merging the functions and responsibilities of the Lands Section and with those of other closely linked agencies, possibly the Land Administration Division of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Land Settlement Agency
See Also: Commissioner of State Lands Indicators
Assessment
of the Land Administration Division, Ministry of Agriculture
[LM002]
The management of State owned lands has relied on long-term leases granted
by the State since the Land Grant Regulations of 1941.
While the statutory responsibility for the management of all State lands
is resident in the Commissioner of Lands, estate management functions for those
lands designated as “agricultural” has rested with the Ministry of
Agriculture, Land & Marine Resources which develops agricultural parcels for
distribution, selects tenants and facilitates the leasing of these parcels to
those selected. The Ministry then
monitors the performance of these leases and reports to the Director of Surveys
as well as advises on transfers and renewals of these leases.
The report examines in a quantitative and qualitative way, the land or
real property-related functions; supporting laws, regulations and policies;
staff and functional management; relationship with other state agencies; policy
integration and policy issues; strengths of and major issues facing the agency;
and suggested improvements
See Also: Land Administration Division Indicators
Assessment of the Property and
Industrial Development Company of Trinidad & Tobago [LM001]
The Property and Industrial Development Company of Trinidad & Tobago [PIDCOTT]
was incorporated on January 1997 as a private company of the Tourism and
Industrial Development Company of Trinidad & Tobago [TIDCO].
It was established to take full responsibility for the management of
property assets of TIDCO. These
property assets consist of 19 industrial estates located throughout the country,
of which 18 are fully developed. The
estates have a total land area of 340 hectares and over 500 tenants. PIDCOTT
manages a total area of 916 acres with a budget of $2.0M per annum. Its primary
function is to provide industrial accommodation for a wide range of industrial
activities. In addition, it
provides accommodation for office complex, shopping malls, resort properties and
beach facilities. Its range of
property management services includes physical planning and development; estate
agency and estate management; asset valuation; project management; auction sale;
arbitration; collection of rents and administration of outgoings.
The report examines in a quantitative and qualitative
way, the land or real property-related functions; supporting laws, regulations
and policies; staff and functional management; relationship with other state
agencies; policy integration and policy issues; strengths of and major issues
facing the agency; and suggested improvements.
See Also: PIDCOTT Indicators
Assessment
of the Property and Real Estate Services Division (PRESD)
of The Ministry of Public Administration
The Property and Real Estate Services Division (PRESD) of The Ministry of Public Administration develops and maintains government properties to ‘ensure maximum utilization and economic returns. The Division was established to undertake negotiations for acquisition and rental of properties on behalf of The State, allocation of Office and Residential accommodation for Government officers and Planning and Research on property and real estate matters
The Reports investigations indicate that
the land management functions being carried out by PRESD include the management
of all buildings owned and leased by the state and the acquisition of lands by
private treaty. The functions of PRESD are closely related to those of The
Commissioner of State Lands and The Commissioner of Valuations. The Division has
no authority vested in it but acts as a facilitator for the acquisition and
leasing of properties. The Authority is vested in The Commissioner of State
Lands and The Commissioner of Valuations.
See Also: PRESD Indicators
Assessment of the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries [LM011]
The Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries (MEEI) has the statutory responsibility for the management of mineral resources in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. This includes shore and offshore resources. The licence for the exploitation of these resources must be sought through the Minister for Energy and Energy Industries in accordance with the Petroleum Act Chap. 62: 01, (Sec. 5) of the Laws of Trinidad and Tobago. The rights for the exploitation of mineral resources on state and private lands are granted via an Exploration and Production Licence. The licence is a registered deed made between the Director of Surveys acting on behalf of the President of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago, The Minister of Energy and Energy Industries and the Licensee.
The
Report reviews the Land Management functions as required through the
Petroleum Act Chap. 62: 01 which is the main legislative framework for the
management of mineral resources in Trinidad and Tobago.
The Report concludes that the MEEI disclaimer that it has no statutory
authority to manage surface rights on land means that many land management
functions provided for under the Petroleum Act are being left to the
resource-deficient Commissioner of State Lands (COSL).
See also: MEEI Indicators
Caroni (1975) Ltd.; Land Management Functions [LM015]
The Report observes that Caroni’s Land Mangement policy,
whose defining feature is the leasing of cane land to private farmers, has not
been implemented, essentially because the provisions of Agricultural
Small Holders Tenancy Act (ASHTA) are viewed
by Caroni as encumbering the land for too long a period (25 year lease, 25 year
optional renewal). Divestment
represents an additional alteration in policy.
Further developments now hinge on the outcome of the divestment plans and
the changes in company performance associated with divestment.
The
scope for action for Caroni in terms of both sales of land for non-agricultural
purposes and squatter regularization runs into difficult questions of the
latitude and limitations of the authority vested in Caroni to dispose of land
vis-ŕ-vis other state authorities. These
limitations remain untested legally and potentially problematic.
Caroni’s land management functions therefore both illustrate the many
of the administrative benefits of autonomous, focused control, but also prove
that simple technical efficiency is insufficient for thoroughly effective state
land management: constant political and legal adjustments are an intrinsic
aspect of state land management and must be dealt with continuously.
See Also: Caroni Indicators
Assessment of the Land Settlement Agency [LM007]
The
Land Settlement Agency (LSA) is a relatively new body corporate established
under the State Land (Regularisation of Tenure) Act, No. 25 of 1998. It came
into formal organizational existence on June 1st 1999. Its parent
Ministry is the Ministry of Housing and Settlements. This report describes its
key land and real property related functions as Issuing Certificates of Comfort,
Infrastructure Development, Issuing Statutory Leases, Issuing Deeds of Lease,
Allocation of Plots
and the Collection of Revenues for Real Property
See also: LSA Indicators
Assessment of the National Housing Authority [LM008]
The National Housing Authority (NHA) is a Statutory Authority whose traditional role has been the construction and allocation either by rental or mortgage of dwelling units with particular focus on the lower income groups of society. The Agency’s performance has been compromised by a perception that it is a social landlord. However, the Report does recognize of the strengths of the NHA as:
Performance appraisal and monitoring systems exist but lack the necessary infrastructure for their effective use. Clearly identified performance measures and tracking mechanisms do not yet exist. Research and development is neglected. Limited training of staff has taken place in recent years.
The Report evaluates among other features, the NHA’s operations, its agency relationship and data sharing, training programs, its influence of Policy and the Agency’s preparedness to become more effective in state land management.
See also: NHA Indicators
Assessment of the Sugar Industry Labour Welfare Committee [LM009]
Established in 1952 as a statutory board under the Ministry of Housing and Settlements, the Sugar Industry Labour Welfare Committee (SILWC) is charged with the granting and monitoring of low interest housing loans and the development of new settlements, in both cases for sugar workers and cane farmers. It is governed by enabling legislation (Chapter 64:04). The SILWC’s land policy is guided by the ‘New Administration and Distribution Policy for Land’ formulated in 1992.
The main land and real property-related functions of the SILWC are granting and monitoring of low interest housing loans and the development of Housing Settlements for the distribution of fully serviced building lots to landless clients.
The Report reviews the
SILWC’s annual operations which are guided by its Strategic Plan, the
implementation schedules for specific projects for which funding has been
sourced under the government’s Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) and a
set of Action Plans summarizes the Implementation Schedules by quarters of the
fiscal year
See also: SILWC Indicators
PETROTRIN/Palo Seco Agricultural Estates, Ltd.: [LM020]
Land Management by a State-owned natural resource producer.
Petrotrin, the state-owned oil company of Trinidad and Tobago, is the successor company to Trintoc and Trintopec. Its non-oil holdings, including the direct management of 25,000 acres of land, remain chiefly with Trintoc, but management responsibilities are mostly carried out by Palo Seco Agricultural Estates, Ltd. (PSAEL). Apart from its land management duties, PSAEL is primarily an agricultural company, which produces beef, dairy and other products.
The Report examines Petrotrin’s land management functions which include:
§ Sale of land for industrial development
§ Agricultural production on 5,500 acres held in freehold
§ Managing housing estates comprising 2,500 leases
§ Managing oil exploration leases
§ Resolving the problems of squatting.
All of the Petrotrin estate management services are being consolidated under PSAEL—maintenance, renting, evaluation of proposals, and development approvals process. The department spends about 1 million/year on land management. Although Petrotrin’s GIS system is still essentially in a pilot stage, and land management is not full linked to the system, the Land Management Department is engaged in the process of capturing specialist land managers’ knowledge into a database and linking this to the ArcInfo-based Petrotrin GIS.
See also: PSAEL Indicators
The
Assessment of State Land Management in Tobago
The
Assessment of State Land Management in Tobago seeks to clarify the roles and
responsibilities of the office that the Director of Land Management Services and
the Director, Natural Resources and Environment in Tobago House of Assembly.
State lands in Tobago include 10,772 hectares under forest cover; 3,958 hectares
of these lands are declared forest reserves. State lands outside these forest
reserves that are under forest cover is estimated at 3,000 hectares. In
addition, there are 4,700 hectares of acquired estates are available for future
agricultural/housing development. This broadly represents the extent of land
resources available to the State for conservation, promotion of productive
activity and generation of income and employment.
The
Report identifies Strategic Policies for Land Management in Tobago with respect
to:
§
Land Information
§
Land Use
§
Land Conservation
§
Allocation of State Land to Competing Sectors
§
Land Tenure
§
Land Distribution
§
Squatting and Encroachment
§
Management of State Lands
§
Intersectoral Linkages
§
International Land-related Conventions