Beginning October 1, a six-month countdown will commence on persons occupying government concessional land to settle their arrears.
Acting Prime Minister Reginald Austrie said at least $20 million in outstanding monies are to be collected from these property owners.
“We will send letters and they can come into the office and talk to us. If after six months they have not showed up we are going to revalue the land, which will be at a much higher value. They will have to pay that value. If after another six months they cannot pay that value the government shall seek to repossess that property,” the acting Prime Minister said on a DBS radio interview on Thursday evening.
When the property is repossessed, Austrie said priority would be given to a family member of the existing owners to pay for and own the land.
He said as of October 1 government will begin “a recollection drive” because it needs the money in order to continue to assist the less fortunate.
“We believe that people should start paying us. The government lands are being given at a concessionary rate and we believe that people now have an obligation and a right to pay for them,” Austrie said.
tell me where the land is selling i ‘ll pay cash tfor it to
For one, we kept complaining the government taking to long to sell the land to us, now we don;t want to pay the $1.00 a square foot. I mean Dominicans please, what do we want?
no matter what God is still control he is on his thron no one can move him
Great Job Mr. Prime minister Keep Up the Good Work And Bring Dominica To the next Level. The People voted u to do things the right way all who owing should be made to PAY. WE WANT OUR MONEY BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. NO MONEY NO LAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. PS. Mr. PM THAT INCLUDES OR GARBAGE BIN MONEY, OUR MONEY FOR THE FERTILIZER OUR MONEY THAT BUILD YOUR BIG HOUSE ON THAT LITTLE SALARY OUR MONEY FOR THE VILLAS AND ALL WHAT WE EH KNOW ABOUT!!! THANK YOU sir
$ 1:00 MAY SOUND LIKE NOTHING BUT SOME PEOPLE GENUINLEY DON’T HAVE THE MONEY. IF PEOPLE DONT HAVE JOBS HOW THE HECK THEY ARE GOING TO PAY FOR THE PROPERTY.
is all you labourites that spoil the people giving them free very thing to be in power now take what you get pay up or get the h… out
the very same people that is crying they cannot pay ,. has block house and flush toilet on goverment land,and there music disturbing every body that payoff already. make them pay.
hmm i know we are dere but thats communist stylee is working its way up slowly…i know dominicans are totaly blinded by whatever this Govt does and absouletly no one not even a group can stand up to this Govt so im sorry for the citizens….
Dominica has gone to sleep since 2000….prior to that especially from 1995-2000…everyone was seeing discussing all issues folks were active…seems this Govt has made everyone drunk…
anything they say as a Govt is 100% accepted by the citizens,,,,all they do is say God will help we!
what a bunch of sillyness if you dont go protest and boots on the ground dominica will never effect any change or direction, as this Govt is planing to be in power for the next 20 years…
dont be surprise if the Prime Minister wins his dual stuff in court under techincal issues…
then the oppostion will just sit quietly as they cant mobilze not even ants to make a gatherings..
Just way too much talk in DA…This regime needs to feel it harder but dont think it will happen not until 20 years,as dominicans talk too much on the radio and do no action
I listened with interest to the comments made by the Acting Prime Minister, Honorable Reginald Austrie, regarding the outstanding monies owed by persons to whom lands were sold at concessionary rates, of EC$1.00 per square foot, and have become delinquent with their repayments. I am not sure if a programme has already been initiated to collect those outstanding funds but I hope that Government is seriuosly considering some kind of programme for the collection of those funds including some type of counseling and as well to work out some kind of collection scheme to ensure that those persons start paying up for those properties. I would not however repossess those properties nor increase the cost of the original price of $1.00 a square foot unless the plan is to create additional hardship on those people, especially if no one in the family can’t buy at the new rate, and force them to abandon these properties making way for anyone to buy these properties.
I am therefore inviting Government to reconsider its plans and to look at a more dynamic approach to addressing the matter of delinquent payments for lands sold at concessionary rates. I do hope that a positive solution is found soon…afterall most of these delinquent persons are LABOURITES.
I do hope my comments are not taken in bad faith…DOMINICA is for all of us to build.
you see how it is in this country???? what about when people purchase land from the government and the government is just promising to fix the road to the land for the people????? do so never like so eh!
@Too Little too Late: You made some points I agree with. Government should have assessed people’s ability to pay before allocating lands to them. I was(no more am I) a civil servant who was fully employed -not just employed but permanently appointed. I made sevaral applications for a government house lot. I was given sevaral stories also about the availability of lots. I never was approved for a lot but I know people who were not civil servants who got lots. I sometimes wonder what is the criteria used for allocating government housing lots.
I suppose you stand a better chance when you show what color(party color) you are. Sometimes it is not people who need the lots who get them so in cases where people were squatting on government land there should be a payment plan put in place to facilitate their repayment of the lands.
Make them pay, me self well wanted a peice of land and they dress in red and block me now they cannot damn well pay, let them know it was not for FREE pay us our money so the country can continue to move on smoothly, anyway i still want my peice.I WILL PAY CASH.
tell these people to think of innovative ways to bring money into these country.stop begging other goverments or threatening the very people who voted for them.the statement says ‘we believe the people should start paying US’ who is the ‘US’ mr. minister.YOU PEOPLE NEED TO COME DOWN YOUR MONEY HORSES AND REMEMBER THESE ARE THE SAME PEOPLE YOU WILL ASK TO VOTE FOR YOU,OOPS; BUT THEN AGAIN YOU CAN AFFORD TO BUY THEM WHEN THEY SELL THE VOTES AND FORGET THE CONSEQUENCES FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS. BRAVO DOMINICANS YOU GAVE LABOUR DE POWER AND LET ME HEAR DE LABOURITES SAY TOGETHER LABOURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR POWERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.
@Tell: you sound like a Dominican yourself. Are you saying that this brilliant comment was a non-think? Don’t lump us all in the same boat.
so that fool is basically tellingus that people will be kicked off the land if they have no money. Are there funds set up to allow them to get a loan to pay the government because i know financialinstitutions in roseau wont be funding without your arm and leg. I am just saying
But but massa massa skerro we voted for u wee, even if they tell us all what u have, all what u get and all u getting we say we still voting u becuase we will get too and now u doing that to us? u stop de red clinic now u on our case to pay land, papa God what u have for us next?
So they did not know the people could not pay the money? Why six months? If they can’t pay now you think they will pay in six months time? The government made their mistake now they got to pay the price.
Good move. I know of one other Caribbean island where the government has taken on a similar initiative because millions of dollars of revenue are being lost. Taxes are important in keeping a country running. There is nothing as a free lunch.
I only hope the government put the money to good use so that the people can see their tax money at work.
six months to come up with arreas for land? Why not call them up and make out some arrangement or or payment plan with the person… thats more logical
Dominicans should be happy they get government land for cheap; they know they had to pay for it because this was the agreement, it was nothing like they got for vote. Haitians come here and making ends meet and we have some Dominicas so lazy and want everything for nothing; let them go find work to pay for the land.
We Dominicans love too much freebies. Get real people @$1.00 a square for in most cases and you all still want it for free. Come on. I paid $9.00 a square foot from a private person and my neighbour has to pay $1.00 a square ft from Government and you all still finding this a problem. Stop playing politics people….
@Tell: u was making sense till d end…… doh call us non-thinkers o.k,,,ask urself how much d.a massive dat overs studying n dey comin back home,,,,so doh do us dat
@Thelonious Monk: so because u malaway u should not be entitled to socialize,,,, go n live afghanistan with that nonsense talk
Tell them to open a red clinc with the 27 million destined for the state house,thus creating folks with cash so they will pay you al back…WHAT A BUNCH NONE THINKERS…ALL THEY DO IS BRAY!!
Well i know they are incapable of seeing that this island isnt producing so how de hell folks will pay monies,look vessel pulling out..Tell me one Minister in this Govt who is a Brilliant thinker on issues and doing things right…
2015 is soon around the corner…maybe a budject of 35million to bring down voters across the globe to win all 21 seats this trip…..or the state house will be a overall One President for Life etc…
by the time Dominicans feel that on their back they will be too late…..Bunch of nonthinkers-Dominicans are!!
Excuse me. Six months to come up and say you cannot pay, then what happens? In the first instance Gov should have assessed persons ability to pay. That was not the case. It was all about “Catch a Vote”. Now election come and gone and they want to assess persons ability to pay, Too little too late. Majority of these people cannot pay. Government needs to simply give them the land.
So everyone must continue to just get everything free….
Where does it stop…
Poor Malaway my…….!
Every tin dat knock they dere, drinking more than you.
People find monies to party and buy new outfit or cell phone but not to handle their affairs….
i agree
hhhhhmmmm well i hope those poor malaway labourites listening n reading eh,,,,, cus all a we malaway but it have more malaway labourites,,,,, how the hell u think dem man get in power,,,,, the masses dat put dem dere,,,, the rich r not the masses,,,,, the poor always the masses,,,,,,,, i jus hope poor people can rise n pay their way to prosperity n seen,,,,,, the gov’t say they want the money to help the less fortunate,,,,, so i guess those people on the land are fortunate huh,,,, wat rubbish,,,, go behind dem chinese for the v.a.t money,,, stop giving rich business men concessions n duty free,,,, n stop filling allu stomachs,,, too much of something not good,,,,,,n represent n help the people as u all should